Dr.Meldrum Backs 3-Year-Old Bigfoot Blimp Project

Rendering of the Bigfoot Blimp to be used in the Falcon Project

We have been covering the Falcon Project since February 2010. Click the following link to read our entire Falcon Project coverage. The blimp project has been trying to get off the ground since before then. This may change if Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Idaho State University, can raise over $300,000.

Originally the Falcon Project was the dream child of gold dredger, William Barnes, and business-owner, Jason Valenti.  Back in 2010 the Bigfoot blimp had a different design (see picture below)

2010 version of Bigfoot blimp

On November 4th 2010 Reuters picked up the story read excerpt below.

Now Meldrum is seeking to raise $300,000-plus in private donations to build the remote-controlled dirigible, equip it with a thermal-imaging camera and send it aloft in hopes of catching an aerial glimpse of Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch.

Meldrum, author of "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science," said the undertaking represents a giant leap in the quest for an animal he believes may have descended from a giant ape that once inhabited Asia and crossed the Bering land bridge to North America.

"The challenge with any animal that is rare, solitary, nocturnal and far-ranging in habitat is to find them and observe them in the wild; this technology provides for that," he said.

SRC: Reuters.com

Since the Reuters piece Utah's KSL.com has picked up on the news and posted two videos on it's website.

SRC: KSL.com

Discovery News has high praise for Dr. Jeff Meldrum's credentials and rightly notes his reputation is why the Falcon Project is getting attention:

Part of the reason that the plan -- dubbed the Falcon Project -- is gaining such notoriety is the participation of Jeffrey Meldrum. In stark contrast to the vast majority of Bigfoot hunters and enthusiasts across the country and on television, Meldrum has legitimate scientific credentials as a professor of anatomy and anthropologist.

While these areas of research are not directly relevant to Bigfoot, Meldrum is more academically qualified than most to examine and analyze alleged Bigfoot tracks and photographs.

SRC: Discovery News

According to TheWeek.com it is a "Wacky Plan"

The plan, dubbed the Falcon Project, was first envisioned by a Utah man named William Barnes who allegedly came face-to-face with a "well-manicured" hairy creature in northern California sometime in 1997 and subsequently approached Meldrum with the notion of finding Bigfoot using an airship. The Falcon Project is projected to take flight next spring. 

That is, at least, if it ever takes off. Fundraising efforts have been slow. Reuters reports that Meldrum has yet to raise a single dollar for his cause. Still, he's hardly the only party interested in finding the legendary beast. Spike TV is offering a $10 million reward to anyone who can offer irrefutable evidence of Bigfoot's existence as part of a new reality show.
SRC: The Week

Utah's Provo Canyon Bigfoot Media Round-up

Still from Provo Canyon Bigfoot video

By now you may have heard of the Provo Canyon Bigfoot video. The video of what seemed like a bear, stands on it's hind legs and transforms into a Bigfoot-like silhouette with forearms hanging down on both sides. Many of you fans know we don't get excited about videos, although, it seems, many others do. However, we will share our opinion. The transformation into a Bigfoot silhouette is eerily alarming and the response of the hikers feels genuine. Emotionally, this video has major impact, unfortunately it is still a blob-squatch.

With all that said, the video has it's place in the Bigfoot cannon of you-tube videos and is worth investigating. 

Below is the video breakdown by Phil Polling of ParaBreakdown a respected investigator of paranormal YouTube videos. It contains the original video with Phil's commentary. After the video, read reactions from around the web.

YouTube user "Beard Card," who did not want his name made public, said he and some friends were camping in Provo Canyon near Squaw Peak and Little Rock Canyon Overlook when the group saw some deer up on a hill that they wanted to get a closer look at.
"On our way up, we thought we saw a bear, until this giant creature stood up and looked right at us," he said. "We ran straight to the car after that, leaving our tent and most everything behind."
SRC: KSL.com

Mitch Phillips (AVATAR, EIGHT-LEGGED FREAKS). He has dedicated much of his life studying Bigfoot and has worked with special effects as well as CGI. Here is his report:
“You know, I have seen countless of these videos that proclaim to have the elusive Sasquatch on tape. Most recently, I debunked a video from a four-wheeler and another from a supposed camping trip. This Utah video is quite interesting. Since I do not have a great deal of time to explain the technical stuff, let me just give you my findings in simple terms.
1. I rule out costume due to the muscle tone and appearance of real fur.
2. I rule out other animal/mistaken identity. This is not a bear or anything else. This has human-like limbs.
3. The reactions from those filming are very convincing. There is none of this ‘what is that’ comments that are on every fake video.
4. There is no video trickery. This was there. My conclusion: It’s real. This is a huge piece of evidence supporting the existence of Bigfoot. I’m impressed!”
SRC: Ringside Report

Phone Interview with Bear Card
SRC: Fox 13 now

Recently Dr. Jeff Meldrum was asked about the video:
But the video itself is ultimately inconclusive, according to Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University and Bigfoot researcher. Meldrum said though the video appears to show an upright creature with a distinct arm, the image could be created by foliage obscuring part of the body of a bear.

"On first glance I really can't differentiate it from a black bear," he said.

Still, Meldrum advised against immediately writing off alleged Bigfoot sightings as pseudoscience.

"There is merit to that argument but I don't think that justifies ignoring what evidence we have," he said, adding that authorities have reported unexplained footprints, hair and vocalizations from various locations in the world.

...

According to Meldrum, there have been additional sightings farther south in Utah and people living on the Ute Indian reservation have insisted that some sort of creature resembling Bigfoot exists. Meldrum further compared Sasquatch to wolverines, which are also elusive and almost never seen in the wild.
SRC: Daily Herald

Finally the original two versions of the video; Regular and slow-mo

Professor Valentin Sapunov Doubles Down on Yeti Hair DNA and Asserts 200 Yetis in Kemerovo

Professor Valentin Sapunov Accused of Lying

"Let me make it clear - Sapunov is blatantly lying." --Oleg Pugachev, Director of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science

Six hours ago The Sun posted a report interviewing both Professor Valentin Sapunov, who claimed definitive DNA evidence of a Yeti this week and Oleg Pugachev, Director of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science.

Sapunov, pictured above, seems to stand by the DNA results he claimed for the Yeti fur, while the Pugachev, director of one of the labs that did the testing says they were not even able to extract any genetic material.

Click the following link to read our previous coverage of the Kemerovo Yeti.

Read the full text from The Sun Below

Hundreds of yetis live in Siberia, claims boffin

A SCIENTIST has put his Bigfoot in it after claiming that hundreds of yetis live in a large area of southern Siberia.

Controversial professor Valentin Sapunov has infuriated academics after he said DNA checks on hair samples from a remote cave showed it belong to a mystery human-like mammal.

Now he has gone further by asserting a population of 200 Yetis are alive and well in the forested Kemerovo, Khakassia and Altai regions of Siberia.

Professor Sapunov said there have been no confirmed sightings of yetis because the animals have an acute sense of danger.


A population of 200 would allow them to successfully reproduce, said the academic from the Russian State Hydro-meteorological University.

But other Russian experts have slammed Sapunov’s theories.

Oleg Pugachev, Director of the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Science, said: “Let me make it clear - Sapunov is blatantly lying.

“He came with some bits of hair to the Institute, and spent a lot of time in my office complaining that official science wants nothing to do with it and no-one wants to test them.

“He asked me to help. I took a pity on him and ordered our DNA specialists to carry out a test.

“They did not manage to extract any genealogical material because there were no hair bulbs.

“The structure of the hair showed that they could have belonged to a goat, and a bear, and to other animals.

“That’s the end of it. What Snowman is he talking about?”

Sapunov hit back saying there is more evidence of the Yeti than for many officially documented species, some of which are reported to exist on the basis of a single bone.

Src: The Sun