Finding the Real Bigfoot
Adventure Time in Americas Forests and Parks
Photo Credit: U.S. Forest Service
Disclaimer: The Outdoors are dangerous. You can be seriously hurt, killed and eaten; possibly all three!!! Only experienced outdoors people should ever venture off trails and then only in groups; prepared and armed against 2 and 4 legged predators. Liberal "Tree Huggers" taste just as good as NRA Life Members, animals don't care what you believe. Be Safe.
TV Fun and Games
Photo Credit: The Meme Guy
So we have all seen the (non) reality TV Shows where entire film crews go out into the forest looking for Bigfoot, Dogmen, Mothmen and the elusive "Fill-in The Blank Man".
They make a bunch of noise, claim to hear stuff and see stuff and we get to stare at their mostly ugly mugs for 42 minutes between commercial breaks. All-in-all it's like watching the 3 Stooges only not as funny.
Photo Credit: http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/
Various imitators have arrived to flood our TV screens with different versions of the same show. The only thing they have in common is zero real success at finding anything.
I don't blame the cast and crews; after all its good work, if you can get it. Residual income is nice to have too.
The Reality of Reality
Now let's put the Modern World aside for a minute. Ask yourself, where did these stories of "Wild-Men, Mountain Monkeys, Ape Men", etc. actually originate?
Until October 17, 1902, the African Mountain Gorilla was completely unknown, so North American Settlers and Native Americans would not have known about them until well after the "Wild West" was completely settled.
Despite the absence of the Great Apes from the contemporary lexicon; both Native Americas and Settlers reported stories and legends of something "Man-Like" in the woods.
The First Europeans Arrive
Photo Credit: Leif Eriksson Discovers America by Hans Dahl (1849-1937)
In 986 AD, Norse Legend, Leif Ericson landed on the shores of North America, becoming the first modern European to report the discovery of America. A full 506 years before Christopher Columbus arrived.
Leif and his men reported encountering a large man-like beast, that towered above them. The creature was described as being covered in hair, horribly ugly, swarthy with great black eyes. The creature was reported to be foul smelling with a deafening scream.
It should be noted that this "creature" as described was completely different in comparison to the Native Americans they also encountered and described.
Probable Probabilities
Belief is not Science and Faith is not a Strategy.
Science is quick to dismiss that which they can not see, hold and analyze. The Scientific Method requires evidence.
On the other hand, an archaeologist that doesn't actually dig for relics will predictably not find anything. The same is true of a wildlife biologists; who does not search to discover anything new, but only researches what is known.
In fairness to academics, the majority of their time is spent in offices, classrooms and on the lecture circuit. Actual time in the field is very limited.
Politics of Conformity
Photo Credit: goldenageestate
Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low.
Fear of being ridiculed and laughed at; more importantly losing funding and grants, prevents researchers from taking chances and stifles debate in all academic disciplines and retards progress. The public believes the opposite and only sees and hears from the "Rebels" when they are proven right and hailed as "Heroes", by their former detractors, who use success to attract additional funding for the University.
Getting along, not making waves and "rocking the boat" are sometimes good career strategies for those in the University system.
The Rise of the Amateur
Science Abhors a Vacuum
Photo Credit: Frame 352-Public Domain
In 1967, Roger Patterson & Bob Gimlin, set out on horse back to capture film of the elusive Bigfoot, that was widely reported in the area by construction crews and others who had found footprints.
The 59.5 seconds of film that they captured at Bluff Creek, California is still disputed and ridiculed to this day. Interestingly, both men thought the film would lead to serious scientific inquiry. They were wrong.
Contemporaneously, both Disney Studios and Universal Studios stated that either they would be unable to duplicate the film or that it would require the development of new techniques and a considerable expenditure of funds.
So far, no one has been able to duplicate the film with the materials available at the time or with modern non-CGI effects.
Although thousands of people have searched in the decades since the film, no one has been able to collect any verified physical evidence.
Vastness that is hard to Comprehend
North America is Beyond Big
To put this is perspective for our European friends; the United Kingdom; composed of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland covers 60 Million acres.
This is divided into 42 million acres for agriculture, 12 million for woods, moors and other "wild" areas. The UK's 65 million inhabitants are mostly concentrated in only 6 million urban acres.
In contrast,the United States covers 2.3 Billion acres. Out of a population of 320 million people, 75% lives in only 3% of the land area, mostly concentrated in urban areas, like in the UK. (Canada would add an additional 2.4 Billion acres with forests accounting for 42% of the total).
The area actually covered by U.S. Forests is composed of 747 million acres or over 12.8 times the entire UK land area!!! Needless to say this is a really, really large area, most of which never sees a human foot step.
Therefore the probability that unknown animals still exist in North America would seem to be quite high. Certainly a large primate could remain undiscovered, if it inhabited remote areas of this vast wilderness and sought to avoid contact with man, like most other wildlife.
Hey, I found Bigfoot on my Summer Vacation
Looking in the right places
Most would agree that if you're looking for Whales, rivers would not be the best place to look. Not all water is the same. Whales are found throughout the World's Oceans, but you could sail across the vast Pacific Ocean and never see a single one.
Photo Credit: 500Px
You need to look in the right spots. Travel to the Sea of Cortez in the Winter and Spring time and you will see Grey Whales, Blue Whales, Right Whales, Sperm Whales, plus Minke, Pilot, Humpback and Fin Whales, all concentrated in a relatively small breeding area. Come at the wrong time of year and you may not see any whales at all.
Humans tend to inhabit the same areas even when they go to the wilderness. Trails, camp grounds, parking lots, boat ramps and roads are mostly where you will find humans in the forest areas. In contrast, most animals will avoid areas of human occupation, although there are exceptions. People rarely venture off trails for a lot of good reason; like not getting lost, hurt or killed. Plus "bush-wacking", blazing new trails is not most people's idea of a fun holiday in the woods.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
If encounters occur between humans and large predators or the mythical Bigfoot, they are often by chance, with neither party aware of the other until within visual range. The vast majority of of sightings of Bigfoot are simply by accident.
The Search Starts in Outer Space
Google Maps to the Rescue
Like all animals Bigfoot leaves its mark on the environment. Luckily for researchers today, some of the evidence is actually visible from space.
One of the pioneers in locating habitat has been Nathan Reno of Utah Sasquatch. Take a look at the video below and he will show you what to look for and why, using Google Earth.
How to Find Bigfoot in One Day
Go where the Sasquatches Go
Rather than wandering around in the vast wilderness, hoping to get lucky, we now actually have an effective tool to narrow the search and focus our efforts.
If you plan on going camping this season, give Google Earth a try and see what there is to see. You never know what you might find. Besides, isn't it time you created your own Camp Fire stories describing your adventures in the woods?
Who knows, maybe you just might land yourself a lucrative TV contract.
Be safe, smile and have fun.
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