The Elusive Ape Man

A young boy is hiking through the woods on a sunny afternoon, as the day approaches night the sky begins to dim. Just before the young boy makes it back to his home a shadow dashes through the woods next to him, Startled the boy takes off running. Only to trip over the unmistakable imprint of a very large foot one that could only belong to, Sasquatch. According to the BRFO (Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization) Sasquatch is known by many names: Momo, Yeti, Skunk Ape, Big Foot, Missing link, Abominable Snowman, Yowie, Meh-Teh, Raksha, Kikomba, The Great Bear, Sasquatch, and Himalayan Beast. There may be many names for it but there is one thing they all have in common they all reference the elusive ape man. Many people do not believe in the existence of Sasquatch but I believe the creature to be simply elusive and misunderstood.

Is Sasquatch real? This topic has been debated amongst top scientists and organizations. Many believe it is merely a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than being the elusive missing link. Scientists like Jane Goodall and Grover Krantz however beg to differ. They have both been reported saying that they do in fact believe in the possible existence of Sasquatch. The Sasquatch has been described as a large hairy ape-like creature that ranges from 6 to 10 feet tall. It has been reported as weighing is excess of 500 pounds, covered in large amounts of dark to reddish hair resembling very closely to that of many members of the ape family. It has a protruding brow and a low set forehead shaped much like that of a gorilla. It is often seen walking upright on two legs but when seen running it is most often seen on all fours to move more quickly. The most common evidence of Sasquatch is the impression of the feet when walking upright in soft or impressionable ground. It has been recorded as being 2 feet long and 8 inches wide with 5 toes.

The first stories of Sasquatch began with indigenous people all over the world. Every continent except for Antarctica has a place where there were sightings of folklore of the Ape-man. One of the earliest recorded sightings of Sasquatch by a white man occurred in 1811 near what is now Jasper, Alberta by a fur trader named David Thompson. If it stretches this far into the past how it could possibly be considered just a story. Since the dawn of humanity until the present there have been reported sightings of Sasquatch and because of this leads me to believe that there could be no other explanation than the fact that it exists. If so many people have reported seeing this creature, how could they all be wrong? The notoriety of the Skunk ape began booming in the 1950’s when a man by the name of Eric Shipton took the first Photographic evidence of big-foot. It was picture of a large foot print located in the snowy mountains of California. Today there is such a large community behind the discovery of Sasquatch that there are television shows and Organizations whose sole purpose is to provide proof and evidence that Sasquatch does in fact exist.

In Woodland Park Colorado we are offered the unique opportunity to live in an area that is considered prime Habitat for Sasquatch Sightings, Because of this I felt it only necessary to reference my peers. I began the questionnaire by asking if any of the students had ever personally witnessed or know someone who had witnessed a sasquatch sighting, this was answered with a resounding no. When asked 6% of students reported that they believe that Sasquatch exists. While when the question was rephrased to ask if they believed that there is any possibility that Sasquatch could exist and 62% of the students reported yes. This goes to show that while many people do not believe that it exists yet with more convincing proof and evidence they would sway to say that they do in fact believe. Many people are not surprised at the results of the last two questions due to the adolescence and uneducated nature of high school students. According to National Geographic there is a famous Bigfoot enthusiast by the name, “Moneymaker, who lives in Dana Point in southern California, is a lawyer who runs his own marketing agency. In his spare time, he leads the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a network of more than 3,000 people who claim to have seen the Sasquatch.” This goes to show that people who believe that he exists are often times very well educated productive members of society contrary to the popular belief of this stereotype.

Bigfoot Scientists and enthusiast are not gullible people they know that between the reported hundreds of thousands of Sasquatch sightings that many of them are hoaxes and misidentification. But, if there are that many sightings all over the world, there is no way that they could all be fake. The only problem is no one has been able to snap a clear photo of the beast yet. Reported Bigfoot evidence has ranged from the calls the Sasquatch makes, to DNA evidence of an animal that has yet to be identified. It has been reported sounding similar to that of a man yelling from the bottom of his gut, it has been said to be a very odious sound that few have heard and those who have will never forget. The by far biggest source of evidence would have to be footprints. The BFRO has provided extensive information and instructions on how to photograph, mold, and categorize the footprints and findings. The data is then used to predict population sizes and male to female ratios within the pack of sasquatches.
Many nonbelievers ask the question, “Where are the bodies of the diseased sasquatches?” This is a simple question to answer, there are two known explanations. Some think that the Sasquatch Bury their dead ceremonially like that of humans. It is also believed that they have such a small population with such great longevity that when they do die it is rare, and the bodies simply decompose before anyone has a chance to discover and analyze them. This brings up the question about what happens to the bones after body decomposition, this also has two man theories. It is believed that the Sasquatch has a softer more compostable bone than that of their human counterpart. It may also be that we have just yet to discover any more recent bones and that when they are discovered they are often just mistaken as large apes.

While the evidence seems to be sparse there are tens of twenty of sightings per week in the United States alone. The BFRO offers a unique opportunity on their website allowing non members to post their sightings with location and description. The BFRO works tirelessly to remove all reports that seem to be hoaxes or misidentification and alert the reporter. This gave me an insight into what kinds of areas are prime for Sasquatch sightings. It seems to show that they like more rural mountainous climates like that of Colorado, California, and all of those along the Rockies and Appalachian mountains. With this information you too can become the next Matt Moneymaker and maybe discover the first irrefutable evidence that Sasquatch exists.