A recent press release issued by a company called DNA Diagnostics, reported the results of a study by Texas Veterinarian named Melba S. Ketchum, claiming that genetic testing confirmed that the legendary Bigfoot is a relative of human beings that arose 15,000 years ago.
While Ketchum’s suggestion that Bigfoot is a human-ape hybrid species doesn’t make any genetic sense, and is most likely just a hoax, there may actually be something to this mysterious phenomena.
I recently attended a gathering of cryptozoology enthusiasts, unconventional scientists, and curious students of unexplained phenomena, who were interested in learning about the large, furry primate that supposedly roams the secluded forests of California and the Pacific Northwest, commonly known as “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch.”
Although fascinated by stories of Bigfoot as a child, somewhere during my development, the mysterious giant ape got relegated to the part of my brain that deals with Elvis sightings, the Loch Ness monster, and the Face on Mars.
I was aware that most scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot, and consider the mysterious ape to be either a hoax, or a combination of folklore and misidentification.
I was therefore utterly delighted to meet Idaho State University primate anatomist Jeff Meldrum at the gathering, who convinced me otherwise, and resurrected my childhood fascination with Bigfoot.
I learned from Meldrum that there really may be something to these sightings, and that it’s more than likely that this creature actually exists.
In Meldrum’s fascinating book Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science--which was praised by primate expert Jane Goodall--Meldrum carefully explores the evidence for this large mysterious primate that has been sighted in West coast forests long before European settlers arrived on the scene.
Native Americans have a long history of Sasquatch sightings, and contemporary reports are consistent with the sightings that have been reported for hundreds of years.
Additionally, the consistency of the many footprints that have been discovered, along with their minute details, like dermal ridges and bone fractures, would be extremely difficult to fake.
However, some of the most compelling evidence comes from carefully viewing the famous Patterson-Gimlin film footage, that was shot in 1967 on the Klamath River outside of Orleans, California.
Almost everyone has seen this famous film footage of a large, black-haired, bipedal primate walking upright, and looking over her shoulder into the camera.
The creature walks like a human, with her arms swinging by her sides, and, from her large jiggling breasts, appears quite female.
If you haven’t seen this classic footage, you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7DFQwKlfnk
Contrary to the uninformed claims of vocal skeptics, the large hairy creature in this short film has never been properly identified, and fakery has largely been ruled out by special effects experts, as well as by experts in primate locomotion.
Whatever the creature in this film is, it is most definitely not a human being wearing an ape suit, as there are far too many well-established inconsistencies with this notion.
Primate location experts point how the flexing muscles in the legs are clearly visible, the length of the strides couldn’t be done by a human being, and special effects experts agree that this could not be faked in a 1967 film.
However, I have to admit that, despite all the compelling evidence, I do find it extremely odd that, after all these years, no indisputable proof has ever emerged that would completely convince a committed skeptic.
Strangely, and even more puzzling, are the substantial number of reports that combine Bigfoot sightings with weird paranormal phenomena, such as telepathic communications, geographic teleportations, and UFOs.
Primatologists who are open-minded to the possibility of Bigfoot being an unidentified, temperate forest primate often try to distance themselves from the more fringe group that reports psychic contact experiences with wise shamanic sasaquatches.
However, these “Sasquatch contactees” represent a significant portion of the population that reports Bigfoot sightings.
What’s even more intriguing, is that there’s a fair amount of mysterious phenomena that also falls into this strangely ambiguous category of unexplainable oddities, such as crop circles, cattle mutilations, and alien abductions.
If one reviews the documented evidence for these phenomena with an open mind, one is likely to become convinced that something really weird is going on--yet, despite extensive investigations, for some odd reason, definitive proof of what is really happening never seems to arrive.
I read an interesting book by Patrick Harper called Daimonic Reality, which gave me a unique perspective on these type of unexplained phenomena.
Harper pools together a number of commonly-known, unexplained phenomena, that have strongly compelling evidence to support their claims, yet never quite the definitive proof to convince a hard-nosed skeptic.
When presented together, in such detail, it almost seems like some kind of advanced alien intelligence is toying with us, as these strange phenomena that defy conventional scientific explanations are consistently reported by reliable witnesses.
Harper suggests that all of these phenomena are caused by mischievous beings that he calls “daimons,” who supposedly have the ability to travel between our world and another world--and have been interacting with humanity throughout our history in various archetypal guises, as angels, elves, fairies, aliens, and sasquatches.
Harper presents the intriguing view that the reason that extraterrestrials appear to us in the so-called “alien abduction phenomenon” as super-technologically-advanced, sterile, cold, scientific beings, merely interested in our medical nature are, in effect, parodying us.
According to Harper, these are daimons mocking us, by coming in a form that we would imagine our future to be like, and how our species treats other animals in our laboratories. They’re making fun of us, Harper suggests, in order to teach us an important lesson about where we’re headed.
I like this idea, and whether it’s true or not, I find it to be a satisfying explanation for understanding intriguing phenomena that I’m at a loss to explain.
So it may be possible that all these strange and unexplained phenomena are indeed hoaxes after all, but perhaps they’re pranks being initiated by something other than human beings.
I currently live in the Santa Cruz mountains of California, which is a hotbed for paranormal activity, and where there have been many reported Sasquatch sightings.
Not far down the road from where I live, in Felton, is the Bigfoot Discovery Museum, where the gathering that I attended took place.
This wonderful museum archives the sightings, photographs, recordings, and plaster-cast footprints from people who have seemingly encountered the mysterious bipedal creature.
To learn more about the Bigfoot Discovery Museum see: http://www.bigfootdiscoveryproject.com/
If you’re interested in reading about the psychic connections that people have reported with sasquatches, see Kewaunee Lapsertis’ book The Sasquatch People and Their Interdimensional Connection. Available from: www.sasquatchpeople.com
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But I agree that you would expect at least some trace of their former selves. I dunno, I just know I saw something that matches nothing known to be in the wild in that area nor any other critter I know about. It was large, brownish red, thin and rangy, with what looked to be molting hair streaming off it as it loped along. My first mental template was "horse" because it moved on all fours but I pretty quickly realized "that ain't no horse" largely because it wasn't articulated anything like a horse and didn't have horse's body plan. There was no bulky middle to it. I strongly felt that the front limbs were actually long arms being used on the ground to speed locomotion. Their articulation was simian, not eqiuine.
What's really weird is that even though I saw something that could only be what people talk about I remain of two minds about the possibility of its existence. There is too much logic, such as yours, that would seem to rule it out. Having a science background disallows my ignoring that logic. If there is a mundane explanation of what I saw I would just love to know it. :-)
The article makes unverified claims about human mitochondrial DNA in combination with unknown nuclear DNA in uncontrolled submitted hair samples as evidence of a human/Bigfoot "hybrid." This is unbridled, unscientific nonsense.
It serves no purpose for enlightenment of readers to deliberately provide the stuff of the Dark Ages. When will the Patch learn?
Science does not take anecdotes like mine to be nonsense, nor to be data. But neither does a good scientist ignore them. BTW, what you call my innate judgement is actually yours, not mine, and I doubt there is a whole lot of overlap.
Yes, my use of the word "simple" was off the mark. I really mean a rational explanation. I do understand science and the scientific method especially. I do understand observation and I do understand that one might proffer a theory about an observation and then see that theory tested. I also know that evidence is a very important part of the scientific method. Evidence, observation and repeatable testing of the theory. In the case of Big Foot, there has never been an verifiable test of the theory of a Big Foot. Why is this?
Please keep in mind that we are discussing what Don thinks he saw. That may be very different than what he saw. Without a verifiable repeat of the circumstances, there is no way to know. This is not a dismissal, nor a closed mind at work. No hubris.
In November 2012 it was reported that Meldrum was planning to build a blimp with thermal-imaging cameras to hunt for Bigfoot from the skies.[79] He says it will cost around US$300,000 to build and was seeking private donors.
I didn't run around yelling "Sasquatch" to anyone that would listen. In fact I only told one friend at the time and until the internet provided me anonymity I kept it to myself. Having said that, your point is very well taken nonetheless. :-)
"The scientific community discounts the existence of Bigfoot, as there is no evidence supporting the survival of such a large, prehistoric ape-like creature." Until the evidence is presented and verified, there is no reason to speculate on the reality of such an animal.
In the case of the Bigfoot, the evidence does not support the conclusion of a large unknown primate breeding population in North America. Science does not respond to "Read what I read and you'll believe as I believe."
I read your last post (9:05 pm on the 28th) where you indicated "With that I close." This note from me is not to engage further in discussion of the topic with you; it is merely to say how much I appreciate the opportunity to discuss and the opportunity to exchange views and information. My intent was not to "get you" on anything, because I feel discussion is not a competitive sport :o)
Why would a critical thinker want to read a book "to alter their mind?" Why would we want a society of mind-altered citizens, rather than a society of rational, critical thinkers, passing along understanding of the real world to help future generations live in the real world? I'll add here that as a Biologist I find the real world truly fascinating! I am awed and excited by reality. It is not dull stuff, the real world.
There is no evidence that a large primate breeding population exists in North America. North America has no indigenous primates, no biological or paleontological history of primates, no evidence that primates ever existed in North America at least, since the Pleistocene, 21,000 years ago. It is not up to me to present evidence of the non-existence of a large North American primate; one cannot prove non-existence. It is up to Bigfoot promoters to present verified evidence of the presence of a large North American primate. To date, no evidence of a large primate has been independently verified. There are no skeletons, no fossils, no remains, no samples that have been verified to come from an unknown primate species. Until such time as verified evidence is produced, Bigfoot does not exist.