Formal studies of Bigfoot
Encyclopedia
There have been a limited number of formal scientific studies of Bigfoot
or Sasquatch, the supposed ape-like creature said to live in North America
. While a few scientists have examined the evidence, the subject is not considered an area of credible science, and supposed evidence like the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film
have "no supportive data of any scientific value."
's and published in his book, Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality, in 1973. It offers a sympathetic examination of the subject. While giving high marks to some earlier researchers ("Ivan T. Sanderson and John Green and René Dahinden
... have made a far better job of recording the major events of the sasquatch saga than I could ever hope to do"), Napier writes that if a conclusion is to be reached based on scant extant "'hard' evidence," science must declare "Bigfoot does not exist." This conclusion is qualified, however, as Napier seems willing to leave the question unresolved. He finds it difficult to entirely reject thousands of alleged tracks, "scattered over 125,000 square miles” or to dismiss all "the many hundreds" of eyewitness accounts. He adds that "if one track is genuine and one report is true-bill, "then myth must be chucked out the window and reality admitted through the front door." Napier concludes, "I am convinced that Sasquatch exists, but whether it is all it is cracked up to be is another matter altogether. There must be something in north-west America that needs explaining, and that something leaves man-like footprints."
In 1974, the National Wildlife Federation
funded a field study seeking Bigfoot evidence. No formal federation members were involved and the study made no notable discoveries.
In 1975, The Gentle Giants: The Gorilla Story was co-authored by Geoffrey H. Bourne, another primatologist. Its final chapter is a brief summary of various mysterious primate reports worldwide. Like Napier, he laments the dearth of physical evidence, but does not dismiss Sasquatch or Yeti as impossible.
From May 10 to 13, 1978, the University of British Columbia
hosted a symposium
: Anthropology of the Unknown: Sasquatch and Similar Phenomena, a Conference on Humanoid Monsters. Presented were 35 papers (abstracts collected in Wasson, 141-154). Most attendees came from anthropology
backgrounds. Robert Pyle writes that the conference "brought together twenty professors in various fields, along with several serious laymen, to consider the mythology
, ethnology
, ecology
, biogeography
, physiology
, psychology
, history
and sociology
of the subject. All took it seriously, and while few, if any, accepted the existence of Sasquatch outright, they jointly concluded 'that there are not reasonable grounds to dismiss all the evidence as misinterpretation or hoax.'" Some papers presented at the symposium were collected in 1980 as Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, edited by Marjorie Halpin and Michael Ames.
Beginning in the late 1970s, physical anthropologist Grover Krantz
published several articles and four book-length treatments of Sasquatch, though his work has contained multiple scientific failings and falling for hoaxes.
Robert Michael Pyle
, ecologist and nature writer, wrote a book Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide, that explores Pyle's attempts to "get a feel for both the legend and the beast itself by experiencing whatever the idea of Bigfoot had to offer." The book was researched and written with a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation
.
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
or Sasquatch, the supposed ape-like creature said to live in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. While a few scientists have examined the evidence, the subject is not considered an area of credible science, and supposed evidence like the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film
Patterson-Gimlin film
The Patterson-Gimlin film is a famous short motion picture of an unidentified subject the film makers purported to be a "Bigfoot", that was supposedly filmed on October 20, 1967, by Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin on the Klamath River outside of Orleans,...
have "no supportive data of any scientific value."
Details
The first scientific study of available evidence was conducted by primatologist John NapierJohn Napier (primatologist)
John Russell Napier, MRCS, LRCP, D.Sc. was a British primatologist, paleoathropologist, and physician, who is notable for his work with Homo habilis and OH 7, as well as on human and primate hands/feet...
's and published in his book, Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality, in 1973. It offers a sympathetic examination of the subject. While giving high marks to some earlier researchers ("Ivan T. Sanderson and John Green and René Dahinden
René Dahinden
René Dahinden was a well-known Bigfoot researcher.Dahinden was born in Switzerland but moved to Canada in 1953, where he would live for the rest of his life...
... have made a far better job of recording the major events of the sasquatch saga than I could ever hope to do"), Napier writes that if a conclusion is to be reached based on scant extant "'hard' evidence," science must declare "Bigfoot does not exist." This conclusion is qualified, however, as Napier seems willing to leave the question unresolved. He finds it difficult to entirely reject thousands of alleged tracks, "scattered over 125,000 square miles” or to dismiss all "the many hundreds" of eyewitness accounts. He adds that "if one track is genuine and one report is true-bill, "then myth must be chucked out the window and reality admitted through the front door." Napier concludes, "I am convinced that Sasquatch exists, but whether it is all it is cracked up to be is another matter altogether. There must be something in north-west America that needs explaining, and that something leaves man-like footprints."
In 1974, the National Wildlife Federation
National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over four million members and supporters, and 48 state and territorial affiliated organizations...
funded a field study seeking Bigfoot evidence. No formal federation members were involved and the study made no notable discoveries.
In 1975, The Gentle Giants: The Gorilla Story was co-authored by Geoffrey H. Bourne, another primatologist. Its final chapter is a brief summary of various mysterious primate reports worldwide. Like Napier, he laments the dearth of physical evidence, but does not dismiss Sasquatch or Yeti as impossible.
From May 10 to 13, 1978, the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
hosted a symposium
Symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
: Anthropology of the Unknown: Sasquatch and Similar Phenomena, a Conference on Humanoid Monsters. Presented were 35 papers (abstracts collected in Wasson, 141-154). Most attendees came from anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
backgrounds. Robert Pyle writes that the conference "brought together twenty professors in various fields, along with several serious laymen, to consider the mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, biogeography
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
, physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
of the subject. All took it seriously, and while few, if any, accepted the existence of Sasquatch outright, they jointly concluded 'that there are not reasonable grounds to dismiss all the evidence as misinterpretation or hoax.'" Some papers presented at the symposium were collected in 1980 as Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, edited by Marjorie Halpin and Michael Ames.
Beginning in the late 1970s, physical anthropologist Grover Krantz
Grover Krantz
Grover Sanders Krantz was a professor of physical anthropology at Washington State University, perhaps most famous to the general public as one of the few scientists not only to research Bigfoot, but also to express his belief in the cryptid's existence...
published several articles and four book-length treatments of Sasquatch, though his work has contained multiple scientific failings and falling for hoaxes.
Robert Michael Pyle
Robert Michael Pyle
Robert Michael Pyle is a lepidopterist and author who has published twelve books and hundreds of papers, essays, stories and poems. He has a Ph.D. from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. He founded the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in 1974...
, ecologist and nature writer, wrote a book Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide, that explores Pyle's attempts to "get a feel for both the legend and the beast itself by experiencing whatever the idea of Bigfoot had to offer." The book was researched and written with a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
.