5 Things about Jeff Meldrum

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has a short profile of Dr. Jeff Meldrum.


(Photo: Rachel Anne Seymour)

5 Things About Me: Anthropologist Jeff Meldrum
August 9, 2011

AAAS Member Jeff Meldrum has been facinated by the possible existance of Sasquatch since he was a child.
Jeff Meldrum, Ph.D.
Department of Biological Sciences
Idaho State University
Pocatello, Idaho

Background: As a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University at Pocatello, I teach human anatomy in the health professions programs, as well as biological evolution and primate studies. As a researcher my interests encompass a number of topics ranging from science and religion, New World paleoprimatology, vertebrate evolutionary morphology generally, bipedalism and the emergence of modern human walking and running more specifically.

Question 1. Why did you become a researcher/engineer/scientist?
Answer: I have always been fascinated by life on planet Earth -- from my first insect collection, to the recovery and naming of extinct primate species from fossil remains. The lure of exploring new frontiers, uncovering novelties -- past and present -- drew me to the sciences.

Question 2. Share a story from your past that led to your choosing your field of work?
Answer: As a youngster, I attended a showing in the Spokane Coliseum of a documentary showcasing the Patterson-Gimlin film, which depicts a Bigfoot (or Sasquatch) filmed in northern California. My fascination with primates and early humans, and with all mysteries on the fringe of acknowledgement, seemed to converge in that film clip. The prospects of a living primate species more closely related to humanity than any other, sharing our adaptation for walking upright, spurred me on to further exploration.

Question 3. What are you most proud of in your work?
Answer: I have a sense of accomplishment that my attention to the evidence for the existence of Sasquatch has kept this matter before the gaze of the scientific community and engendered meaningful dialogue about it. To have these efforts recognized and encouraged by the likes of George Schaller, Jane Goodall, and Russell Mittermeier has been very gratifying.

In the foreword to my book, George Schaller wrote: “Jeff is a scientist, an expert in human locomotor adaptations. In Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science he examines all evidence critically, not to force a conclusion, but to establish a baseline of facts upon which further research can depend. His science is not submerged by opinion and dogmatic assumption…He disentangles fact from anecdote, supposition and wishful thinking, and concludes that the search for Yeti and Sasquatch is a valid scientific endeavor. By offering a critical scrutiny, Sasquatch does more for this field of investigation than all the past arguments and polemics of contesting experts.”

Question 4. Share a comment or opinion you have on a topical science-related issue?
Answer: There is a growing awareness of the bushiness of the hominid family tree, as well as increasing indications of the very recent persistence of a number of the branches on that tree. This raises the possibility that some of these species may in fact persist as relict populations in various corners of or globe. Mounting evidence is being seriously considered by more and more scientists.

Question 5. Share a Web link/video/blog etc. that you found that really excites you and tell us why.
Answer: In order to provide an objective venue for the publication of scholarly papers addressing the question of unrecognized species of apes and prehumans persisting into the present, and to encourage discussion among the broader scientific community, I am editing a refereed online journal, The Relict Hominoid Inquiry. The first of what I expect will be a sustained series of stimulating and illuminating research papers, essays, and reviews are soon to be posted. The site is under construction: http://www.isu.edu/rhi.

Documents Show Feds Believed in the Yeti

US News World and Report, a very reputable publications, has a document from the national archives supporting that the US Government did, in fact, believe in the Yeti. Click the image below to see larger version.

By Paul Bedard, Lauren Fox
September 2, 2011


From the National Archives.

Newly unearthed State Department documents confirm for the first time Uncle Sam's belief that the Abominable Snowman roamed the mountains of Nepal in the 1950s, a finding that has shocked federal officials including the archivist who discovered the papers.

Long written off as a myth—it was never caught or photographed—the documents provided by the National Archives show that officials in the State Department, Foreign Service, and U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, not only believed in "Yeti," but endorsed rules for American expeditions to follow when hunting the toothy monster down.

"There are, at present, three regulations applicable only to expeditions searching for the Yeti in Nepal. These regulations are to be observed," said a memo from the embassy written on State Department letterhead. [Read: National Archives Recovers Stolen Lincoln Documents.]

The first rule required that expeditions buy a permit. The second demanded that the beast be photographed or taken alive. "It must not be killed or shot at except in an emergency arising out of self defense," wrote Embassy Counselor Ernest Fisk on November 30, 1959. And third, any news proving the existence of the Abominable Snowman must be cleared through the Nepalese government which probably wanted to take credit for the discovery.

Archivist Mark Murphy said he couldn't believe his eyes when he discovered the long-ignored papers written at the end of the Eisenhower administration. "I thought I was seeing things," he said. "These documents show that finding the Yeti was a big deal in the 1950s. It goes to show the government was taking this seriously."

How seriously?

One foreign service dispatch from the Embassy of New Delhi dated April 16, 1959 describes the many American expeditions involved in mountaineering and monster hunting in Nepal. [Read about other uncovered political archives.]

"American resources in the last two years have been concentrated on efforts to capture the abominable snowman," the record reads.

Tom Slick, a millionaire with a specialized interest in cryptozoology paid for three separate expeditions in Nepal to find the snow beast, immortalized in the 1964 Christmas classic Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Slick never found it and he went onto pursue bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest.
SRC: US NEWS World and Report

Why Don't Journalist Just Google Todd Standing?

It’s a well known feature of Google. Start typing in a search, and Google offers suggestions before you’ve even finished typing. Its called "Google Suggest" or "Auto Complete".

What happens when you type Todd Standing?



Apparently journalist don't use Google, if they did they would see Todd is associated with the word Hoax, before Bigfoot, and then Bigfoot Hoax.

We wont get too technical, but the autocomplete feature in Google works differently then the search results page you see after you click the search button. The autocomplete suggests the most popular keywords typed in the google search box. In other words, most people type "Todd Standing Hoax" when Googling Todd Standing.

Either way, he recently got more press at CTV news Calvary due to his week-long proximity to the second season filming of Finding Bigfoot. This report focuses on Todd's 10 second video proof of bigfoot. In a sidebar they also post the picture we provided in our previous Todd Standing Post. you can read the entire article below:

Hunt for Bigfoot continues in Alberta's mountains
It goes by many names all over the world including Yeti, Sasquatch, and Bigfoot. No matter the name, the creature has remained elusive to those attempting to prove its existence.

A Calgary man who originally set out seven years ago to disprove the species, now fully believes the animal is alive and well in North America.

Todd Standing recorded video that he says proves Bigfoot exists. The footage is ten seconds long and recorded a great distance from the animal.

Standing became passionate about showing the species to the world after he first saw a Bigfoot about seven years ago. He was a biologist who didn't believe it existed, but now it's a different story.

Standing heads out on 12 excursions a year hoping for a glimpse of the creature. He's learned they're nocturnal.

"During the day when the main group sleeps, I believe that there are day watchers that position themselves around the main group," says Standing. "They alert the group if anyone's coming."

Standing says he captured pictures of this individual running up a mountainside at an incredibly fast speed.

"This animal was about seven and a half feet tall, about 500 pounds," says Standing. "If that's a man in a suit he ran faster than any human being could possibly run, never mind with a big bulky suit and large feet sticking out."

Standing's Bigfoot excursions last from three to ten days. He doesn't bring a lot of food or get much sleep in that time, and his locations are remarkably close to Calgary.

"There's a trail that's right in between Banff and Kootenay National Park," explains Standing. "I follow the creek through there and I take off into the wilderness."

"Their habitat is huge. Where they go is enormous!"

Standing says despite all of his photos and videos of Bigfoot, the science community will only recognize the species when it can be physically examined.

"My goal is when we get a body, when something comes in, the scientists will take over and I'll retire."

Until then, Standing says he'll continue to learn more about what First Nations People call Sylvanic, the shadow guardian of the mountain.

The Discovery Channel is working with Standing this week on a new series called "Finding Bigfoot" that is scheduled to air this fall.

To learn more about Todd Standing's work, visit the Sylvanic Bigfoot Sightings website.

SRC: CTV News Calgary

In case your new, we have THE BEST coverage of Todd Standing