Bigfoot, real or not?

goatmam · Aug 14, 2008

Bigfoot may have been found. Maybe. We'll see.
Two Northern California men and two Georgians say they've got a body, a photo and DNA evidence pertaining to the elusive forest-dwelling man-ape — and that they'll reveal all at a press conference in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday.
foxnews.com

So I first stumbled upon this news story on news radio on my way to work today and decided to check into it... Now what I want to know is what do you all think?

Here is linkage for you.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/17174989/detail.html

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

I don't understand why people think it can't be true. Anything is possible. Our ancestors may have split off during evolution and there are still many undeveloped lands (such as near Eureka in NoCal) that may be a safe haven for these creatures.

Actually it's not the first time they've found DNA. But without a body, it's difficult to prove anything. I'd like to see them come up with the body. That would just be incredible and prove it once and for all. If they'd indeed found the body, it must be under great security right now because it's a huge find.

emeraldcite · Aug 14, 2008

Yeah, well they also run a Bigfoot tracking service and tours...

methinks a publicity stunt for their business.

goatmam · Aug 14, 2008

According to what I am hearing there is a body? Maybe I understood wrong?

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

emeraldcite said:
Yeah, well they also run a Bigfoot tracking service and tours...

methinks a publicity stunt for their business.

These people are very serious, though. They would not have claimed a find if it weren't true, because they know it would be scrutinized. Some of these people have tried to track Bigfoot for decades.

goatmam said:
According to what I am hearing there is a body? Maybe I understood wrong?

Yes, they claimed they found a body. And DNA tests are being conducted at this point.

goatmam · Aug 14, 2008

maestrowork said:
Yes, they claimed they found a body. And DNA tests are being conducted at this point.

Okay then I am understanding correctly.

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

KTC said:
Size 13 isn't THAT big. Not really.

Is 16.5" size 13? My brother wears size 13 and I don't think he has 16.5" feet.

Joe270 · Aug 14, 2008

Is it possible that Bigfoot might exist? I say, heck, yes, it's possible. I posted about researchers finding 125,000 gorillas in the Congo, quite a shocker there.

While gorillas are pretty secretive creatures, there could be even more elusive great apes out there.

There have been some very credible sightings of 'Bigfoot', probably the most credible was the capture of one by railroad workers in the late 1800's. The creature escaped the make-shift enclosure, but a lot of people saw it. Even game wardens have reported seeing 'big foot'. The latest analysis of the 1950's film show it to be very likely that the images are not a man in a monkey suit. I saw a show on it on the Discovery Channel, very interesting stuff.

Is it just some odd mutant which occurs occasionally and wanders around for a few years before dying off, I don't know. What could it be a mutant of, a bear?

That said, it takes a decent breeding population to keep a species from going extinct. That's a pretty big sticking point with an animal this large actually existing, especially over such a huge territory. There would have to be hundreds of thousands of them, so one would expect we'd see them much more often.

So, all that said, I remain very skeptical about the existence of 'Bigfoot'. I sure would like to see the evidence.

veinglory · Aug 14, 2008

The question on the poll isn't whether it is possible--it is whether you think is true.

I think it is weird that 'anything is possble' is seen as rebutting the position that many things are sufficiently improbable that the null hypothesis is the more sensible choice.

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

Well, we don't know if it's true until they have positive results from the tests. That's why they're doing DNA testing and forensics instead of just claiming it right now.

Anything else is just speculation at this point. I'm just saying if you say, "it can't be true because there's no such things as BigFoot" simply because of a null hypothesis. It's like saying, "the world can't be round. End of story." To me, the correct scientific approach is to assume anything is possible, then go ahead and prove or disapprove the hypothesis. I mean, people's immediate reaction is to ridicule it or to dismiss it outright. I'd rather leave it to the scientists to disprove it, if they must. Chances are it's a hoax or something, but I'm not going to just say, "no, it's a fake" now.

rugcat · Aug 14, 2008

Joe270 said:
So, all that said, I remain very skeptical about the existence of 'Bigfoot'. I sure would like to see the evidence.

Here it is:

http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second...igfoot-expert-weighs-in-im-extreme-2008-08-14

"I want to believe."

BenPanced · Aug 14, 2008

It's so OBVIOUS! Bigfoot is Orlando Bloom wearing an eggplant costume!

...

Or is it the other way around?

emeraldcite · Aug 14, 2008

I'm curious what the DNA testing will prove. Did they run it against known species? Are we just checking to make sure it's not human?

All very strange. I'll believe when I see it.

They're keeping the location of the find secret to "protect the other bigfoots." I'm thinking they're protecting their touring business...

all very curious to me. I've seen some interesting viral marketing campaigns. This could be another one.

emeraldcite · Aug 14, 2008

From the article posted above...

I've had interactions with Tom Biscardi [the Bigfoot hunter holding the press conference] in the past, and based on that history, I would say that anything he is involved in is suspect.

veinglory · Aug 14, 2008

I am not waiting with baited breath.

A never recorded breeding population of non-human hominids? Really? I mean that would be a mimium of 10 'foots through the middle of last century even if the population tanks recently to only one or two.

Anything else buys into the Barnum effect. I mean, it could be a real mermaid.

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

Surely if it's revealed as a hoax, it wouldn't be good for their credibility or business, especially in a field where everything is scrutinized to the max. I don't know why anyone would make such a claim if they don't have any proofs.

rugcat · Aug 14, 2008

BenPanced said:
It's so OBVIOUS! Bigfoot is Orlando Bloom wearing an eggplant costume!

Or an eggplant wearing an Orlando Boom costume.

veinglory · Aug 14, 2008

maestrowork said:
Surely if it's revealed as a hoax, it wouldn't be good for their credibility or business, especially in a field where everything is scrutinized to the max. I don't know why anyone would make such a claim if they don't have any proofs.

Because they are delusional?
Because they think they can fake it?
Because they think they can keep delaying the reveal and milk it for publicity?
Because they beleive it but someone conned them?
Because they found a decayed black bear and think a genetic test of 'not human' is conclusive?
Because they are doing the whole thing for laughs?
Because they have got someone in the media willing to pay a lot for an exclusive interview?

etc.

I have a wall full of books about UFOs, cattle mutilation and spontaneous combustion. This kind of scenario isn't even uncommon. But it is more often an 'alien autopsy video' then a revelation.

Unique · Aug 14, 2008

Yes, I believe they are real. Probably not as many as there once were.

But hey - don't take my word for it; go ask the Salish or one of the other NA peoples from that area. Ask them if such a thing exists. They'd be in a better position to know since I've never lived there and they've been there a long, long time.

YMMV

jgold · Aug 14, 2008

Anything is possible. We used to discuss the possibility of Bigfoot in my evolution class as "evidence" that perhaps Neanderthal man still existed.

But then one of my friends ruined it by saying that if Bigfoot were real, someone in Pennsylvania would have shot it already.

Which is true.

Silver King · Aug 14, 2008

And now the latest: photographic evidence as seen earlier today in our Hairy Partner thread!

maestrowork · Aug 14, 2008

Actually the field of Bigfoot research is taken very seriously -- a friend of mine is an anthropologist and into research Bigfoot and he's actually gone on one or two Bigfoot expeditions in Ohio and No.Cal. These people are not crazy, delusional people. Many of them are scientists and professionals. And they know how many fakes are out there and no one in their right mind would fake anything or do it for the media. Many have searched of Sasquatches for years, if not decades. They're not just some loony who claims to have seen Bigfoot.

There are of course real loonies and people who are delusional and believe in alien abduction and Bigfoot without one ounce of proof or evidence. But I think it's irresponsible to paint everyone, including the researchers, as a bunch of crazies. Not all of them are like Tom Biscardi, who is a known hoaxer in the community. He's been hated for many years -- people do know, and have proven that he's a hoaxer, and he's not trusted.

If Tom Biscardi is going to hold the conference and not show a body, then some may actually think that he's doing it deliberately to discredit the whole community and their researches.

Again, who knows? I'll just wait and see at the point.

Since I'm friends of Bigfoot researchers, I'd ask you kind folks not to make sweeping ridicules.

Thank you.

rugcat · Aug 14, 2008

jgold said:
Anything is possible. We used to discuss the possibility of Bigfoot in my evolution class as "evidence" that perhaps Neanderthal man still existed.

Except no fossil trace of Neanderthals has ever been found in the New World. And they averaged between 5''0" and 5'5" in height. Mini-Bigfeet? Bigfoots?

joyce · Aug 14, 2008

I believe anything is possible. We are still finding whole tribes of people that have never seen outsiders before. We are still finding new species of insects and animals, so why not a Bigfoot? I'd love to belive it could be true, but then I wish Santa was real too.

Silver King · Aug 14, 2008

maestrowork said:
...Since I'm friends of Bigfoot researchers, I'd ask you kind folks not to make sweeping ridicules.

Thank you.

Oops, too late. The photo I shared appears above that request...

As you know, asking folks to stop making "sweeping ridicules" in this forum about any topic will usually have the opposite effect. It's the nature of the ~~bigfoot~~ beast, so to speak.

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