Defining myself

It is a question I was asked earlier this week. “Are you a Bigfoot believer?” The question was asked with reference to the United Kingdom in particular. Regardless of the geographic location under discussion, I would have to answer that question with ‘No’.

The problem I have is with the word ‘believer’. A ‘believer’ is someone who will hold something to be true based purely on faith. No proof is required. Whatever the subject, whether a deity or a cryptid, a believer will hang on to their ‘truth’ no matter what.

When pressed, I tend to use the term ‘open-minded skeptic’ to describe myself. I cannot state categorically that Bigfoot does not exist, yet in order to say they do exist, I need evidence beyond footprints in snow or mud. In short, I need to get ‘eyes on’ for myself.

The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film is often held up as the best proof that these creatures exist, yet I personally, see issues with the footage caught. Again, I cannot stand up and say this film was faked, just that I have doubts about the figure shown in the film itself. I cannot make that jump from skeptic to believer as a result of that footage.

The U.K. does not have enough space for these creatures to go unnoticed

This is the contention put forward by many who would seek to ‘believe’ such creatures do NOT exist in the U.K.

Unfortunately, I cannot jump aboard this bandwagon either.

It is well known that even our largest cities have populations of urban foxes, but how often have you seen one? It is a rare occurrence to say the least.

I was challenged on that assertion one time, so I set up the following test. We picked a small town with a population of around 35,000. I made the claim that I could get from a starting point, to a railway station without being seen by anyone, during the night. That required me to move around 1.5 miles from start to finish. I was given a thirty second head start before a search team would set off to try an spot me. The search team knew my start point but did NOT know where the destination was. Needless to say they didn’t manage to spot me, despite at one point passing within ten feet of my location. I was wearing dark coloured clothing, not army camouflage and certainly not a Ghillie Suite. (Imagine explaining that to an eagle-eyed Police Constable?)

I have also driven thousands of miles on U.K. roads during nighttime hours and noticed an up-tick in the re-wilding of certain areas. I spotted many more deer for example, due to the vastly reduced levels of traffic. Those deer existed with higher levels of traffic, just we didn’t see them.

So to say things cannot navigate, even through populated areas without being spotted I think is wrong.

Transfer that to a rural area, and I think it would be all to easy for a creature to use the hours of darkness to travel considerable distances, even across open ground without being spotted.

The TV misdirection

There have been a lot of TV shows on the subject of Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Some have been an attempt at a serious scientific approach, others have been just plain dreadful.

While watching these shows, I would ask you to keep one thing in mind. What is the foremost thing in the mind of the Producer of any TV show? It is quite simply ratings. Will the network get the advertising revenue to pay back their investment in the show. It’s a stark equation.

So let me put this to the believers:

When you are trying to find an elusive creature in the forest, why on earth would screaming daft ‘calls’ at the top of your voice or battering a tree with a piece of wood draw those creatures in?

What other species known to exist would respond to such stimuli?

It is all simply showmanship and nothing to do with attracting a creature. A deer hunter may stalk a herd for hours or sit silently in what our American cousins refer to as a ‘hunting blind’. They keep noise to a minimum.

So why on earth would stomping around the forest making a load of noise attract a Bigfoot or Sasquatch? It does not make any sense.

That said, someone sitting quietly observing an area of forest would make for a very boring TV show.

Despite the efforts of some to commoditise and monetise the search for Bigfoot, the techniques used in these shows are to entertain, at least in my opinion.

Not a believer but I’m open to looking

So I hope I’ve made it clear. I’m happy for you to try and convince me with your evidence, I’ll keep an open mind. I’m curious and interested in the subject, but I can’t yet say I’m a Bigfoot or Sasquatch believer.

If you’d like to tell me how wrong I am or have further questions, please join me in The Bigfoot Research Team UK group on Facebook. (I’ve got permission off the group admin.)