He’s not that much of a mystery. Gigantopithecus, thought to be extinct, is not. He’s rare and cautious of humans, and mostly lives in places where access is difficult.
There are simply too many stories from all over the world over many hundreds of years that describe the same creature for it to be a hoax.
That’s not to say that an individual sighting, tracks, etc. might not be a hoax.
Yes, there are many reports of encounters all over Western North America (Bigfoot, Sasquatch, etc.), but it’s kinda like UFOs - if they’re so common, how come no one with a high-resolution camera ever manages to get a close-up picture?
I like to think that there is a Bigfoot out there. Have heard stories from reasonable people of tracks, “nests”, etc. A guy I worked with couldn’t make a job once as he had to travel 6 hours one-way to investigate a Bigfoot sighting with some air on a fence. With a University of Washington professor. He was a game warden. Made me think they either have WAY too large a budget, do a GREAT PR job, or they think there is something to it.
The other point some person made was (a skeptic on all of these types of things), what makes the human mind come up with these similar stories, across the globe and across the ages? That is an interesting take on it.
For me? I hope there is a Bigfoot; and I hope none ever are confirmed. Then it will just be the rare North American Ape - and what fun is that!? Plus, it will become the greatest friend the EPA and the envirowackos ever had!. “It does not matter if you have never seen a Bigfoot on your property. See these big trees? And the ferns? That is Bigfoot habitat.”
How may stories from all over the world over how many hundreds of years are there about dragons, vampires, zombies, ghosts, Martians, and Atlantis?