Bigfoot
Region: Pacific Northwest, Global
Lead Investigator: Agent 20
Last Updated: 12 December 2024
- Sightings have been reported in almost every US state
- Over 10,000 reported Bigfoot sightings in the continental United States, 1/3 of those are in the Pacific Northwest
- Other names: Sasquatch, Yeti, Giant Hairy Ape
- Believed to be a species, not a singular creature
- Reported mostly in forested areas, but not exclusively
- Declared to be endangered species of Skamania County
Identification
- Skin color: black, charcoal, dark brown, reddish-brown, or grey. Palms of hands and soles of feet are much lighter.
- Average height: 7'10''
- Weight: 1000-2000 lbs
- Large footprints: 14''-22'', big toe aligned with other toes
- Banging or "tree knocking" often heard
- Mostly silent. Also known to howl, grunt, scream, and growl.
- Broken branches high up in trees
- Rocks neatly stacked
- Structures of broken and twisted foliage seemingly placed in specific areas
- Known to smash things over the head with rocks
- Reported omnivores
- May possess nocturnal tendencies
- Believed to live in family groups, reproducing every 7-9 years
Top Locations:
- Willow Creek, CA
- Six Rivers National Forest, CA
- Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Brief History
- 1811: First report of a potential Bigfoot footprint by explorer David Thompson in modern day Jasper, Alberta. The print was 14 by 8 inches, including 4 toes with claws.
- 1818: Oldest known report of a large, hairy, upright walking creature in a North American newspaper (New York).
- 1850s: Oldest known West Coast record. In the vicinity of Mt. St. Helens, a Bigfoot beckoned to a person who responded by turning and running. Reported by the person's daughter.
- 1924: Ape Canyon Incident
- 1958: Gerald Crew discovered and cast large footprints at Bluff Creek in Del Norte county, CA. The Humboldt Times covered the story, coining the name "Bigfoot". In 2003, two sons of Ray L. Wallace admitted their father created the footprints Crew found.
- 1967: Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin filmed the famous Bigfoot tape in Six Rivers National Forest. It is the only footage that has not been debunked.
- 2000: Skookum Cast taken in Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Proposed Explanations
- Misidentification of bears, escaped apes, humans (visual or audio)
- Pareidolia
- Hoaxes (See: 'Known Hoaxes' below)
- Gigantopithecus
- Extinct hominidae
Evidence For Existence of Bigfoot
- Countless encounters and reports spanning centuries
- Vast, uninhabited, and unexplored woodlands could "easily" hide existence of a species
- Jeffery Meldrum (Anatomy and Anthropology, Idaho State) examined casted footprints that suggested running motion that "would be very hard to fake".
- Dr. Wolf Henner Fahrenbach (Oregon Regional Primate Research Center) reported at least 15 hair samples that he has been unable to identify as any other animal.
Evidence Against Existence of Bigfoot
- In 2014, Oxford University research team analyzed reported Sasquatch hair samples. All turned out to be a mix of dog, bear, and human hair.
Known Hoaxes
A reproduction of the petroglyphs at Painted Rock.
1 January 1889. Agent 8. 10th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Other Resources
WWU Research in Cryptozoology: Bigfoot Resources
The Film That Made Bigfoot A Star - Patterson-Gimlin Film Analysis
Crypto Newsletter: Hominology Special I
Crypto Newsletter: Hominology Special II
Bigfoot Wikipedia
The Harrowing Hunt For Bigfoot
Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science - NPR Audio Clip and Transcript
If Bigfoot Were Real
In Search of Bigfoot
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved by Colin and Damon Wilson (2000)
See Also:
Yeti
Lockridge Monster
Yukon Beaver Eater
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