Down the Chupacabra Hole

For more than a century people have had supposed encounters with unidentified species of bipedal hominids. Cultures around the world all share similar legends about these mysterious creatures. While many believe in Bigfoot’s existence others disagree and argue that if such a beast existed then one would have been captured by now. However, studies show that in an average person’s lifetime they will only see about three percent of the surrounding wildlife. It may be possible that intelligent species could be living in rural areas and remaining unseen by the general public. There are several pieces of evidence that have yet to be disputed.

Patterson/ Gimlin Film

Perhaps the most famous and iconic footage is a film that supposedly captures a Sasquatch in motion. In 1967 friends Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin were traveling throughout Northern California on a remote logging road located roughly 38 miles south of Oregon and 18 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. At the time Patterson was shooting both he and Gimlin were riding on horseback. Indigenous tribesmen, hunters and forest rangers all suggest to remain elevated when tracking animals as it eliminates the human scent to provide better odds of a close encounter. The 16mm clip lasts about a minute while an unknown creature is seen walking upright across the frame.

Over the past five decades countless scientists have relentlessly reviewed the footage and none have been able to disprove its authenticity. Firstly, the way the creature moves is very different from a man or woman’s gait. Much of this has to due with the limb ratios. Whatever was recorded in the film has proportionately longer limbs and shorter arms than a human. Every attempt to create a costume and reproduce the same results has failed. Part of this is due to the apparent developed muscles and fat deposits, including breasts which appear to move naturally. If someone were wearing a fur suit it would be impossible to see these subtle physical traits. Patterson died of cancer in 1972 at the young age of thirty-nine. Even through his final days he maintained that what he and Gimlin saw was real.

Sierra Sounds

During the 1970s Al Berry and Ron Morehead went camping in the mountains of Sierra Navada, California. That night, surrounded by vast wilderness, the pair began to hear extremely bizarre and bone-chilling noises. When they returned to the location a second time they decided to string a microphone from a tree branch and record whatever was producing these strange sounds. What followed was a haunting and compelling collection of mysterious vocalizations, which is often called “Samurai Chatter.” These creatures seemed to be conversing with one another and even interacted with Berry and Morehead when they tried to mimic their calls.

Experts were fascinated by the recordings, particularly R. Scott Nelson who was a retired Navy linguist with over 30 years of experience in speech studies. Nelson remains convinced that the audio clearly captured an intelligent conversation of a currently undocumented language. A year-long investigation performed by academic experts at the University of Wyoming concluded that whatever produced the sounds was an unknown species of primate. According to their research, it would be impossible for a human to produce similar results due to our lung capacity limits and restricted vocal rages. Other scientists, audio engineers and linguistic specialists have stated that the recording is genuine and shows no signs of being tampered with or edited in any way.

Hair Samples & Castings 

Across the United States many fur samples have been collected which some claim belong to Bigfoot. It appears that the structure of Sasquatch’s medulla, essentially the solid core running down the center of the hair, is so fragmented that DNA cannot be obtained. For this reason the only testable samples are those which still have a follicle attached. Luckily several successful DNA extractions have been performed on these follicles by Doctor Melba Ketchum, a veterinary laboratory professional. She a conducted an intensive five-year-long study with a team of scientists. Their conclusion based on the DNA sequencing was that Bigfoot is “a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species”.

Castings are another crucial piece of physical evidence. Jimmy Chilcutt, a fingerprint technician who worked with the Texas police force, was highly regarded by the FBI and DEA for cracking the toughest cases. Not only is he an expert of human prints but also those of primates. After investigating over 150 castings of potential Bigfoots, Chilcutt was shocked by what he found. The dermal ridges, the foot’s version of a fingerprint, were completely abnormal. Rather than running horizontally (as humans’ do), they ran vertically. Additionally, the ridges were twice the thickness of that of a man. Within the same set of prints was a toe splay with variations that could not be recreated by someone wearing plaster molds strapped to their feet. Both Chilcutt and zoology experts all stated that these castings were authentic and North America is home to an unknown primate.

Each year an astounding 15,000 to 18,000 new species are discovered. Might it be plausible that this sentient creature is simply choosing to remain hidden from mankind’s barbaric ways? What do you think is the best piece of evidence supporting the existence of Bigfoot? Share your thoughts in the comments!