The skeptical eye on Bigfootery

DoubtfulNews.com is where we get our healthy dose of doubt.

Ah, well. We are at the end of another year of Bigfootery. Guy did a great job of recapping the top stories of the year here and here. It's been a big one - full of drama, promises, rumors, waiting, poop slinging and dead things. It's not been pretty, to say the least.

Guy has graciously let me guest post to give you a little different perspective that might help in understanding the "skeptical" view - that which relies on scientific evidence.

I lurk on the fringes of the forums. I occasionally hear some inside news I can't divulge. And I take everything I see about the latest Bigfoot findings with extreme caution. Here is why you should adopt that cautious approach as well. People have been actively seeking Bigfoot for over 50 years. During that time, they have treaded deep into the wilderness, we have extensive new technology, we can remotely photograph animals that are rare and nearly extinct, we can map genomes. It's truly incredible. The researcher can no longer say they need an expensive project or technology to make a conclusive finding, they have that. And, yet, we have no Bigfoot.

It's disappointing, isn't it? I agree. I'm disappointed myself. Every year that goes by without better evidence (than eyewitness accounts, blurry videos and questionable photos), the conclusion that the creatures exist only in our fantastic imaginations looms ever present as the explanation we've been seeking all along.

Sorry to be a downer. But I'm not one for mystery mongering. Facing up to reality is inevitable. Why don't we have a Bigfoot? Answers range from they are like "special forces" - with animal instincts and human intelligence, trained to avoid humans - all the way to the supernatural realm - they are creatures that can disappear at will into another dimension. All the excuses along the way that pull Bigfoot from our grasp are collectively called "special pleading". Special pleading allows us to give qualities to the creature that are only necessary because we can't nab him. No other animal has the ability to evade scientific documentation for all these years on purpose while simultaneously living under our noses, in our backyards, whooping in the woods and poking around our camps.

Put yourself in my shoes. I've never had an experience that I would define as paranormal or attributable to a mystery creature. I suppose many of you are frustrated because you HAVE had experiences or you see the evidence in a different light than I do. That's OK. I don't call you crazy or claim you were drinking. I'd like to know what exactly happened to create such belief. But it's not my belief. Not yet. The rest of the knowledge about our world tells us Bigfoot isn't real. So there I am - on the non-belief side of the fence. But as you can see, I often peer inquisitively to the other side. Maybe there is something to it. I'll have a look.

I've spent the last month digging into the Ketchum chronology for a piece to be published in print. I hope I was fair to her because I believe she thinks she has something mighty important. When the paper comes out, I might have an opinion but I have no expertise. I can make no claim to interpret her data, I rely on knowledgable people for that. Since she is claiming a genetic basis, I will hear with interest what others with that background have to say. But I WON'T put stock in what the amateur Bigfooters say (or those who even call themselves "professionals"). They are just as uninformed about that interpretation as anyone else. What they have in spades is an emotional need to accept or deny what is presented. It's part of who they are, how they have defined themselves.

Things are messy. The answer is likely more complicated than it appears. I'm willing to concede that things are perplexing; people are complex. I ask that Bigfoot proponents also concede that accepting Bigfoot as real is also complicated in the other direction. For those of us who have stringent standards of evidence, and who know that EVERYONE can be wrong about something, we demand an extraordinary claim meet a very high bar. If we denied everything we would not progress. If we believe everything without solid standards, we are fools.

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 Follow me on Twitter @idoubtit and visit Doubtfulnews.com for the skeptical take on Bigfoot news.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum: Attributed Sasquatch Behavior Anticipates Great Ape Discoveries

Behaviors once attributed to Bigfoot are now found among other great apes

"...behaviors attributed to sasquatch which were once thought to be uncharacteristic of great apes, turn out to anticipate discoveries of the diversity of behaviors observed in the known great apes." -- Dr. Jeff Meldrum

While sharing a Scientific American article titled, "Are Western Chimpanzees a New Species of Pan?" Dr Jeff Meldrum, an Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University, stated,  "Here is an interesting article addressing the diversity of of behaviors of western chimps compared to the better studied eastern populations. These distinctions include: travel and forage at night (Pruetz & Bertolani, 2009), soak themselves, and play in water (Pruetz & Bertolani, 2009). I am again impressed that behaviors attributed to sasquatch which were once thought to be uncharacteristic of great apes, turn out to anticipate discoveries of the diversity of behaviors observed in the known great apes."

When challenged by a commentor to explain, "how actual field, behavioral studies of a known species of a Great Ape in Africa, applies to a creature whose traits appear only in anecdotal accounts of sightings of an unconfirmed bipedal animal in North America." Dr. Meldrum replies by making two points.

Dr. Meldrum further explained, "I think there are two issues at hand. One is an artificially narrow concept of "ape" behavior that has prevailed, which is based on limited field studies of a few relic populations of what was once a much more diverse radiation. This certainly has bearing on perceptions of the potential nature of sasquatch. The second is a demonstration that some behaviors anectdotally attributed to sasquatch, were received with incredulity by skeptics, precisely because no known ape exhibited them -- eating fish, swimming, nocturnal activity...These have subsequently been shown to be normal "ape" behaviors."

What may be even more interesting is the article that Dr. Meldrum is referencing. It claims there is a bias on Chimpanzee behavior and we are discovering that there may be chimpanzees that that made spears to hunt, lived in caves, and loved playing in water.  These are behaviors usually associated with ancient humans.

Click the following link to read about these newly discovered chimp behaviors including nocturnal activity.

Bigfoot "Steak" DNA Test Came Back as Bear/Human

"Bigfoot DNA" tested and is determined to be Bear/Human 

Recently the story about Bigfoot DNA is a twisted knot and frayed at the end. With every new update, we have to decide how far back to tell the story in order to give context to the twist and turns and frayed edges.

We should start with what is popularly familiar to most readers. There is a lab in Texas that has been conducting a 5 year Bigfoot DNA study, this study is led by veterinarian Melba Ketchum. Recently one of her associates leaked some preliminary findings, forcing her to come out with a press release about her Bigfoot DNA study on Nov. 25th 2012.

Melba Ketchum claims she has tested hundreds of samples, but there is one sample that is the most talked about and possibly the most controversial. It is the sample taken from what is commonly referred to as the "Bigfoot steak" or the "Sierra kills sample". It is a sample from a man named Justin Smeja who claimed to have shot and killed two Bigfoot.

Below is an excerpt of Melba Ketchum commenting on the sample last Sunday (12/22/2012) on radio call-in show Coast-to-Coast AM.

As you can hear in the audio, Melba claims she believes Justin is telling the truth, referring to his passing a lie detector test. She also adds that Justin may be concerned that he may have legal concerns due to the fact that Bigfoot are part human.

This brings us to today's news. The website, Sierra Evidence Initiative announced the Bigfoot steak Justin offered as a sample to Melba Ketchum was also independently tested by a group of Bigfooters that took it to Canada’s most respected forensic DNA labs at Trent University. The tests came back as a female black bear and human (Justin Smeja).

Many who are close to Justin still feel his story about killing two Bigfoot is solid, and that perhaps when he went back to the site he did not actually get flesh from a Sasquatch, but from a bear.

However, there are two great opportunities that we are looking forward to. Due to this process. Tyler Huggins and Bart Cutino, the two Bigfooters that submitted the independent DNA study with the Canadian Lab will produce a protocol to help other Bigfooters independently verify/dismiss Bigfoot DNA. The other opportunity is the Sierra Kill Site has had some promising activity since Justin Smeja claimed to have killed the Sasquatches and will continue to be a place of future field research.

The story is also not over for Justin Smeja. Bart Cutino still has boots that were, according to Justin Smeja, saturated with Sasquatch blood. These boots have not yet been tested.

Click the following link to read the entire DNA lab study. We are sure this is only the beginning as these results will most likely generate a discussion between Melba Ketchum's findings, the findings of these labs and Justin Smeja's involvement in both.