THE imprint of a hairy backside in the mud of Washington state is the
strongest hint yet that Bigfoot is roaming the North American far west,
according to researchers who made the discovery.
Many people doubt whether the giant primate, commonly known as Bigfoot,
actually exists. Hundreds of its supposed footprints have been photographed and
cast, but this is one of the few body impressions of the hypothetical
creature.
鈥淚f we can just get other scientists to look at this with an objective view,
I think they鈥檒l say there must be something out there,鈥� says LeRoy Fish, a
zoologist and retired wildlife ecologist who took part in the expedition that
discovered the imprint.
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Most stories of the bipedal apelike creature are dismissed as
misidentifications or hoaxes. But Fish and others think Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as
it is known in Canada, may be living hidden away in remote wilderness areas.
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), which includes some
trained scientists, sponsored a 13-person expedition in September to look for
evidence in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington state. To
attract one of the creatures, the team set out food, spread pheromones and
played recordings thought to be the calls of other Bigfoots.
After placing apples in a muddy spot one evening, the investigators returned
the next morning to find an impression which, they say, shows the left forearm,
hip, thigh and heel of a large primate. They believe the impression was made as
the creature sat down and reached over to pick up the bait.
Anthropologist Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University says the imprint seems
to have been made by a large, hair-covered hominid more than 2.5 metres tall.
Meldrum says he found markings that look like human fingerprints on the heel
print. 鈥淎ll we鈥檙e trying to say at this stage is that there鈥檚 evidence that
justifies objective consideration,鈥� Meldrum says.
The BFRO is inviting outside scientists to examine the casts, but has so far
had no offers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a challenge,鈥� says Meldrum. 鈥淔or most people, you just
mention Bigfoot and you get a snicker.鈥� Benjamin Radford of the Skeptical
Inquirer magazine agrees that mainstream scientists are wary of the subject
because of a history of fakes. 鈥淎fter a while they just get tired of wasting
their time on hoaxes.鈥�