Bigfoot World Map Updated: Comecogollos The Puerto Rican Bigfoot

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If you have not spent a day checking out the interactive AKA Bigfoot World Map you have been missing out. I created it and I still get lost in it. You can explore, click and drag the map above or go to the full screen version at AKA Bigfoot World Map.

Today we add the Comecogollos, the Puerto Rican Bigfoot. Nick Redfern offers the most on this cryptid. In an article aptly named Profiling Puerto Rico’s Bigfoot, Mr. Redfern writes, "That I was on Puerto Rico looking for the infamous Goat-Sucker, but ended up on the receiving end of a varied body of Bigfoot-themed material was a welcome and refreshing diversion."

Nick Redfern continues, "Regardless of what the Puerto Rican Bigfoot is (or is not!), when there is even a small body of material the onus is still on us, the researchers and the investigators, to study the mystery carefully and as thoroughly as possible. I cannot say for sure that Bigfoot (or something like it) really does lurk in the denser and wilder parts of Puerto Rico, but I can say – having sat and chatted with Peter for the best part of a day - that the witnesses most certainly believe that to be the case."

In a reaction to Mr. Redfern's article, Cullan Hudson on his self-named blog posted an alleged photo of the Comecogollos.

Is The Puerto Rican Bigfoot as Big as a 60 foot Tower

Mr. Hudson uses another photo to debunk the alleged Comecogollos photo:

One investigator presented the image above as photographic evidence of this strange beast. I have juxtaposed it against another image that will better elucidate my concerns over the authenticity of this Comecogollos photo.

The image above of the "creature" standing higher than the surrounding vegetation in the El Yunque National Rainforest is at odds with the dimensions described by witnesses. For this image to be true, this creature would have to stand between 40 and 60 feet tall, as can be seen when we use the tower image [left inset above] for scale reference. This tower stands approximately 60 feet high. So, it gives us a good scale for the average height of the surrounding (and quite ubiquitous) vegetation. The same trees you see by the tower, are the same you'll see on the mountain in the Comecogollos image. In fact, I dare say the Comecogollos image was probably shot from the vantage point of this tower since landmarks visible from it are clearly in frame here as well.

Although the Comecogollos is one of the lesser-known bi-pedal cryptids it has gained notoriety in travel section of the New York Times and now is archived forever on Bigfoot Lunch Club's a/k/a Bigfoot World Map 

Journalism Students Prepare for Bigfoot Sighting and Capture

USU students Brooke Leavitt, standing, and Zach Waxler edit content to post for CommStrong, a simulated crisis situation. Photo Credit: Riley Densley photo

An elaborate crises simulation, used to train journalism students at Utah State University included bombs, terror and Bigfoot. A simulated Bigfoot news article was distributed to a team of journalism students to see if it would be dropped as bigger simulated news happened.

While most of the crisis situation centered around an unexpected bombing at a public event, the day started with a report of a Bigfoot being captured. You can read the simulated report below.

SIMULATION: Bigfoot caught in Logan Canyon
By Tmera Bradley

Logan Animal Control caught Sasquatch in Logan Canyon earlier today.

Utah State University student Brad Larsen said he was taking a walk in the mountains when he saw Bigfoot, which he described as a “6-foot-5 hairy beast.” He shot a video and posted it online, and also notified the police.

Sean Davis from Animal Control said they arrived on the scene and tranquilized the animal after a struggle.

“This is indeed a creature that no one has ever seen before,” Davis said. “Now that we’ve caught him, this is the most evidence we’ve ever had.”

Davis said Bigfoot is being transported to Hogle Zoo for more testing and public viewing.

We reached out to Matthew D. LaPlante, assistant professor of journalism at USU to explain how the Bigfoot report was used in the simulation and he was kind enough to reply:

We used Bigfoot as a red herring, of sorts. The script called for a sighting — and then later a reported capture. A video was sent to several news teams along with offers of interviews with spotters and capturers. Against the totality of the "news" thrown at the students throughout the day, the expectation was that many would bite early and then back away from that story as the day wore on and bigger news prevailed, and that's indeed what happened.

You can read the original article, "Bombs, blood and Bigfoot" that tipped us off to this event, but it is scant on how Bigfoot was incorporated, despite using Bigfoot in the headline.

You can also read the simulated Bigfoot news article that was distributed to the students here.

Bigfoots Don't Stink--At Least Not Always

Cryptozoology News suggests Sasquatch mat have a defense system similar to skunks

"In British Columbia and Alberta strong smells are mentioned in only 4. 5% of reports". --John Green, Spring 1995

A foul smell is often associated with Bigfoot, popular culture has reinforced this stereo type. In the first Anchorman Bigfoot's anatomy is used to describe the most foul cologne. Cryptozoology News (CN), although poorly sourced, reminds us that John Green's data points to a small percentage of odor being associated with Bigfoot encounters. CN continues to suggest that Sasquatch similar to skunks may have a defense mechanism citing examples from Dr. W. Fahrenbach, a retired biologist from the Oregon Primate Center, and Dian Fosey a renowned Gorilla researcher.

Before we send you Cryptozoology News, we wanted to share John Green's data regarding the odor associated with Bigfoot encounters.

It is common knowledge that sasquatches are reported to have a strong and unpleasant smell--in Florida they are commonly called "skunk apes". It is probably also well known, at least to the readers of newsletters, that strong smells are not always reported; but is this just because the witnesses were not in a position to smell anything, or because sasquatches do not always smell bad?

To contribute some information for anyone interested in this question, here are the results of an analysis of reports from the western part of North America that I have entered in my computer.

In 923 descriptions of supposed sasquatches, only 72 mention a strong smell. Nine mention a mild smell and eight state specifically that the animals had no smell. Strong smells were mentioned in less than eight percent of reports. This percentage is fairly consistent throughout the American states, percentages being: Washington, 9%; Oregon, 11%; California, 8%, and the average for eight other western states, 8.5%.

The percentage in Canada is lower. In British Columbia and Alberta strong smells are mentioned in only 4. 5% of reports. The number of descriptions involved, 217, would appear to be large enough so that the different percentage may have some significance, but it is hard to imagine what it could be.

Absence of a report of a strong smell obviously has no significance if the witness was a good distance away or was inside a building or vehicle. Restricting the survey to reports where it would seem that the witness should have noticed a strong smell if one was present gives the following results.

    In contact with the animal:     strong smell    5,     mild     0;      no smell,     5.

    Less than 5 feet away, in same air:                0,        2,            3.

    Estimated 5 feet away, in same air:                4        1            4.
    Estimated 10 feet away, in same air:              5,        1,            14.

Up to 5 feet the percentage of strong smells, in 24 reports, is 37.5%.

At 10 feet, in 20 reports, the percentage drops to 25%.

With some animals strong smells are associated only with the adult males. Most sasquatch reports do not involve any identification of sex, but it is usually assumed that most are males. My files contain only one report in which a sasquatch is identified as a female and said to have a strong smell.

    * A single report, that of Albert Ostman, has a disproportionate effect on the statistics. He claims to have been carried home by an adult male and then to have been close to a young male and a young female. In conversation, although not in his written account, he said that the adult male had a strong smell, the two juveniles mild smells. If his account is left out the number of reports of mild smells drops to seven, and the percentage of strong smells reported" in British Columbia drops to 4%.

John Green

Spring 1995

You can read the skunk gland theory at Cryptozology News