June 22nd Falcon Project Fundraiser Kick-off in Portland Oregon

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

Experts will present compelling evidences that motivate the most ambitious undertaking to search for the legendary and elusive North American primate from the air, using the latest in aerial surveillance technology.

Press release from Dr. Jeff Meldrum:

Date:  6/11/13

Written by: 

Contact: Dr. Jeff Meldrum, 208-282-4379

An all-day symposium event to kick-off fundraising for the THE FALCON PROJECT – The most penetrating search for the legendary sasquatch ever undertaken, will take place June 22, 2013 in Portland OR.  Hosted by Olympia Beer, in the Bossanova Ballroom, the symposium will feature multimedia presentations, panel discussions and exhibits. (http://www.bossanovaballroom.com/event-details/?The-Falcon-Project-72-Portland).

The Falcon Project proposes to conduct an extensive aerial search for an unrecognized North American primate, a.k.a. sasquatch or Bigfoot, by means of an helium-filled airship, upon which a platform supporting thermal-imaging and high resolution wireless videography equipment is mounted. The Aurora Mk II airship offers major advantages over similar applications with helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft platforms, foremost, stealth and maneuverability.

The former permits approach and observation with minimal or no disturbance of the subject’s natural behavior.  The latter is critical for surveying in areas of dense stands of forest where a sustained vertical perspective is essential for locating animals on the forest floor.

The unmanned 45′ dual airship is equipped with a proprietary propulsion system that can carry the airship at speeds of 35-45 mph and maneuver with the degree of precision necessary to track a fast-moving animal. The construction, instrument integration, and flight training is being provided by Remote Aerial Tripods Inc. of Canada, (www.ratsinc.net) with Stephen Barkley as lead designer of the Aurora Mk II. The airship, gyro-stabilized camera mount, and ground operations equipment have been designed specifically for the requirements of this task. The sleek, quiet, never-before-used technology eliminates the noise produced by conventional aircraft and on the ground investigators, allowing stealthy approach to wary reclusive species. The challenge of locating a solitary, nocturnal far-ranging, intelligent primate is demonstrated by the dearth of definitive photographic evidence. The Falcon Project offers a novel approach employing the latest technologies.

The research is to be coordinated through Idaho State University, with Dr. Jeff Meldrum, professor of anatomy & anthropology, acting as principal investigator. Meldrum has been probing the question of sasquatch’s existence for nearly 17 years, ever since examining a line of inexplicable 15-inch bipedal footprints in southeastern Washington. Meldrum is author of one of the most authoritative treatments of the subject, Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. He has published a number of scientific papers examining the footprint evidence.  He now edits an on- line refereed journal, The Relict Hominoid Inquiry (www.isu.edu/rhi) examining the global phenomenon of relict “wildmen.”

This initiative gets underway even as a critical DNA study is being conduct by the Oxford-Luassane Collateral Hominid Project is examining a number of hair samples attributed to sasquatch.  Lead by Professor Bryan Sykes a human geneticist from Oxford University and director of Oxford Ancestors Ltd.  Sykes's books include the New York Times best-selling The Seven Daughters of Eve. “Even if definitive DNA sequence data point to the existence of a novel species,” states Meldrum, “it will not suddenly become easy to study such a rare and elusive primate in the field. That’s where the Falcon Project comes in. Aerial reconnaissance holds the greatest potential for locating and observing the range and the behavior of the sasquatch.”

William Barnes (williamallenbarnes@yahoo.com; 435-230-0351) is the project founder and manager, with over 25 years experience operating his own businesses, including gold dredging and marketing.  Barnes had an encounter with a sasquatch in 1997, and is motivated by the challenge of bringing definitive image evidence before the scientific community for the purpose of finally resolving the mystery of sasquatch. 

The Aurora will be deployed in selected areas of appropriate habitat where reports suggest sasquatch may range. The specifically built gyro-stabilized camera mount will house state of the art equipment that can view and film in infrared, thermal imaging and High Definition.  The camera is the highest resolution (1024 x 768 pixel) uncooled, long wave 7-14 um and 17 micron pixel pitch system in the world today, except for classified U.S. military equipment. Peak emittance from the human body is around 10 um and so this camera will provide the best possible resolution. ICI IR Flash software used with the camera allows image enhancement to 12 Mega Pixels which is better than any uncooled thermal imaging camera in existence today. In other words you will be able to literally print a 12 Mega Pixel image with a Thermal/Infrared Camera by using the proprietary ICI IR Flash Software. This is unheard of in the entire infrared camera manufacturing industry. The FOV (Field Of View) lens used will be a 44 mm x 176 mm optic, f 1.2. To our knowledge no company has used a telephoto lens of this size with an uncooled 1024 x 768 camera for such a project other than possibly the U.S. Defense. Putting an optic on this particular camera will be a first for ICI as it is the newest uncooled IR camera on the market today and not even offered to the public at this time.

Funding and tax deductible donations for ongoing operations of the Falcon Project will be handled through the ISU Foundation, to the attention of Janet Schubert, Development Officer for the College of Science and Engineering. For further information contact Dr. Meldrum (meldd@isu.edu; 208-282-4379).

In addition to Meldrum and Barnes, speakers will include Dr. John Bindernagel and Bill Munns.  Special guest will be Bob Gimlin, witness to the famous Patterson-Gimlin film of a Bigfoot in northern California in 1967.  For advance ticket sales ($25 advance / $30 at the door) to the upcoming Portland event go to http://www.bossanovaballroom.com/event-details/?The-Falcon-Project-72-Portland.

For details on the June 23rd follow-up event hosted by Bigfoot Lunch Club please click on the following link. June 23rd HopsSquatch with Dr. Jeff Meldrum.

New 55 Million Yr Old Fossil Signals First Primate with Human Like Heal

The new fossil is classified as a Tarsiiformes, like the modern day tarsier above.

“It represents a common ancestor for two major lineages of primates – one of which is the monkeys, apes and man on one side; and the tarsier.” --Northwestern University professor Marian Dagosto

The most compelling physical evidence we have for Bigfoot are the foot prints. The leading academic in Bigfoot research is Dr. Jeff Meldrum, an anthropologist and specialist in the evolution hominid bipedalism. His interest in the morphology (shape) of the foot makes this discovery interesting to us Bigfooters. 

Not only does this fossil show one of the earliest primates with a human-like heel, it also pushes back the split of apes from monkey another 10 million years. The fossil has been named Archicebus Achilles. The genus, Archi, is Greek for the beginning, and cebus translates to “long-tailed monkey.” Achilles alludes to the anatomy of the fossil’s heel and the mythological Greek warrior

The Archicebus Achilles Fossil 

Here's a couple of excerpts from around the web.

A 55-million-year-old monkey with a human face and feet may show when human beings took their own evolutionary path away from there [sic] primates cousins.

Bloomberg BusinessNews reports that skeletal remains 3 inches in diameter had been unearthed in 2003 by a farmer who’d been prospecting for relics in an abandoned paleontological site, in central China’s Hubei province. The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing have been analyzing the petrified remains for 10 years.   It findings were publicized in a paper issued just days ago.

The monkey was from the tarsiiforme family of primates, which has certain characteristics in common with anthropoids, a group of higher – level primates that include Homo sapiens.  The monkey has the feet and face of a human being. SRC: The Guardian Express

A local husband and wife [Dan Gebo and Marian Dagosto] team of anthropologists have co-authored research regarding the discovery of a tiny monkey fossil that is one of the most complete and oldest fossils ever found.

The Archicebus has a unusual blend of anatomical features never before seen in the same combination, and is radically different from any other living or fossilized primate, researchers said. SRC: CBS Chicago

Chinese paleontologist Ni Xijun and his colleagues publish a study on the 55-million-year-old primate fossil in the prestigious journal Nature on Thursday.

The discovery provides insight into the earliest phases of primate evolution, according to a news release from Nature.

The ancient primate's name, Archicebus achilles, makes a reference to the animal's anthropoidlike heel bone.

"Previous fossil evidence shows anthropoids diverged from other primates around 45 million years ago, but our analysis of the new fossil brings the time forward by 10 million years," Ni of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology said at a news conference. "It means the evolutionary history of human lineage could be much longer than we thought."

The Archicebus achilles fossil, a nearly complete skeleton, was discovered near Jingzhou in Hubei province about 10 years ago. Since then the fossil has been studied by Ni's team, which used morphological comparison and phylogenetic analysis to search ancient relations to apes, humans and other primates.

"Morphological features are not like DNA evidence, which can be sequenced and compared in a short time," Ni explained. "It takes a great effort for scientists to study the most detailed morphological feature of a skeleton and carefully compare it with a variety of animals."

To reveal more secrets hidden in the rock for millions of years, his team used sophisticated synchrotron CT scanning at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility to digitally separate the fossil from the rock burying it.

After 10 years of detailed research, Ni and his colleagues studied 1,186 morphological features and compared 157 extinct and living mammals.

"Archicebus achilles is neither a monkey nor an ape. It's such an odd creature that it is virtually a mixture of monkeys, apes and tarsiers," he said.

Monkeys, apes and humans are collectively known as anthropoids in science, while tarsiers belong to a group called tarsiiforms. The two groups have separate evolutionary lineages.

Archicebus achilles has small eyes, short heels and a foot in the general form of monkeys, but it also has many limbs and tooth features typical for tarsierlike primates.

"When the anthropoid lineage began to separate from other primates 55 million years ago, they were actually not so different from Archicebus achilles," Ni said. "But the difference becomes larger as the anthropoids go along one branch, while the descendants of Archicebus achilles go along another.

"The discovery of Archicebus achilles proves that the divergence began at least 55 million years ago." SRC: China News Service (English Version)

June 23rd hopsSquatch Featuring Dr. Jeff Meldrum

HopsSquatch is a monthly Bigfoot speaker series 

dedicated to the latest Bigfoot news and research.

The next event is June 23rd 12:30-4pm

FEATURING:
Dr. Jeff Meldrum, William Barnes
& Craig Woolheater of Cryptomundo.com

The Lucky Labrador Beer Hall (NEW LOCATION!!)

1945 Northwest Quimby Street
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 517-4352

Dr. Jeff Meldrum and William Barnes will talk about the Falcon Project, a remote controlled dirigible outfitted with state-of-art infrared and hi-resolution cameras.

Craig Woolheater founder of the worlds most popular cryptozoology website Cryptomundo will participate on the discussion panel.

Get behind-the-scenes information from the experts and become Bigfoot insiders learning what is on the horizon of Bigfoot research.

Limited seating available-Register now!

or save by becoming a member of hopsSquatch for $50.

Membership includes a seat at each series event, a hopsSquatch t-shirt, first chance at news and speaker updates, and more.

Event Details:

Who: Dr. Jeff Meldrum, William Barnes and Craig Woolheater
Where:  Lucky Lab NW, 1945 NW Quimby St.  Portland, OR 97209 (503) 517-4352
When : June 23^rd 12:30 – 4:00pm

About the Falcon Project: Drone Technology to find Bigfoot:
Dr. Jeff Meldrum and William Barnes plan to build a remote-controlled dirigible equipped with thermal-imaging and other high definition cameras and send it aloft in hopes of catching an aerial glimpse of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch.

About Dr. Jeff Meldrum:
Dr. Jeff Meldrum is a Full Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology and a Professor of the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. He has made multiple appearances on The Discovery Channel and History Channel regarding his Sasquatch Research.  He is most notable for the Discovery Channel Documentary and companion book Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.

About William Barnes:
The blimp-based search - dubbed the Falcon Project - was the brainchild of William Barnes, a Utah man who said he encountered Bigfoot in 1997 in northern California. Barnes said he watched an immense, hairy creature that was otherwise "well-manicured" approach his tent before striding up a rocky ledge. Years later, he approached Meldrum, well known in Bigfoot circles, about his idea for an airship expedition.

About Craig Woolheater
Founded the world’s most popular Cryptozoological website in the world, Cryptomundo.com.  He has also contributed to and appeared on History Channel’s Monster Quest and the documentary Southern Fried Bigfoot.

Event Schedule:

(12:30pm to 2:30pm)
Dr. Jeff medldrum and William Barnes discuss the Falcon Project
Moderated Audience Q&A

(2:30pm to 4:00pm)
Discussion Panel with...
Dr. Jeff Meldrum
William Barnes
Craig Woolheater (Founder of Cryptomundo.com)

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this historic event. Limited space available, only $5 per person to attend. The Lucky Lab Beer Hall is located at 1945 Northwest Quimby Street Portland, OR 97209. REMEMBER NEW PLACE AND NEW TIME!!!!

For more information, please contact Guy Edwards at GuyEdwards@BigfootLunchClub.com, 503.929.7436 or register online at HopsSquatch.com.

Enjoy Options from the Full Menu at the Luck Lab Beer Hall in NW Portland (NEW LOCATION)

Limited Space-Reserve Now!