An Analysis of the Bigfoot Phenomena

In analyzing the Bigfoot phenomena, I consider each piece of evidence independently from all of the other data and I state my confidence in the validity of each topic individually. My conclusions are shown in red.

Note that it takes only one of the elements of the evidence to be true, for the entire Bigfoot phenomena to be settled once and for all. I believe that taken in its entirety, the data overwhelmingly indicates that there is a very high probability that Bigfoot does exist.

I Believe in Bigfoot, but I do not KNOW that it exists. My Working Theory is:

"There exists around the globe a genus of bipedal hominins which have avoided scientific discovery. These creatures are positioned between chimpanzees and humans in terms of intellectual capabilities with greater than 98% of their DNA structure being identical to humans. The intelligence level of these animals is high enough for them to purposefully avoid detection, for the most part. There is significant variability in the physical traits in these creatures based upon their global distribution, much the same as the various species of bear. Governments around the globe may be purposefully withholding information about these creatures due to the wide variety of impacts their existence would have on the public."

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence in my theory.

What Will be Required for Bigfoot to be Accepted by Main-Stream Science as a New Species?

Per the late Dr. Jeff Meldrum, a scientific paper is written by the person proposing the theory and is submitted for peer review by fellow scientists who are highly qualified in the field.

There is not a well-defined process for submitting a proposal to science for accepting a new species. No team of scientists is just waiting to review these papers. This makes the review process slow and cumbersome.

Ultimately, the acceptance of a new species relies on scientific consensus. If other taxonomists and biologists agree with the published findings and begin using the new name in their work, it is fully adopted by the scientific community. If the evidence is deemed insufficient, the name may fall into disuse or be reclassified later by other researchers. Ultimately, the acceptance of a new species relies on scientific consensus. If other taxonomists and biologists agree with the published findings and begin using the new name in their work, it is fully adopted by the scientific community. If the evidence is deemed insufficient, the name may fall into disuse or be reclassified later by other researchers.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that no-one has submitted a scientific paper that has been accepted by the experts in the field.

The late Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University created "The Relic Hominid Inquiry" website as a repository for scientific papers on this and related topics. https://www.isu.edu/rhi/

The objective of the RHI is to promote research and provide a refereed venue for the dissemination of scholarly peer-reviewed papers exploring and evaluating the possible existence and nature of relict hominoid species around the world.

Conclusion: The information in this website provides very highly qualified analysis of the Bigfoot and related phenomena; but nothing conclusive has been published, yet.

In reality, the only evidence that will be accepted as proof is a substantial piece of, or a complete body. One limitation of DNA is that there needs to be a known entity to reference the DNA against. Just testing the DNA does not result in being able to say: "It's a Bigfoot!".

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence that this has not happened yet.

It is important to note that virtually no-one participating in the so-called on "Bigfoot Expeditions" ever writes and submits scientific papers describing their findings. This is a big red flag. If someone is truly researching Bigfoot, then I would expect them to share their findings in great detail. Not reporting beyond the YouTube videos indicate to me nothing earth shattering has been found.

Conclusion: I have 25% confidence in any evidence "discovered" by teams making YouTube videos due to nothing having been submitted for scientific review.

Has Bigfoot Been Recognized by Science as a New Species?

Per the late Dr. Jeff Meldrum, “I can’t say I’m 100%, that wouldn’t be an honest position because we don’t have the conclusive evidence … but I wouldn’t have dedicated much of my career, my reputation on this question if I wasn’t very early on quite convinced on the basis of the evidence I had examined.”

Dr. Melba Ketchum submitted her findings of her DNA analysis: "Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies". It was generally unaccepted by scientists, but again, who has the "authority" to say yes or no? I could not find a definitive statement stating that her research was accepted or rejected; and if it was rejected, but why?

I read a great article by John Timmer. He is Ars Technica's science editor. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. His opinion was that Dr. Ketchum made the decision that Bigfoot was real, and then looked for any evidence that would support this theory. This is the reverse logic of how science works. It appears that there were simply too many inconsistencies in her team's data collection and analysis methods to convince other experts of their conclusions. Her team seemed to not follow standard genetic analysis methods and drew some massive conclusions based upon limited data - other scientists were not able to accept those methods and results. The journal that her team's results were published in: De Novo, consisted of only the one issue that the paper was published in. It was not a main-stream journal.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that mainstream science has not accepted Bigfoot as a biological species.

There is a conspiracy theory that the US government is purposely supressing any proof of Bigfoot. Reasons range from the public being scared to shutting down industry in the forest to protect the endangered Bigfoot population.

Conclusion: I am uncertain about this, but it would not surprise me.

What Evidence Exists for Proving Their Existence?

My own experiences:

The single, clear footprint we found at 8,100 foot elevation on West Mountain in coarse decomposed granite soil, approximately 1 mile from the nearest road or trail at the time. There is a trail there now.

Conclusion: I have 90% confidence that the track I saw was a Bigfoot track

A possible daytime sighting just north of Hilltop Café, Idaho of a completely black, bipedal creature climbing arm-over-arm up a road cut. The object was a uniform dark black head to foot. However, it was at a location with people in the area and the creature's size was within human range.

Conclusion: I have 30% confidence that the figure I saw was a Bigfoot

A very clear "Whoop" that I heard just north of Placerville, Id. I heard it very clearly from inside my car (with the windows down); and I am very hard of hearing.

Conclusion: I have 95% confidence that what I heard was a Bigfoot call

Trackway of very large prints in the snow near top of old White Bird Hill, which is beyond the current summit of White Bird Hill.

Conclusion: I have 25% confidence that the trackway was a Bigfoot

Very disturbing sensation I experienced which could have been Bigfoot ultrasonics. I experienced these feelings at Blue Lake, Idaho and along the Kleinschmidt Grade, Idaho .

Conclusion: I have 25% confidence that what I experienced was due to Bigfoot

Broken trees found at multiple locations, but primarily in very northern California.

Conclusion: Uncertain.

A clutch of about a dozen broken eggshells in a pile, and partially stacked on one another, near Discovery Park, Boise

Conclusion: Uncertain, but a very strange find.

A circle of rocks with a square of sticks inside it, with a triangle of sticks inside that, with a cross of sticks inside that. Found at 9,100 foot elevation above Goat Lake, Idaho. There were almost identical structures documented by Joan Ocean. This "shrine" was found at an extremely remote location. To get there, you drive 100 miles NE from Boise on pavement. Then you drive 50 miles north on a good gravel road. Then you drive 6 miles up a fairly good jeep trail. Then you drive vertically up 2 miles up a very bad jeep trail. Then you hike or motorcycle 1 mile up a bad motorcycle trail to reach Goat Lake. From there, we climbed cross-country to a point about 1/4 mile directly above the lake and found the ledge that the circle of rocks was built on. These photos show where the rock structure was found.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that this structure was built by a Bigfoot.

Replies to Craigslist ads that I ran all over the Pacific Northwest:

I ran ads in Craigslist inquiring if anyone had experienced something they felt might have been a Bigfoot. I placed these ads in: Spokane, Portland, Walla Walla, Bend, Salt Lake City, Missoula, and Boise. I received hundreds of replies to these ads. A few of the replies were people taunting me for asking what they considered to be a silly question, but most of the replies seemed like legitimate encounters.

One report was from a man who had a face-to-face sighting in the mountains when he was a youth. He told me that he had shared this experience with no-one except his fiance and me. I cannot believe he made up the story.

Another report simply said: "I am 62 x cop. they are real and yes I am sure . I grew up in Ponderay County I have seen two of them"

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that most of these stories were not simply made-up for my benefit.

Experiences of Close Friends:

An experience by my first wife when travelling with her business partner along the Oregon coast.

"Driving along southern Oregon coast the 2 of us stopped to take a break and wake up. It was a pitch dark night, we were standing quietly against the car on the shoulder of the road, and could hear a truck with trailer coming in our direction. We were noting it was extremely quiet and suddenly out of the clear blue we heard a very loud, shrill, unearthly cry from something seemingly large. It was powerful but short, just once, nothing like either of us had ever heard before.

Both of us have been in wild many times and never experienced the overwhelming feeling that followed; there was a sense of not necessarily being watched but that we needed to leave –now – it felt very uncomfortable. No sense of alarm there was an just overwhelming sense we were supposed to leave. No impending danger – we just didn’t belong there.

At the same time we ask and agreed that we needed to leave. Upon shutting my door, there was no overhead light, but in my mind’s eye I saw a bigfoot face in my window and recoiled. We left the area."

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that this happened.

A friend was on a dual-sport motorcycle ride in northern California, just south of the border with Oregon. The riders took a break at a snowmobile parking lot. While there, my friend heard what sounded like rocks clacking together. He and I returned there over Labor Day 2015 and found some of the broken trees shown in the photographs.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that this happened.

An employee I worked with in the past told me of an incident with a friend of his. His friend would go to the top of the ridge on West Mountain, Idaho above Blue Lake, and snowboard down it in the spring. He was up there alone and claims to have seen a Bigfoot cross the main road and walk up the side of the mountain. My friend had to go up and get him since the man who had the sighting would not leave his hiding place to walk back up to his truck. My friend had to drive 100 miles each way to retrieve the man who had the sighting.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that this happened.

The Classic Encounters:

Albert Otsman: Albert Ostman was a Canadian prospector who reported that he was abducted by a Sasquatch family of 4 and held captive for six days. He stated that the event took place near Toba Inlet, British Columbia in 1924. Note that he did not make the event public until 1957, thirty-three years after he said it took place. There were no witnesses with the possible exception of a First Nations individual who took him to the Toba Inlet by boat.

Conclusion: I have 0% confidence that this happened.

William Roe: He had a close, extended viewing of a female Bigfoot near Tete Jaune Cache, northern Alberta in 1955. He was within 20 feet of the creature and could see much detail including: breasts, how it stripped leaves from branches with its mouth, how it placed its feet when it walked, and the calls that it made. Once the creature left, he tracked it and found the feces that it left and where it had slept. Roe was an experienced hunter having taken a grizzly bear at this same location the year previous. This was not a case of mistaken identity. However, there were no other witnesses, and he waited two years to report it. He did sign an affidavit.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that this happened.

Ape Canyon Attack: “I Fought the Apemen of Mount St. Helens, WA" is a short story told by Fred Beck, and written by Ronald Beck. It recounts an encounter in 1924, where Beck and four other miners were attacked by mysterious, ape-like creatures, often referred to as "Abominable Snowmen" or Bigfoot, near Mount St. Helens in Washington. The book, published in 1967, offers a rare and intriguing glimpse into early folklore and cryptozoology, detailing the miners' harrowing experience and the mysterious creatures they claimed to have encountered. The story caused a local sensation, prompting U.S. Forest Service rangers J.H. Huffman and William Welch to investigate. Huffman and Welch descended into the supposedly "inaccessible canyon" but found no animals, but they did find the cabin. They demonstrated how the 14 inches (36 cm) long footprints found near the cabin could easily be faked, and concluded the miners probably placed large stones near the cabin themselves to bolster their tale. Despite the story being debunked by the rangers, "people still wanted to believe", and the prospectors' story was repeated and continued to spread in later years, inspiring new theories and claims of new sightings.

Following the Mount St. Helens eruption, the remains of the cabin have been found. All of this ties together with the stories of Bigfeet being flown out of the area right after the eruption.

I read about this incident and learned about the potential existence of Bigfoot in the 1969 Reader's Digest article titled: "Fantasy or Fraud, legend or evolutionary link, the Sasquatch is one of the world's most intriguing mysteries. Does an "Abominable Snowman" Lurk in the Rockies?" I read this article in my 8th grade English class. This story is what first ignited my interest in Bigfoot. Note that I have been to the trailhead to Ape Canyon on the flanks of Mount St. Helens; see photo here showing the Muddy River Debris Flow.

Conclusion: I have 85% confidence that this happened.

Port Chathman - Portlock, Alaska: "Port Chatham is an abandoned fishing village on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, once a vibrant Russian-Alutiiq community that was left deserted by 1950 due to residents fleeing from a mythical creature called the Nantiinaq. The village was founded around a cannery but eventually emptied as fear of the Nantiinaq, also known as the "Hairy Man," led inhabitants to relocate up the coast. The area has since been the subject of numerous investigations and media coverage concerning the legend of this Bigfoot-like creature." "Stories of mutilated bodies, missing hunters and strange, otherworldly creatures have long been associated with Port Chatham."

The above explanation is accepted by many Bigfoot enthusiasts. Once investigated, it appears that the town was slowly abandoned due to financial drivers. Eventually, residents simply could not make a living there and left.

Conclusion: I have 20% confidence that the abandonment of Port Chathman was due to Bigfoot attacks.

Ruby Creek Incident: In September 1941 a creature was seen in broad daylight by the Chapman family near Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia. Mrs. Chapman's eldest son saw what he thought was a cow, but it turned out to be a gigantic, hairy, man-like creature walking upright. The creature was described as human-shaped with a thick chest and long arms, covered in pale yellow-brown hair, and estimated to be 7.5 to 8 feet tall. After the creature appeared, the family fled to a nearby village. When they returned, Mr. Chapman found the woodshed door battered, enormous humanoid handprints, and a 55-gallon drum of salted salmon broken apart and partially eaten. Giant footprints, which were cast by a sheriff's deputy and measured approximately 16 inches, were found in the area nightly. Hairs were found in the doorway confirming the creature's large size. The family experienced strange noises and barking dogs for several nights, eventually moving out of their home and never returning.

This family would have lived daily with both black bears and grizzly bears and moose, so this is very unlikely to be a case of misidentification.

Conclusion: I have 90% confidence that this happened.

Teddy Roosevelt Attack Story: Teddy Roosevelt began writing his soon to be published book in 1890. Titled "The Wilderness Hunter", the author writes of a grizzled, weather beaten trapper by the name of Bauman. One of Idaho's best known horror stories, it tells the story of two trappers who set out on a beaver hunt in the still remote alpine terrain of the beautiful Salmon River countryside. To this day, stories of the Sasquatch come out of this part of this virgin wilderness. The trappers' camp was destroyed several times. The footprints there were as plain as if on snow, and, after a careful scrutiny of the trail, it certainly did seem as if, whatever the thing was, it had walked off on but two legs. The next day, Bauman left to collect their traps. When he started homewards he marked, with some uneasiness, how low the sun was getting. As he hurried toward camp, under the tall trees, the silence and desolation of the forest weighted on him. He came to the edge of the little glade where the camp lay and shouted as he approached it, but got no answer. The campfire had gone out, though the thin blue smoke was still curling upwards. Near it lay the packs wrapped and arranged. At first Bauman could see nobody; nor did he receive an answer to his call. Stepping forward he again shouted, and as he did so his eye fell on the body of his friend, stretched beside the trunk of a great fallen spruce.Rushing towards it the horrified trapper found that the body was still warm, but that the neck was broken, while there were four great fang marks in the throat. Bauman, utterly unnerved and believing that the creature with which he had to deal was something either half human or half devil, some great goblin-beast, abandoned everything but his rifle and struck off at speed down the pass, not halting until he reached the beaver meadows where the hobbled ponies were still grazing. Mounting, he rode onwards through the night, until beyond reach of pursuit."

Conclusion: I have 90% confidence that this happened, however, there is a 50/50% probablity that it was a bear that killed the trapper.

The Alaskan Triangle: "Alaska has an exceptionally high rate of missing persons, with some estimates citing an average of approximately 2,250 people go missing annually, which is twice the national average. With a state population of 743,000, this is 0.3% of the population goes missing annually.

"The total number of missing people in Alaska has been in the thousands annually, with over 20,000 people vanishing in the region known as the Alaska Triangle since the 1970s." "Alaska leads the nation in missing persons cases per capita. This is attributed to its vast, rugged wilderness, extreme weather conditions, and a significant Native American population. Alaska has TWICE the national average of missing persons"

"Bigfoot Researchers" tend to try and explain these disappearances and abductions to agressive Bigfoot. 'In reality, Alaska is huge beyond belief of anyone who has not travelled there. The vast majority of the state is completely roadless.

In addition to the vast wilderness and extreme weather, there are many known animals which can instantly kill (and often eat) humans: black bears, grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, and moose.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence that some of the missing people may have succumb to Bigfoot.

Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) Data Base of Sightings: There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of reports which have been submitted to this data base.

Conclusion: I have 50/50% confidence in the reports. Some of the reports could be real, some of the reports are not.

Expedition Bigfoot" findings: I have met Russell Accord, and I feel that he is a passionate and honest man. Dr. Mireya Mayor has impressive professional credentials. She is an American anthropologist, primatologist, and wildlife correspondent for National Geographic, part of a research expedition that discovered a new species of lemur, considered the world's smallest primate. She earned her PhD in anthropology from Stony Brook University. During Seasons 5 and 6, it seems like the team collected much good data from the field. However, I cannot find any analysis of what this data represents or conclusions that the team has drawn beyond what has been shown on the TV show.

Conclusion: Uncertain. My biggest concern is that I have not been able to find any scientific papers which have been published for peer review which cover the results of their expedtions.

Finding Bigfoot" findings: For having many resources available to the team and so much time in the field over multiple seasons, they found almost no evidence. The show's alternative title was: "Not Finding Bigfoot"! Matthew Moneymaker and Bobo Fay are sensationalists and every odd sound in the woods is a Bigfoot. Their research claims should be considered with much skepticism. Ranae Holland was the skeptic of the show and the voice of reason. I do not believe that she ever saw any evidence which convinced her that Bigfoot was real. I have met Cliff Barackman and spoken with him several times. His background has been in teaching and he has a level-headed approach to his research. He says that he 100% knows that they are real base upon personal sightings of a Bigfoot. I do not believe that the shown discovered any unique evidence which was credible. Nothing has been published for scientific peer review (that I am aware of).

Conclusion: I believe that 80% of everything they experienced was nothing but their active imaginations, not sure about the other 20%.

Mountain Monsters" show: The show simply portrayed a bunch of armed hillbillies running around in the hills chasing all kinds of odd cryptids that I have never heard of previously. Somehow, ever time the team went out in the field, they encountered the cryptid they were hunting for; but never collected any tangible evidence! Fortunately, I do not think anyone go shot either.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that this show was a hoax.

Huge variety of YouTube videos and streaming movies on the Bigfoot subject: Most of these videos are obviously simply fully fabricated content. Most of the videos consist of a blogger "searching for Bigfoot" and being 100% unprepared for any real research, jumping at every sound in the woods. The common phrase throughout is "And I Almost Died!". The majority of the bloggers producing these videos have NO credentials in the Bigfoot field. The few that may be actual experiences with a Bigfoot, have never presented any evidence other than a few photos of broken sticks, impressions in the dirt that are called tracks, or sounds in the dark. These films present nothing scientifically credible.

Conclusion: I am confident that that 90+% of these videos are complete fabrications.

Have Bodies Been Discovered?

Minnesota Ice Man: Showman Frank Hansen toured a hairy, bipedal figure and claimed it was a Neanderthal or apeman discovered in Siberia. There was an "original" body which was later replaced with a known latex fabrication. The question that remains is was the original body real? The faces of the two bodies are slighly different. The original body had an odor of decaying flesh. Neither of the bodies had the typical appearance of a Bigfoot.

I believe that I saw this display at the Western Idaho State Fair in the 1970's.

Conclusion: I have 0% confidence that either body was a Bigfoot

Jacko: Supposedly a creature was found near Yale, British Columbia in 1884. It was described as a gorilla-type creature standing four-feet seven-inches and weighing 127 pounds. On July 9, 1884, the Mainland Guardian wrote that no such animal had been caught, and that the Colonist was fooled by the story into publishing it. Bruce McKelvie found the article about Jacko. He shared the story with Sasquatch researchers John Green and Rene Dahinden. Ivan Sanderson then wrote about the story in his 1961 book "Abominable Snowman: Legend Come To Life".

Skeptics claim that it was a gorilla, but the first gorillas to reach the US were captured from the wild and brought to zoos in the early 20th century, with N'gagi arriving at the San Diego Zoo in 1931 and a mountain gorilla arriving at the National Zoo in the same year. The first chimpanzees were brought to the US in the early 1920s, so it wasn't a chimp. Orangutans were brought to the US in the 1820's so it could have been an orangutan, but they look very much different from the published description of the creature.

Dr. Grover Krantz suggested that Jacko was real and sold to the PT Barnum as JoJo the Dog Faced Boy who then died in captivity and was then replaced by a human for the circus.

Conclusion: I have 0% confidence that a young Bigfoot was captured in Yale, British Columbia

The French bigfoot body, Yeti de Bourganeuf: In 1997, what might seem like a repeat of the the frozen man (the Minnesota Ice Man, a body of a hairy man exhibited at fairs fields in the US, as Bernard Heuvelmans was able to study at leisure in 1968) took place ... in France! And even in the heart of our country, since it is during the fair in Bourganeuf, in the Creuse, has revealed this story: once again, it was apparently the body of a kind of hairy man kept in a freezer, and exhibited at fairs fields.

It was indeed a hoax, and fun thing, our Belgian friends of ABEPAR (which publishes the newspaper Cryptozoologia) are very unintentionally inspirers. Emmanuel Janssens Casteels, animal sculptor and collaborator of the Belgian magazine, says in the June-August 1998 issue of Cryptozoologia that two of his colleagues had advised those wishing to make a giant replica of the frozen man Bernard Heuvelmans :

Conclusion: I have100% confidence this was a hoax; but a very good one and this shows that the experts can be fooled.

Bodies from Mt. St. Helens eruption: Witnesses claimed to have watched Bigfoot bodies being recovered by the National Guard following the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. They were flown out from the volcano slung under helicopters and taken to medical facilties for treatment.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence that the National Guard recovered Bigfoot bodies.

Rick Dyer bodies: These were poorly made, obvious hoaxes.

Conclusion: I have 0% confidence that the bodies were a Bigfoot

Justin Smeja claims he shot and killed two Bigfoot. He later returned to the kill site and recovered some tissue samples which he submitted to Dr. Melba Ketchum for analysis. What were the results of the DNA testing done on the tissue samples he provided to Dr. Melba Ketchum? So far, I am not able to locate any findings from Melba Ketchum.

Conclusion: Uncertain

Something is Making the Tracks That are Being Found:

Thousands of footprints over at least the past 60 years have been found in locations where it would be very difficult to hoax and locations where hoaxes would never be found. Trackways have shown a stride length so great that they are impossible for humans to mimic. Trackways have been found in snow and mud where no other tracks are present. No evidence of a hoaxer's human tracks was found near the Bigfoot tracks.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that some of the trackways are from a real Bigfoot.

There definitely have been footprint hoaxes. However, most of these have been done with very crude prosthetic feet and can be easily distingushed from the "real" footprints.

Rant Mullens hoaxed tracks starting in the 1920s. Ray Wallace claimed that he hoaxed all of the prints found in northern California. His crude carved wooden feet would not convince even inexperienced Bigfoot researchers.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum was very good at identify faked tracks vs. "real" ones. This was demonstrated by a highly sophisticated hoaxing attempt by Les Stroud where he spent more than $10,000 to fabricate the false feet and tracks; but Dr. Meldrum detected the fakery.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that some footprints have been hoaxed.

There have been reports of track ways that have been found which either spontanously start from nothing, or spontaneously end out in the open. The interpretation is that the creature "beamed in" or "beamed out" to somewhere else.

Conclusion: Uncertain

The anatomical detail found in footprints is consistent with biological animals:

The Bossburg cast shows severe joint deformity. From this, Dr. Grover Krantz was able to imply the underlying skeletal anatomy.

To Dr. Grover Krantz, the deformed foot cast was THE piece of definitive evidence proving Bigfoot due to being able to reconstruct the foot geometry from the prints and this foot geometry, different from human, would have allowed this huge bipedal primate to walk. Rene Dahinden believed this series of prints was a hoax perpetrated by Ivan Marx.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that these casts are from a living Bigfoot.

Dermal ridge details found in footprints

Conclusion: I have 80% confidence that casts showing ridge details in the sole of the foot are real.

Footprints from the same individual found at diverse locations over a broad time span

Conclusion: I have 80% confidence that tracks cast at disparate locations over a large time span, that are the same, are real. The more rugged the location, the higher the probability of the track being real.

Some tracks demonstrate a mid-tarsal break. This is feature is analogous to the human arch. Tracks at the PG film site demonstrate this feature however, the basis for this feature was not understood until decades later. This design for foot flexibility is required for the larger mass of the creature vs. a human.

Conclusion: I have 80% confidence that casts showing a mid-tarsal break are real.

Toe flexibility - multiple tracks in a trackway demonstrate changing toe position from track to track.

Conclusion: I have 80% confidence that casts showing flexible toe locations are real.

Prints From Other Body Parts:

Casts of handprints and knuckle prints have been made. Handprints have been found on windows and other surfaces. These handprints reflect a hand design different than human with thumb tending to bend parallel with the other fingers.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that these are the handprints of a Bigfoot.

A cast by made by Paul Freeman in 1993 in the Blue Mountains of a perceived Bigfoot buttocks. In addition, a reclining torso print found in the Skookum Meadows area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Conclusion: I have 25% confidence that the cast is of a reclining Bigfoot and about the same confidence in the buttocks cast.

Video and Photographic Evidence:

Patterson - Gimlin film from October 1967:

Let us begin this review with the gold standard of Bigfootery: The Patterson - Gimlin film taken at Bluff Creek, California.

SOMETHING WALKED IN FRONT OF THAT CAMERA IN 1967. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT WAS IT?

The Patterson Gimlin film is now almost 60 years old. The original film has been lost and all that is available are second, third, and worse generations copies. As a result, the image quality has been greatly reduced from the original. With the invention of digital image processing, it is possible to improve the quality of the film images that do exist. Two techniques were used:

- Image stabilization

- Digital image stacking to remove "noise" from the images

Image stabilization removes that shakiness from the film by digitally keeping the creature in one location from frame to frame thereby removing much of the blur of the camera motion.

Image stacking is a tool often used by night sky photographers as a method of increasing the signal to noise level of their digital images. Multiple copies of the same image are combined and differences between images are removed as noise. This was done to several of the early generations of the film resulting in a much greater quality of image than any of the individual film copies used.

With the digitally enhanced copies of the film, muscle movement can be discerned under the hair of the animal. This could not be created with a suit. In addition, fine facial details can now be seen.

This is the standard by which all other evidence is compared against. No one has been able to prove that the film is a fake despite thousands of people trying over a 60-year span.

There was no costume of the quality shown on the "creature" was available at that time. Creatures in "2001 A Space Odyssey represented the state of the art for ape costumes at that time. Note the human proportions in the ape costume from this movie.

However, the creature's proportions in the PG film are not human:

- The subject is too tall

- Shoulders are too wide

- Chest is too deep

- Hips are too wide

- Arms are too long

Some type of prosthetic devices would have been required to create the geometry of the creature. A smooth walking stride would not be possible for a human in a bulky costume with limb extensions to match the creature's dimensions, walking briskly over uneven terrain.

The bent knee stride is not human and is very difficult for a human to replicate, much less in a bulky suit. Foot lift in stride is not human:

- The sole of the foot is almost vertical during the walk

- Note that the image of foot matches footprints found at the site. High quality castings were made of track sets found at the film location that match the sole of the foot in the photo to the right.

Roger Patterson swore the film was real on his death bed. Bob Gimlin has never waivered in his telling of the events surrounding the filming. I have talked to Bob Gimlin and he seems very sincere in his description of the events surrounding the filming, however, he has had 60 years to perfect his story, if it is a story. In addition, Roger Patterson lacked the skills and the funding to perpetrate a hoax of this magnitude.

There were some questions regarding the timing of Patterson and Gimlin getting the film developed. The timing of the events after the filming and before the film was shown don't add-up time-wise. I need to look into this further.

Conclusion: I have 90% confidence that the film's subject is real

Paul Freeman Movie:

This is a very convincing film consistent with the Patterson - Gimlin film regarding creature details. Many people consider Paul Feeman a hoaxer due to the quantity of evidence he uncovered while living and working in the Blue Mountains of Washington and Oregon. Dr. Meldrum and his brother arrived to Paul Freeman's home unannounced. Freeman showed them tracks he had found that morning. It is highly unlikely that he would have hoaxed tracks in advance not knowing Meldrum was going to visit.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that the film's subject is real

Todd Standing Photos and Videos:

Standing's videos in the Radium Hot Springs, BC supposedly show bigfoot attacking him at night. There are no images at all of a creature, just Standing yelling and acting frantic.

Standing released video and still images of three separate bigfoot up very close; one of them even blinks and eye. The subject look nothing alike. Once looks like the PG Patty bigfoot; the others look like Ewoks from Star Wars. I believe that this shows too much variation in the species and I believe they are hoaxes. The image on the far right shows how Standing's features geometrically align with the creature's whose eye blinked.

Standing has taken researchers to his various locations, and they have experienced some oddities including apples being taken from high trees and a possible night sighting by Dr. Meldrum.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that the films' subjects are hoaxes

I would like to comment that when the Patterson - Gimlin film was taken in 1967, the question was: "Could someone hoax a suit so convincingly?" Today, that is not the question for new video evidence. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the question becomes: "Is the image in the video an actual physical body or simply a collection of electrons?" AI has become so convincing that in my opinion, video evidence is no longer relevant.

What About the DNA?

Dr. Melba Ketchum's analysis:

Dr. Melba Ketchum indicated that she had isolated Bigfoot DNA, but her results have been claimed invalid by other scientists.

She stated that Bigfoot DNA is almost indistinguishable from human DNA. Humans and chimpanzees share 98.8% of the same DNA. If Bigfoot is a hominid, the match will be even closer. Per Dr. Ketchum's data, Bigfoot has almost identical DNA to humans with the mitochodrial DNA being human due to some unknown primate ancestor mating with human females about 15,000 years ago.

Dr. Ketchum failed to follow the scientific peer review process before releasing her findings. Irregularities in her handling of the samples, the analysis process, and conclusions drawn have resulted in lack of support by scientists for her theory.

Conclusion: uncertain.

Dr. Brian Sykes' analysis:

Dr. Sykes solicited globally for purported Bigfoot tissue samples for DNA analysis. His published findings were that all of the samples were from known animals. However, hair samples from Dr. Jeff Meldrum were excluded from Dr. Sykes' analysis, no explanation was given.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence in Dr. Syke's conclusions knowing that viable samples from Dr. Meldrum were omitted from the study.

Dr. Mark Evans' analysis:

Environmental DNA from high mountain lakes in Bhutan showed something almost human, but not quite human. No one had been to the lakes that spring before the water samples were taken.

Conclusion: I have 90% confidence that the EDNA samples were from a Bigfoot type creature.

Note that it is very difficult to extract DNA from hair samples. Hairs without tissue or root material did not yield DNA in Dr. Ketchum's study.

Other Evidence:

Tree Structures:

A wide variety of odd collections of branches have been found. These are often stacked in a way that looks like they were assembled by an intelligent creature. The ends of the branches are not cut but are either broken off or twist apart. Sometimes these are actually trunks of trees up to six inches in diameter.

Some of these collections of branches appear to be a shelter structure, sometimes they are a complex weaving of very large logs high in the trees, sometimes they are a simple "X" in the trail, and sometimes they are snapped trees, broken six to ten feet off the ground.

Some of the weavings have large tree trunks up to six inches in diameter and twenty feet long where the ends are not attached to a root structure but have been forced into the ground several inches.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence in all of the structures being from Bigfoot. They are easy to hoax. However, some of the largest weaving structures cannot be explained about how they could be made. It is difficult to explain how the tree breaks occur as well. Somtimes there is a broken tree right in the middle of a group of healthy ones so breakage due to weather extremes seems unlikely.

Calls and knocking:

In the early 1970's, Ron Morehead and Al Berry recorded a wide variety of odd sounds; these have been called: "The Sierra Sounds". They were at a high alpine location in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains in California at a very remote location which they had horse packed into. The sounds they recorded are very, very odd and after extensive analysis, no one can tell how they were made.

A wide variety of sounds have been attributed to Bigfoot including whistling, baby calls, gibberish, bird calls, very loud roars, and whooping sounds (which I have heard).

Bigfoot is said to pound on trees with sticks and clack rocks together. I have a friend who has heard what he believed was rock clacking at a snowmobile parking area in northern California. I found several broken trees by this parking lot.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence in all of the sounds which have been heard. Sounds without sightings cannot be attributed to any specific source. Native wildlife can make an amazing range of sounds.

Thrown sticks and rocks:

There have been dozens of reports from outdoorsmen of having rocks or sticks thrown at them. At times, these objects will be very large and thrown further than a man would be able to throw them.

I met a man at a football game this fall who experienced large rocks being thrown at them during a hunting trip to a remote lake in central Idaho.

Nothing in North America other than humans, or Bigfoot, is capable of throwing large objects.

There are widespread examples of very large rocks placed on top of tree stumps and downed trees. People find LARGE boulders positioned on top of tree stumps. These are much too large to be lifted by humans. However, where there is a cut tree stump, there is logging. Where there is logging, there is heavy equipment capable of positioning large boulders. Some of these have been found where logging and logging equipment is not readily visible or practical due to the location.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence in all of the stories. This is a hoax which is easy to perpetrate with smaller rocks and sticks. However, I believe that many of these could be real Bigfoot experiences; especially with large rocks being thrown or placed on top of trees.

Upside down trees:

Massive trees which have been inverted and the trunk burried into the ground have been found at multiple locations. These locations were inaccessible to heavy machinery required for lifing these trees. Upside down trees found on Prince of Wales Island, mainland Alaska, Washington

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence that these were not placed naturally (rockslide) or by humans.

The Olympic Project findings:

Derek Randles is a founding member of the Olympic Project. I have met him twice and he is an articulate man who has a very disciplined approach to his Bigfoot research. He has integrity.

The team has sole access to a vast spread of private land on the Olympic Peninsula. They have studied this expansive area since 2009.

The team discovered multiple nests in a small location, very similar to gorilla ground nests for a family of gorillas. These nests are very large and obviously "assembled" by something with hands. All of the branches comprising the nests had broken ends, not cut.

A BFRO team discovered an 8 track trackway there in 2023. Discovery was well documented and tracks were cast.

In 2021the team captured audio vocalization near the nest sites.

The team discovered a seasonal migration route. Bigfoot are high in the Olympics during the summer and migrate SW toward the coast in the wintertime. I have visited this area of the Olympic National Park (along the Quinalt River) and it looked very, very similar to the PG site.

Conclusion: I have 98% confidence that their findings are real.

Gifting:

There are multiple reports of humans and Bigfoot providing each other with gifts.

The most credible example of this that I have heard of is of a team. leaving colored marbles at one location and having them appear miles away at a different location where the Bigfoot hunters were working at.

Many folks have claimed that they have left apples for Bigfoot, and that Bigfoot took them. However, almost everything in the wild will eat apples. This does not seem convincing to me. Les Stroud took trail camera images in the Canadian Rockies on a outing with Todd Standing when some very odd images were captured by their cameras of something climbing in the tree where the apples were, but it did not show a bigfoot. Also, there is video of "something" taking apples off a fallen tree; but anything could have grabbed the apples including those filming the event.

Conclusion: I have 50% confidence that some of these gifting episodes were Bigfoot related.

Native Lore:

Bigfoot in one form or another is a part of Native American Lore for virtually all different tribes. These legends have existed for centuries / milennia.

- Bigfoot have been included on totem poles, just like other wildlife

- Hairy Man pictographs painted on rock wall in the Tule River Reservation in California.

There are indigenous legends of similar cyprids around the globe. There have been thousands of sightings over more than 100 years (1000s of years?) on all continents with the exception of Antartica. There is a large range of diversity in the appearance of the creatures that have been seen.

Conclusion: I have 95% confidence that at least some of these sightings are of real Bigfoot type creatures. Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that there would be sizeable variations in the creatures from different locations on the planet.

If Bigfoot Exists, How Can They Remain Virtually Undetected?

Intelligent species:

If they are "aware", they can purposefully strive to stay hidden. This would make them almost impossible to detect. Think sniper in a ghillie suit.

Conclusion: I have 75% confidence that an intelligent creature could remain unseen.

Natural camouflage:

Does the unique hair structure of the Bigfoot result in reflection or refraction of light in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish fine details of the animal's body? Some people say that a Bigfoot simply disappeared right in front of them. The hair structure with the lack of a medulla might create some unique light transmission capabilities.

Note that animals which are stationary are often very difficult to see. Humans almost need to train themselves on how to see animals in the wild.

Conclusion: It is difficult to see any animal in the wild unless it is totally in the open. Dark animals will blend into the shadows.

Those who see them are unprepared for what they are experiencing:

Bigfoot are often mistaken for black bears, and black bears often are mistaken for Bigfoot. There is the infamous creature known as a "stump-Squatch". Burned tree stumps can give the impression of a standing creature to those with an active imagination. See photo below.

Many YouTube videos of Bigfoot simply show a dark shadow in the woods and then pareidolia takes over to make the viewer believe they say a Bigfoot.

Many sightings are road crossings at night where the viewer saw a shadow cross the road.

I have had instances where I believe that I saw something Bigfoot related, and for the moment, ignored it. Moments later I realized what I had seen and it was too late to go back and see it again.

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I was with a group of visitors who were viewing a "wolf" on the farside of the Hayden River. Everyone was convinced they were watching a wolf trot along. Using my spotting scope I was able to determine that it in fact was a coyote. They did not believe me and continued to claim it was a wolf. They were wrong.

Conclusion: It is very easy to convince yourself that you just found what you were looking for and your mind fills-in any blanks in the information. Misidentifications are frequent.

The "Stump Squatch"!

What Are Bigfoot Living Requirements?

Food:

The belief is that a Bigfoot would be omnivorous having similar dietary habits as black bears and chimpanzees. This is why they are often seen in the same area. Bigfoot lack the large gut necessary to be a 100% vegetarian such as a gorilla. Where food sources can support black bears, it can support Bigfoot. Bigfoot has the flexibility to modify its diet as the food available changes throughout the year. Winters in northern climates would be very challenging.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that there are areas within the US and Canada which have adequate food resources to support a Bigfoot population, but there will be seasonal shortages.

Cover:

Good cover is critical to remaining hidden. The areas reporting the highest numbers of sightings typically have the most dense undergrowth. In many locations, the undergrowth is so dense that you cannot see more than 10 feet into the foliage; yet these are the areas with the greatest number of sightings. Often, the dense foliage is in the form of berry bushes of a variety of species which will also provide a food souce. Dense vegatation provides the perfect habitat.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that there is adequate cover in most of the US and Canada for Bigfoot habitat.

Shelter:

Consider how gorillas and chimpanzees live. They build nests either on the ground in the trees. However, they live in tropical environments. Mountain gorillas live at elevations from 6,500 to 13,000 feet above sea level. At these elevations, even at the equator, they will experience harsh winter weather. Bigfoot would be similar. Their heavy fur is similar to that of bears and they would probably have the same shelter needs that bears require; but bears hibernate. Based upon the Oympic Project findings, Bigfoot can and does make nests. Many of the tree stuctures found have been labeled as shelters. I don't think that they would provide much protection if that is what they are.

Conclusion: 100% confidence that Bigfoot can construct the shelters they would require.

Water:

Bigfoot would have the same water requirements as any other large mammal such as a black bear, grizzly bear, moose, or elk. Where available water can support large mammals, it can support Bigfoot. The probably precludes desert environments.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that Bigfoot can survive on the water sources available throughout most of their perceived range.

Migration:

The Olympic Project has identified what they believe are seasonal migration routes that Bigfoot follows on the Olympic Peninsula.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that some Bigfoot would migrate seasonally.

Elimination of wastes:

All living creatures remove wastes from their bodies. When I travel on foot in the back country, there are certain enviornments and season where I will see a lot of bear scat, even though I don't see the bears. This is typically on trails or roads. Bigfoot will be no different.

I feel that outdoorsmen should be finding feces more often than they do. Realizing that no one knows what it looks like, we can make an educated guess of it appearing to be somewhere between that of a great ape and a bear. Examples of feces which might be similar to Bigfoot.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that a Bigfoot shits in the woods.

Population dynamics:

A critical requirement for maintaining a stable population of any animal is to have an adequately sized breeding population with sufficient genetic diversity. Long life spans along with high age of sexual maturity will result in low reproductive rates.

The western lowland gorilla has a wild population of about 150,000 living in about 270,000 square miles. This averages: 1.8 square miles per gorilla.

The Rocky Mountains cover about 300,000 square miles, the Appalachian Mountains cover about 200,000 square miles, Alaska has about 200,000 square miles of forest, and Canada has about 1,400,000 square miles of forest. In total, the US and Canada have about 2.4 million square miles of forest and mountains.

At the same population density as the western lowland gorilla, the US and Canada could support 1.3 million Bigfoot. Obviously, much of the forested land in North America might not be suitable habitat for Bigfoot and I cannot believe that their population is anywhere near this high.

There are approximately 60,000 grizzly bears and between 600,000 and 900,000 black bears in the US and Canada. Most likely, the population of Bigfoot would be less than that of grizzly bears.

If there are 60,000 Bigfoot, then there would be 11 bears (grizzly and black) per each Bigfoot. What is interesting is that in my life, I have seen 18 black bears and 9 grizzly bears in the wild ............... and maybe 1 Bigfoot. 27 bears to 1 Bigfoot, the ratio works!

Gestation time: Bigfoot gestation duration would be 250 - 280 days; approximately:

- Human gestation duration averages 280 days

- Gorilla gestation duration is about 257 days

- Chimpanzee gestation duration is about 243 days

Time to sexual maturity: Bigfoot sexual maturity ages probably about 8-15 years old:

- For humans, age to sexual maturity averages: 8-13 years old for females, 9-14 years old for males

- For gorillas, age to sexual maturity averages: 6-8 years for females, 11-15 years for males

- For chimpanzees, age to sexual maturity averages: 11-13 years for females, 8-15 years old for males

Average life span: Bigfoot life span (in the wild) would be estimated to be about 40-50 years:

- Humans: 72-73 years "in captivity"

- Gorillas: 35-40 years in the wild

- Chimpanzees: maximum 63 years in the wild

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that there is a sizeable population of Bigfoot in the US and Canada. The question is whether or not the populations are sustainable in light of human habitat expansion.

Death:

Being a living creature, Bigfoot dies. There will be bodies somewhere, but where? Do they bury their dead? I have seen one dead bear in my lifetime. It had been struck by a car on the top of the Blue Mountains in Oregon. I have seen a couple of coyote bodies which had been left by hunters. Typically, it is very rare to find the body of a carnivore in the wild.

Conclusion: Uncertain why we have not uncovered a body that died of natural causes.

One additional odd note. There are rumors of Bigfoot kidnapping human women. Native lore has stories about Bigfoot kidnapping human women for mating purposes. I have never read about any actual incidents of this occurring though.

Conclusion: I have no idea why a Bigfoot would kidnap a human woman as a mate, but there were similar stories in the late 1800's and early 1900's about gorillas kidnapping women.

What Are Bigfoot?

Bigfoot is a mammal:

Bigfoot is a hairy, bipedal, animal which have been seen with breasts. These criteria make it a mammal, and a hominin.

Extraterrestrial:

This is pure conjecture. There is no evidence to support this theory.

Supernatural:

As of now, nothing supernatural is known to exsit. This approach is simply explaining one unknown, with another unknown.

Conclusion: I have 100% confidence that Bigfoot is a hominin mammal.

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