Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, refers to large, human-like mammals featured in folklore.
For decades, TV shows and documentaries have debated their existence.
Scientists are divided into two main groups: some consider Bigfoot a conspiracy theory,
especially when sightings are linked to the FBI or biological weapon experiments.
Others remain undecided, citing a lack of conclusive evidence to confirm its existence.
In contemporary animal studies, tracking wildlife is a complex task that involves footprint recognition,
trails, scat, urine analysis, and other methods collectively known as sign tracking.
However, the available evidence related to Bigfoot is insufficient to establish a systematic sign-tracking standard.
Therefore, this research will use abductive reasoning to evaluate existing evidence,
focusing on sighting records to treat Bigfoot as a real animal species and assess their credibility.
If Bigfoot does exist, what patterns can we identify from the available data? When did people first notice them?
During which seasons do they typically appear?
History
One of the most famous cases was Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlim’s
film of a standing ape emerging from the wood. The picture was taken in 1967.
This photo was featured in multiple media and marked the first wave of looking for bigfoot.
“We are not looking for a singular animal,” said Matt Moneymaker, founder and president of the Bigfoot
Field Research Organization (BFRO). “We are referring to them in the plural. They are a large family of species.”
The BFRO, founded in 1995, is a research group that has collected sighting reports dating back to the 1900s.
The data peaked in the early 2000s, following the organization’s establishment.
The BFRO’s sighting reports include thousands of cases, categorized into different classes.
“When the evidence is limited to unclear tracks,” Moneymaker explained, “we classify it as Class B.
Class A sightings involve clear visual encounters.”
Historical data indicates that Bigfoot sightings occur most frequently from summer to fall,
coinciding with the busiest season for U.S. national parks.
The increase in sightings during summer and fall may coincide with higher human activity in forests,
such as hiking and camping, which increases the likelihood of encounters.
However, it is important to note that the BFRO’s data is not comprehensive,
and there may be other factors contributing to the seasonal variation in sightings.
Geography
The dense forests and remote wilderness of the Pacific Northwest provide an ideal habitat for a large,
elusive creature, which may explain the high number of sightings in this region.
The dataset spans three continents—America, Eurasia, and Australia—with a focus on North America.
According to BFRO’s data, every U.S. state has reported sightings, and the reporting pattern generally aligns with forest coverage,
with a few exceptions.
For example, Washington State has the highest number of sightings, though some reports come from non-forested regions
or the outskirts of forests. In Klickitat County, there are 11 reports in total. The most recent encounter occurred
in July 2019 near White Salmon Town, reported by a group of kayakers. Nearly half of these reports were classified as Class B,
indicating indirect encounters.
Moneymaker explained that to support creatures of that size, bigfoot must rely upon large protein intake, probably deer.
Washington state has a high precipitation rate, therefore, more large prey like deer are available to raise big predators.
Activity Range
Interestingly, the existing data does not provide clear insights into Bigfoot’s activity range.
Reports span diverse climates and weather conditions, from the deserts of the U.S. Midwest to tropical regions like Indonesia.
No clear seasonal pattern has been observed either.
If bigfoot do exist, seasonal migration may be necessary since people claim to encounter them as well in winter.
Thus, major movements are required in order to hunt for more food. Unfortunately, such details are missing from the available reports.
When asked how to verify whether Bigfoot sightings in different languages refer to the same species,
Moneymaker explained that they rely primarily on descriptions provided by the reporters.
However, this makes verification a difficult task
Debate
Controversies surrounding whether Bigfoot really exists have never ceased. The major challenge faced by those attempting
to prove its existence lies in the lack of sufficient DNA samples, despite occasional instances that seem promising.
Discoveries of hair samples do occur from time to time. One famous example involves 93-year-old Peter Byrne,
who submitted a sample of potentially Bigfoot-related hair to the FBI 40 years ago.
However, he has not received a response since then.
“If it was just one sample, some scientist could point out that the analysis was flawed,”
Moneymaker said. “But if there's a whole bunch of different samples from different parts of the country at different
decades that match each other and show there are non-human ape species,
then it’s basically impossible to scientifically dismiss that.”
Sign tracking is applicable only when sufficient information is available for scholars to pursue the study of mysterious animals.
However, among the 5,000 records, patterns remain obscure.
