Monsters and Myths

Brian Vike believes he has photographic evidence that sasquatches exist.

No, he doesn’t have a photo of a sasquatch, but he does have a photo of a very large footprint.

The Houston, B.C.-based UFO researcher has developed a soft spot for the mythical furry creatures, and got an excited call last Sunday from the remote community of Moricetown.

“I made the 90-minute drive up there, and I was amazed at what I saw,” Vike told The Province. “I’ve been on some of those turkey runs, when there’s nothing to see.

“But there were footprints, 17-and-a-half inches in length, that went on for a long ways.

“The stride is three feet six inches from the front of the foot to the back of the heel.”

More tellingly for Vike, the snow around the prints was untouched.

“There were no tracks around to show that somebody was trying to pull a gag.”

Vike, who tracks UFO sightings, got even more excited when he found blood in one of the prints.

“I’m sending it off for testing in Saskatchewan and Ohio. We also have a hair sample.”

Sasquatches are allegedly ape-like beings that apparently are quite shy, since they don’t seem to interact with humans much.

Like the yeti and the ogopogo, sightings are frequently reported, but no conclusive proof of their existence has ever been found.

On the other hand, conclusive proof that they do not exist does not exist

theprovince.com/Technology/snaps+pictures+sasquatch+footprints+northern/1378636/story.html

Wednesday March 11th 2008 at 9PM / 8PM central on HISTORY.

High in the rugged wilderness of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains a large hairy creature is said to be preying on the elk and frightening residents. The stories date back centuries with the earliest settlers describing terrifying encounters with a large beast whose scream bellows across the hills. Even today ranchers and hikers report a monster they can’t explain that may be attacking their horses. MonsterQuest will sift through the evidence and determine what may be killing the elk. The aerial search ascends to 11,000 ft in search of fresh evidence that could lead to the creature; as the ground team scales the side of Pikes Peak to hunt for the legendary Snowbeast.

Background on the peak’s name:

Pikes Peak (originally Pike’s Peak, see below) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. The mountain was named after Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. (January 5, 1778 – April 27, 1813), an American soldier, explorer, and Freemason, whose Pike expedition, often compared to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, mapped much of the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase.

Pike was born in Lamberton, New Jersey, now a part of Trenton. His father, also named Zebulon Pike, was an officer in the Continental Army under General George Washington and served in the United States Army after the end of the Revolutionary War.

One famed ancestor of Zebulon Pike is John Pike (1613-1688/1689), who was a founder of Woodbridge, New Jersey and a judge and politician of the early colony of New Jersey.

During the period of exploration in Colorado, many would refer to the mountain as “Pike’s Peak,” after Zebulon Pike, the man who first documented it and attempted to climb to its summit. The attempt failed to reach the summit as it was made during the winter months. The snow drifts were reported chest high at the time of the climb.

Edwin James was successful to reach the summit in his attempt during a summer month’s attempt. Later, some suggested “James’ Peak,” after Edwin James, the first man who successfully climbed to the summit. However, in this area there was another “James’ Peak” which made identification of the peak a confusing issue. The name went back and forth until it was settled with a uniquely identifiable name.

Originally the peak was called “Pike’s Peak”, but in 1891, the newly-formed US Board on Geographic Names recommended against the use of apostrophes in names, so officially the name of the peak does not include an apostrophe. In addition, in 1978 the Colorado state legislature passed a law mandating the use of “Pikes Peak” only. Even so, the old name is often seen.

Several people make the mistake thinking that Pikes Peak was named after the shadowy Masonic figure Albert Pike, who was related to Zebulon, through their mutual ancestor John Pike.

Albert Pike (December 29, 1809–April 2, 1891) was an attorney, explorer, soldier, writer, and Freemason. Pike is the only Confederate military officer or figure to be honored with an outdoor statue in Washington, D.C. (in Judiciary Square).

Albert Pike was elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction in 1859. (Some have said that the Civil War was an occult battle between the northern and southern branches of Freemasonry.) He remained Sovereign Grand Commander for the remainder of his life (a total of thirty-two years), devoting a large amount of his time to developing the rituals of the order. Notably, he published a book called Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1871, of which there were several subsequent editions. Pike is still sometimes regarded in America as an eminent and influential Freemason.

Is Pikes Peak of significance to Masons?

In 1899, there was a small time capsule inserted into a rock atop Pikes Peak by 500 Masons - who arrived on a special train for the ceremony.

In 1999, on the 100th anniversary of that event, more than 200 Masons from Kansas and Colorado rode the Cog Railway to the summit of Pikes Peak, removed a small bronze plaque and withdrew the copper time capsule. They intended to put a new one in its place - to be opened in another 100 years - but they had misjudged the size of the hole cut into the rock by their 19th century colleagues, and the capsule didn’t fit.

In September 2000, a group of 22 Masons returned to the peak to discover that the bronze plaque atop the rock had been pried off and taken. In its place were several small capsules containing Scriptures and anti-Masonic statements.

The Masons reported the theft to rangers and then inserted their new stainless steel capsule into the flat, 10-foot-square rock, sealing it with concrete. The capsule, like the old one now on display in a Kansas bank, contains a Bible, an American flag, a list of Masons who made the trip and instruments such as a compass and ruler that have significance for the group, founded in the 1600s by European stonemasons.

cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/pikes-peak

IN SEARCH for the most elusive creature on earth, popularly known as Mande Burung in Garo Hills, History Channel came down all the way from USA to film a documentary on the series ‘Monster Quest’. This is for the first time that History Channel has filmed such a story in India.

The writer-producer, Bill William Prouty, renowned Primatologist, Esteban Sarmiento led the team along with cameraperson Aaron Acktenberg and Eli Ljung. Sarmiento have spent years researching the Bigfoot of North America and studied apes and primates of Africa.

The team visited Chokpot, Silkigre, Siju, Rongsu and Rongrigittim villages and interviewed eyewitnesses and villagers, who had encountered the monster giant. They also visited Nokrek National Park, and other adjoining areas where the Mande Burung is believed to have sighted.

Sarmiento, the accompanying Primatologist, examined the eyewitness reports, collected evidences and animal movements from the deep dark forests of Garo Hills.

The camera crew was fully equipped with various types of cameras and electronic gadgets including solar powered motion activated cameras, GPRS based digital still camera, GPS - global positioning system, high definition professional broadcast cameras, animal scent baits, electronic animal baits, etc.

Eminent personalities from Garo Hills and experts on issues related to Garo Hills Dr Milton M. Sangma, Llewellyn R. Marak and others were interviewed. “We are happy with the scenic beauty of Garo Hills, and the hospitality and friendliness of the Garo people,” said the producer Bill William Prouty, satisfied with the shoot.

The Centaur Adventure Team accompanied the History Channel for the filming. Dipu Marak, a Mande Burung enthusiast said, “We have provide the channel with all the video tapes of the earlier sighting, photographs, bone samples, few strands of suspected hair sample and blood sample for DNA testing and identifications.”

merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15720349

One of the things that surprised me the most when I started investigating UFO sightings and other related phenomena was the realization that there are different species of extraterrestrials being reported. This would make sense, though, if you consider the vastness of the universe, and incorporate the multi-verse theory championed by Dr. Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist with City College of New York. What does all of this mean, though?

In a February 5, 2009 CNN article entitled “Galaxy may be full of ´Earths´, alien life”, researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland estimate through computer models that there could be between 361 and 38,000 civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy alone. Factor in a whole universe full of civilizations, as well as the possible existence of more than one universe, the total could be off the charts. Current thinking by Ufologists (scientists who investigate the UFO and Extraterrestrial Hypothesis) is that one, if not several, of these civilizations are monitoring the inhabitants of our planet, and doing so in a covert way to avoid wide-scale confrontation. Of course, such efforts should be effortless for a civilization with the technology to travel between planets.

So, let´s assume that more than one civilization is traveling on a constant basis through our planetary neighborhood. It would be ridiculous to believe that all species of alien would appear the same, and would look similar to us. Of the millions of species native to this planet alone, there is great variety.

The best intelligence available on multiple civilizations visiting Earth is derived from those victimized people called “Contactees” and “Abductees” or “Abduction Experiencers”, since they have had direct contact. Descriptions of three and a half foot tall grey aliens barely scratch the surface. Other descriptions include a reptilian-like species, a “Nordic”-like humanoid species with a height of between 7 and 8 feet with blond hair and blue almond shaped or slanted eyes, and several robot-like classes that may resemble a humanoid or box-shape with antennae, which many in Brazil have termed “Chupas” or “chupa-chupa”, meaning “the sucker” for its reputation for taking blood specimens from its victims.

The species that attracted the most attention from me is the large, hairy anthropoid, commonly referred to as “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch” and believed to be a previously uncatalogued animal species. There have been thousands of sightings of this species throughout the centuries and from hundreds of countries. Most sightings of this anthropoid involve accidental sightings from a distance as they walk through a densely wooded and generally uninhabited area. Cryptozoologists (scientists who study previously unknown and uncatalogued species of animal) are constantly criticized due to the lack of a Bigfoot body or bones being found. Sometimes it seems the only place Bigfoot does exist is on film!

Some recent sightings have included an anthropoid exiting a spacecraft or stepping through a ring or portal hovering just above the ground. Native American mythology speaks of the ability by the Sasquatch to disappear right in front of your eyes. Native Americans around the state of Utah refer to the Sasquatch as a “Skinwalker”, a demon spirit which has taken human-like form. This has been documented in the book Hunt for the Skinwalker by Dr. Colm Kelleher, PhD, formerly Deputy Administrator of the National Institute of Discovery Science, and investigative reporter George Knapp of KLAS-TV, both based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Factoring in the theory of multi-verses, both of these methods, spacecraft and portal-travel, could be transportation from Point A to Point B in the same universe, from Point A to Point A in different universes, or Point A to Point B in different universes. On top of the possibility that Bigfoot could still be a resident of planet Earth, this means that it could be from another planet, or another universe altogether.

This flies in the face of the belief that Bigfoot is an animal, suggesting instead that it is an intelligent, extraterrestrial entity.

A measure of intelligence and a manner of entry and exit from a sighting area goes far in explaining why Bigfoot has only been accidentally seen and sometimes opportunistically photographed.

This supposition would confound pseudo-skeptics who continue to insist and sometimes to bank their credibility upon the premise that Bigfoot does not exist. It would also go a long way to explain why the smartest species on this planet (presumably Humans) has been unable to substantiate adequately for scientific research the existence of the elusive Bigfoot!

Science believes that a lot could be learned upon the discovery and documentation of a previously unknown species. In this case, though, Cryptozoologists and Ufologists believe a wealth of information could be obtained beyond what science currently expects.
americanchronicle.com/articles/view/92763

An Analysis
By Noah David Henson

A note from the author: My name is Noah David Henson. I’ve been studying human muscular and skeletal anatomy since 1984, both as a professional illustrator and as a student of physical anthropology. I studied collegiate anthropology, including primatology and human evolution, from 1988 – 1993, with enough hours to establish a minor in the subject attendant to my BFA from Texas State University. I’ve been examining the bigfoot phenomenon, skeptically and with an emphasis on the aforementioned skills, in earnest since 2003. My intellectual interest in the subject goes back to my childhood in the 1970s and 80s.

This paper constitutes a skeptical analysis of a digitized, B&W video version of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film available on youtube, here (and embedded above). It’s 1:06 (m:s) in length, as posted by Youtube member Squatchinc on December 23, 2007, sourcing a digitally restored and enhanced video made by MK Davis.

This paper also references Part Two of the 1997 NASI Report on bigfoot, written by J. Glickman, Part Two, available at bigfootencounters.com.

Here is a breakdown of the progression of the 1:06 video, of which only the first thirty-three seconds are of interest for the purposes of this paper:

• :01 - :04 – Forward-then-reverse playback of the figure in forward ambulation
• :05 - :06 – Figure in forward ambulation
• :07 - :12 – Freeze-frame : Extreme close-up of figure’s facial profile (no crown visible)
• :13 - :17 – Freeze-frame : Extreme close-up of figure’s frontal face (with visible crown)
• :18 – :20 – Figure in forward ambulation with arms spread, turning back to look at camera
• :21 – :23 – Forward-then-reverse playback of figure in forward ambulation
• :24 - :26 – Figure in forward ambulation behind and between two vertical white trees
• :27 - :30 – Extreme close-up of figure’s right hand, with visible thumb flexion
• :31 - :33 – Figure in forward ambulation

For anyone interested in investigating the possibility that this film might depict a man in a suit, I recommend watching the video several times, finger depressing the pause button in various spots along the progression so as to examine the gait, musculature, limb proportions, and the distribution of hair — all of which, to my trained eye, appear to be non-human and which taken together exclude the possibility of a person in costume.

The most compelling frames for examining the footage occur at :13 – the frontal face close-up – at :18 – the upper-torso turn-back with arms spread – from :21 to :23 – in which a close analysis of the back muscles and hip muscles can be undertaken – and from :27 to :30 in which the thumb can clearly be seen to flex.

:13 is compelling because it shows the figure’s right eye (viewer’s left), along with the nose, lips, jaw, cheeks, crown and a hint of ear. If this is a mask it is most ingenious. First, it doesn’t look like a mask of any known primate; non-human primates have very thin lips and wide nostrils, but here the figure is shown to have thick, bulbous lips and no visible nostrils. These features discount the possibility, at least, that the “mask”, if it is indeed such, was store-bought or mail-ordered. If it is a mask, it was custom-made by a hoaxer(s), which at this point in examining the film, the author must concede is certainly a possibility.

:18 is compelling because it reveals the figure’s two pendulous breasts, and is an excellent frame by which to measure the length of the arms. The visible breasts once more make it highly unlikely that this could be a suit, unless the hoaxer(s) was so ingenious as to add mammary glands to a suit that did not originally have them (as no store-bought suit would have), in order to depict a creature that until that time had only been reported in the media as being male. It must be admitted, however, that such ingenuity is possible, if unlikely.

It is the length of the arms, taken together with the visible thumb flexion (at :27, discussed below) that I consider the single most convincing feature of this figure. In anthropology a measurement called the Intermembral index (IM) is used to convey the proportion of the arms in relation to the legs. In humans, this IM is typically about 70. Chimps have an IM of about 107, and gorillas 117 (these numbers can be verified at various sites around the web). The figure in the film has a measurable IM of between 85 and 90 [Green, 2004].

Another way of looking at the arm length is to compare its length to the overall size of the body. The NASI report written by J. Glickman scientifically and unequivocally establishes the height of the figure at 7?3?. Here is how Glickman calculated that height (edited and summarized by the author from the NASI report; Glickman is quoted in quotation marks):

An accurate spatial reference has been established from research photographs taken by Byrne and Hodgson in 1972 at the Bluff Creek site [Byrne, 1972]. In one photo, NASI’s Fig. 4, Hodgson is standing behind a fallen tree trunk that is also visible in the Patterson film, holding a vertical scale measuring stick that is marked every six inches. In this photo, Hodgson’s feet are visible and he is in the same 2-axis (that is, two-point perspective) plane as the vertical scale. His height can scientifically be established as just over 6 feet. In a separate reference photo taken by Byrne, Hodgson is seen moving through a 2-axis image plane that the subject moves through in frame 326.

“Since the height of Hodgson has been established and since he is in the same 2-axis plane as the subject, Hodgson’s height may be used to measure the subject’s height provided that the scale of the two photographs can be matched.

“Both images contain a dead tree, the size of which has not changed during the intervening five years which is used to match the scales of the two photographs. During scaling, three points were used to validate that the tree had not changed size.

“Figure 6 is a digital composite of the film subject and Hodgson in the same image plane with a common image scale established by the dead tree. Note the successful planar alignment of the feet in this matched scale composite. Hodgson’ height in pixels in 276, and the height of the film subject is 327. A simple ratio is used to compute the size of the film subject:

276 pixels / 327 pixels  = 6’1¾” / x . Therefore, x =  6’1¾” X (327 pixels / 276 pixels.

Thus the computed height of the subject in the P/G film is 7’3½”. An error analysis has not yet been undertaken, but in other similar forensic situations it is typically +/-  1”.

Using the height of 7’3” as a scale reference, Glickman calculates an arm height of 161 pixels, or 43”. The standard arm length of a 7’3” human is 38.5” [Winters 1990]. The subject’s arm-to-height ratio is thus measured at .49H, when the standard human number is .44H [Winters 1990]. The percentage of the global human population who possesses this arm-to-height ratio is quoted as 1 out of 52.5 million people [Weimer 1993]. Combined with the height of the figure and the comparatively short length of the legs, the percentage of the human population who could have all three of these unusual features — extended arm length, contracted leg length and astonishing height — becomes so astronomical as to be statistically impossible. The only explanation is that the figure is either 1) an uncatalogued animal, or 2) an extremely ingenious, expensive and well-crafted suit.

Glickman notes:

“This suggests that if the subject is a human in a costume then some form of arm prosthesis is in use. Finger and hand flexion is observed in the film [see :27, below] which implies the prosthesis must support flexion. The use of such a sophisticated prosthesis appears to be at odds with the year the film was made, the technology available at that time, and the financial resources of those involved with the filming.”

:21 to :23 are compelling because here we can closely analyze the figure’s back muscles and hip muscles, which not only can be seen sliding over the figure’s underlying skeletal structure, but which expand and contract in a realistic fashion. There is no known mechanism by which a suit manufactured in 1967 — by Hollywood professionals such as John Chambers, let alone by a couple of middle-income amateurs — could effect the illusion of shifting, expanding muscles. It simply could not be and was not done at the time. All Hollywood suits up until the 1970s were shapeless, baggy, and/or loose-hanging suits with no visible musculature. (Even big-budget ape movies of the 1980s, such as Greystoke and Gorillas in the Mist, with expensive and articulated suits developed by industry greats Rick Baker and Stan Winston, respectively, do not depict muscular action seen in the Patterson-Gimlin film.) Also of note is the distinct lack of any material folding, rippling or wrinkling. There is no known material, outside of animal or human skin, which does not create visible folds as it is bent by the limbs which it covers.

:27 to :30 are compelling because, as noted above in the section on arm length, we can clearly see the thumb flexing. There is no known prosthetic device, available in 1967, which could have effected such flexion inside of a costume or suit. Such technology simply did not exist. The only conclusion based on the evidence is that this is a real arm and hand, and not a costume or suit. Since the proportions of that arm are non-human (again, see above), the only conclusion can be the film depicts a non-human figure.

Reviewing the seventeen seconds of video discussed above, we can see at least two compelling features of the hair: One, it is variable in both length and density — that is, in some places, such as the lower torso (or external oblique area, just above the hip), the hair is short and sparse, whereas in others, such as the arm, the hair is long and thick. And two, the hair is variable in color. This can be seen even in the black-and-white video under review here, in which the shades of gray vary even under direct sunlight (that is, without shadows being cast upon it). There is no known ape costume, available in 1967 or for a decade or more following, which depicts hair in shifting densities, length and coloration. All Hollywood ape costumes, until Rick Baker and Carlo Rambaldi’s work on King Kong in 1975, were of uniform hair length, density and coloration.

My conclusion, after analysing the film footage countless times, employing a degree of expertise in human and primate anatomy, and examining critically the analyses of forensics expert J. Glickman of NASI, among others, is that the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film does not and cannot depict a human being in a costume. It is a real, as-yet uncatalogued animal, most likely a primate of either pongid (ape-like) or hominid (human-like) taxonomic classification, that resides, or once resided, somewhere in the millions of square miles of human-uninhabited forests of the Pacific Northwestern United States and Canada.

anomalymagazine.com/2009/03/02/the-patterson-gimlin-film-an-analysis

FAIRFIELD — It’s big, it’s hairy, and it’s been sighted in Jefferson County. Just don’t call it bigfoot.

“I’m not saying that is what it is by any means. I just had somebody call this office and report that is what they’d seen,” said Shawn Morrissey, operations and natural resource manager for Jefferson County Conservation.

Morrissey has received two reports of a large biped roaming the Skunk River valley on the eastern side of the county in as many years.

The first report came during the summer of 2007, and the second during the fall of last year.

The most recent caller claimed to have waited several months to contact officials after seeing what he described as a large hairy beast walking on two legs.

“It was pretty wishy-washy,” Morrissey said. “It’s my own personal feeling they saw something that tricked their eyes and was a very explainable animal.”

Morrissey said a more probable explanation would be the person saw a horse or a hunter wearing a Ghillie Suit, a type of a camouflage that can look like it’s covered in hair.

“I’m not going to say they didn’t (see something). But I think the more likely thing is they saw something in a flash or at a strange angle,” Morrissey said.

The sightings have not been investigated by county officials. Morrissey said he did not know the names of those who made the reports.

It’s unlikely a large fur-covered biped could play hide and seek in Iowa wilderness and remain undocumented. The state simply doesn’t have enough large stretches of timber where such a creature could live, Morrissey said.

“This is a very populated state really. There aren’t any big chunks of wilderness,” he said.

And during the winter when trees are stripped of their leaves, the ground is wide open to any plane passing overhead.

“Most actual animals have some kind of physical evidence,” Morrissey added.

However, common sense hasn’t stopped Sasquatch from popping up all over the state.

The Bigfoot Field Research Organization Web site, www.bfro.net, lists 40 bigfoot sightings in Iowa dating back to 1970, three of which come from Jefferson County, and one from Lee County.

thehawkeye.com/Story/bigfoot-030209

It seems so long ago that a couple of chancers from the state of Georgia declared that they had found Bigfoot. And it seems almost as long ago that it was discovered that they had merely purloined a gorilla suit and stuck it in a freezer.

However, one of the most renowned naturalists in the world, Sir David Attenborough, said this weekend that he still believes it might be out there.

Appearing with British talk show host Jonathan Ross, Sir David, the man whose whispering voice has never disturbed even the most skittish bird, said, “I’m baffled by the Abominable Snowman–very convincing footprints have been found at 19,000 feet. No-one does that for a joke.”

I find myself on my knees and differing. Perhaps people might not do it only for a joke, but, as the Georgian scoundrels, Messrs. Dyer and Whitton, proved, you might be suppressing a giggle as you’re reaching for a large wad of paper money.

However, if Sir David believes that it’s out there, someone should really grab a few of the brightest and most underemployed enthusiasts around, and hike the Himalayas until they find the hairy beast.

Perhaps we could have a reality show in which two sets of teams are given a seemingly impossible task, and the first to achieve its goal wins $5 million and a mortgage.

I have a name for it: “Bin Laden or Bigfoot?” I think that I’ll call Fox right now and pitch it.

news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10184835-71.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

WEST BRANCH - An illusion of the light, a figment of the shadows, a trick played on a travel-weary eye?

Hard telling.

A quick glimpse was all that Phil Shaw and his wife ever received, but he was certain of this much: The creature that crossed the forest clearing stood upright, was much larger than a man and moved in a way that was definitely non-human.

“There was an opening in the trees and this guy was just going across there,” says Shaw. “She and I looked at each other and at the same time we said, ‘Did you see what I saw?’

“We didn’t see any hair or clothes, like you would on a human. And he had a funny gait, which is often the case in a Bigfoot sighting; people say their movements are not quite human.”

That was three years ago during a family vacation to the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

Returning home to Ogemaw County, Carol Shaw put the beastly episode out of her mind, claiming one of those first three possibilities probably holds the truth.

But not Phil Shaw.

Three years worth of studies and interviews have only strengthened his belief that Bigfoot is lurking out there.

“I’m just intrigued by the possibility that Bigfoot is real, I guess,” Shaw says, noting there are more than 100 recorded sightings in Michigan. “I’m convinced there is something to this. There is far more evidence to prove there is a Bigfoot than there is evidence to suggest that there is not.”

Shaw is not shy when it comes to discussing Bigfoot. He’ll deliver a presentation to any group that invites him. Still, he is well aware that most folks don’t take the idea of a 700-pound, ape-like creature running through the local forest too seriously.

“I think people are spooked by it,” he says. “I don’t know why - I’m not talking religion, I’m not talking politics, I’m not talking sex. Why should they be spooked? You can tell they are embarrassed because they try to change the subject.”

He admits that the Bigfoot phenomenon attracts more than its share of charlatans and frauds, such as the rubber-ape suit frozen in ice that was presented to the world last fall during a nationally televised press conference. Perpetrators of those frauds cast an air of suspicion over those seeking honest answers and legitimate discussion about Bigfoot’s possibility, Shaw said.

Yet enough legitimate evidence, published books and articles and first-hand accounts exist that Shaw can’t dismiss the idea of an unknown giant ape living in relative isolation among us.

“There are a limited number of motion pictures and films. We have photographs. We have footprints and hand castings - there are thousands of those,” Shaw says. Add to that body impressions, scat and hair samples, beds and structures and, the way Shaw sees it, the evidence points to the existence of Bigfoot.

What’s more, the group of believers is growing ever larger and includes anthropologists, biologists and wildlife experts.

Nationally, there are more than 5,000 claimed sightings and similar creatures are a world-wide phenomenon stretching back centuries. Counting the notorious Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest, Florida’s skunk ape, Ohio’s grassmen, the Himalayan yeti and others, Bigfoot is part of a very large family, too.

Still, those who claim to see Bigfoot are often met with derision. Shaw, retired from the federal Farmers Home Administration, says the only reason he dares to speak out is “because I don’t have a boss that can fire me.”

“You can’t blame people for not saying anything,” Shaw said. “A lot of these sightings go back 10, 15, 20 years. They say, ‘I mentioned it to my family and they ridiculed me so much I never mentioned it again.’ And for every one that comes forward, there are 10 or 15 sightings that are never told.”

By Shaw’s argument, the creatures prevent detection by residing remotely, often in swamps and mountain ranges. And he feels they are closer to apes than man - bipedal with lots of hair, good night vision, mainly herbivore. Close encounters indicate they smell bad, a completely understandable result of their swamp environment, Shaw says.

Those who have heard vocalizations, including locals, call them haunting.

The sound they make is long and low, but it can be quite loud,” Shaw said.

“If they’re intelligent at all, and I think they are, they could remain undetected,” Shaw says. “They’re very shy, like a bear, and it’s lucky they are. If they offended one of us, we’d get up a posse and go out and kill them.”

Shaw has been part of a posse before, though he wasn’t looking to bag a Bigfoot. But the Bigfoot Field Research Organization, a scientific research group, does hold organized expeditions across the country. Shaw participated in one that took a group of Bigfoot believers through the Upper Peninsula woods on an unsuccessful search for the creature.

Sooner or later someone will meet with success, Shaw says, and deliver hard evidence - an irrefutable photograph, a video or DNA evidence. In the meantime, the Internet has expanded the capacity for scientists, backyard researchers and Bigfoot believers to communicate and share ideas.

It also has become a way for first-time observers, many of whom previously either did not believe or gave the legend no thought, to share their stories.

Until, like Shaw, they saw a Bigfoot for themselves.

“People should be more open minded; that’s my conclusion,” Shaw said. “If anyone is out in the woods, take a camera. You might only have a minute or two, but that might be enough time to get a photo.”

mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/02/despite_skeptics_west_branch_b.html

Kemerovo (Russia), Feb 19: A group of people led by the Russian Orthodox Bishop of Kemerovo and a regional official set out Thursday in search of a bigfoot sighted by hunters in Tashtagol area in Russia, a regional spokesman said.

Earlier this week, the Kemerovo regional administration released a report that local hunters had spotted “some hairy humanoid creatures with a height of 1.5-2 metres near the Azass Cave on Mount Shoriya. The report was illustrated with a photograph from inside the cave showing the track of an unidentified creature.

“From the nearest village of Ust-Kabyrz, the bishop, regional head and a group of others will reach the Azass Cave by the only transportation possible: snowmobiles,” the spokesman told RIA Novosti.

According to the head of the department of anthropology at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology in Moscow, anthropologists have never seen or studied the body of a bigfoot or yeti, although there are numerous reports of their sightings throughout the world.

He also noted that yetis for some reason are always spotted singularly, which is “biological nonsense”, as a large population must exist in order to create generation after generation. According to the anthropologist, Earth has been studied so thoroughly that if a population of yeti existed it would have been confirmed.

The Kemerovo regional spokesman said a scientific expedition is being organized for the summer to investigate the sighting. The financial details of the expedition are being worked out and there are already many enthusiasts, businessmen and hunters ready to help.

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