Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Yeti. Just Folklore?

Photo: Pixabay

Call it bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti or whatever else you want to, this furry mysterious creature that walks out of the woods has become a global sensation. Now, is it just folklore or is there something more to it?

JAN 25, 2020 |

In 1958, when journalist Andrew Genzoli of the Humboldt Times received a letter from a reader about loggers in northern California having discovered large footprints supposedly left behind by a mysterious wildman, he thought that someone was pulling his leg and set the letter aside. But, when the column he was writing at that time came up short, he decided to take a chance and print the letter instead. He wrote “Maybe we have a relative of the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas,” referring to the local wildman as “our own Wandering Willie of Weitchpec.” Unbeknown to Genzoli at that time was how big of a sensation his September 21st column was to generate. The rest, as they say, is history. Bigfoot is no longer some local folklore, but a mysterious celebrity who has captured our minds and whose sightings have become as sensational as UFO sightings!

Photo: Washington State DOT

With such an immense fan following, it is no surprise that claims of bigfoot sightings make it to front page news without any credibility check whatsoever. Many of these reports that include photos and videos have later been found to be not just cases of misidentified animal sightings, but hoaxes perpetrated by conmen purely for publicity and monetary gains. But, this has in no way deterred the mainstream news media from picking up on claims of bigfoot sightings from dubious sources. After all, who is going to sue for libel? Bigfoot? Right! But last week, things were a bit different, the source of the latest sighting couldn’t have been more credible. The Washington State Department of Transportation shared photos and a video of a humanoid creature walking off a highway at Sherman Pass. One of their webcam watchers tweeted “Sasquatch spotted!!! I'm not superstitious... just a little stitious. Have you noticed something strange on our Sherman Pass/SR 20 webcam before? If you look closely by the tree on the left there looks to be something... might be Sasquatch... We will leave that up to you!” Of course, the media jumped at it and the most mysterious celebrity of our time was once again back in the news.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) is a virtual community dedicated to exploring the bigfoot mystery. The BFRO maintains a bigfoot sightings database that is updated regularly with reports from across the North America. According to the BFRO, these reports are investigated by its volunteer researchers to determine credibility before they are added to the database. The reports are also classified based on their misinterpretation potential. Class A reports involve clear sightings, Class B reports involve degraded sightings and Class C reports involve second-hand or third-hand information. The Bigfoot Sightings map above shows the number of bigfoot sightings (all classes) reported across the United States and the map below shows the same across Canada. In the US, Washington has experienced the largest number of bigfoot sightings, while in Canada, British Columbia has experienced the most. Washington and British Columbia are geographically adjacent, making this combined region a must-visit for bigfoot enthusiasts.

But, why hasn’t the scientific community taken the bigfoot seriously? After all, there have been a few thousand reports of bigfoot sightings. Of course, we know why. Deep in our mind we believe it is nothing more than just folklore. But, can this folklore have a hidden agenda? After all, one of the earliest bigfoot sightings was associated to a logging site. Was it to warn the loggers that if they cleared away too much forest, the animals will start to walk out of the woods for better or worse? Is that why Genzoli decided to introduce this mysterious wildman with big feet to the world? Is that why the Washington State Department of Transportation decided to share webcam captures of a mysterious humanoid and scream sasquatch? We may never know exactly why, but this folklore seems to have an underlying message that beckons some serious thought. And, while we ponder upon this, let’s watch the latest video of our favorite furry beast - the one and only BIGFOOT.

Video: Washington State DOT

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