Where's the science in the search for Sasquatch?

NJ.com ^ | 07.22.12 | Brian Regal

[Coleus]

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency recently issued a statement indicating it knew of no evidence of the existence of “aquatic humanoids.”

This remarkable statement was prompted by calls from viewers of Animal Planet’s “Mermaids: the Body Found,” which claimed such creatures exist. A swarm of television programs, listed as “scientific” and “reality based,” perpetuate similar pseudoscientific ideas that are gobbled up by viewers, especially kids.

This incident illustrates a dangerous trend: Viewers’ acceptance of claims made by untrained laypeople as authoritative, and their simultaneous rejection of work done by experts in science, history and politics. This idea argues that egg-headed specialists — with a lifetime of focused academic work, peer-reviewed scholarship and study — are hiding the “truth” from us so that the only way to get answers is from down-home folks with little schooling but good sense. In other words, formal education is bad.

One program that encourages this fallacy is “Finding Bigfoot” (also a product of Animal Planet). It follows members of a group called the Bigfoot Field Research Organization as they search for the elusive creature. The investigators travel to various locations of supposed Bigfoot activity, with the genre staples of night vision cameras and hushed voices. While full of enthusiasm, the BFRO members don’t seem to have any technical training or follow scientific method in their search. They often say, “There are ’squatches here!” but viewers never see the big hairy beasts. And that’s about all. The show imparts no knowledge of environmental science, animal behavior studies, primate anatomy or even the history of monster hunting. Yet with spurious “evidence,” the group makes claims that the creatures are real and just around the corner, and expects us to accept it.

[gundog]

That method was also used by some corrupt “scientists” in Oregon that were attempting to close down a potential ski area. I think they used rifle cleaning brushes, and they applied lynx hair too them.

[gundog]

Large elk bones last several years.

[sarge83]

Bo-bo,

there is a real scientist/researcher in action...

They go traipsing off through the woods like a pack of wild goats screaming and carrying on.

I would think blending in and cancelling out your scent and presence would be a far better tactic than the finding bigfoot scramble through the woods.

[roamer_1]

I’ve often been amazed at how well Bigfoot is able to dispose of their dead. Instead of looking for live Bigfoots these clowns should be looking for dead Bigfoots. But they never find any bones.

They never will - At least in the mountains... Porcupines eat fresh bone like candy. And one very rarely runs across a carcass of say, a bear, or a mountain lion out in the woods - I have only seen one grizzly carcass in my whole life. Deer, elk, and even moose, sure... They are plentiful, so when they die, there is a good chance of their carcasses being stumbled upon... But anything that is predator, or above predation is also comparably rare.

I don't think most folks know how BIG 'wilderness' is.

[ZX12R]

I’ve often been amazed at how well Bigfoot is able to dispose of their dead. Instead of looking for live Bigfoots these clowns should be looking for dead Bigfoots. But they never find any bones.

Your point could be considered good evidence for them hiding their dead, or good evidence that there are no bodies, period. Either one fits, but which is overwhelmingly more likely?

[The Cajun]

I find the evidence for Sasquatch more compelling than that for man made global warming.

Now ya got me picturing AlGore running around in the woods wearing a gorilla suit to make a few more bucks for himself.

[Popman]

... couple of more contemporary dashcam videos from police units are evidence that has not yet been disproven.

I recently stumbled across that video from a State trooper dashcam in Georgia and it's very interesting to say the least...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHVbE4zhocQ

I for one who not be surprised at all if "Bigfoot" is eventually found...

[crusty old prospector]

The easiest way to disprove the existence of Bigfoot is to note the number of hunters, corn feeders, and game cameras in the woods every year. The hungry beast would have to stumble by one of them eventually.

[Joe 6-pack]

LOL...google ‘manbearpig’ :-)

[irishtenor]

Oh, I agree. After all, nobody has ever see Global Warming, but lots of people have seen Bigfoot.

[Alas Babylon!]

Seriously, though, the girl Rainay (sp?) is the only one who is a scientist and she’s also the doubtful one.

The other three are believers. Cliff is sort of scientifically minded. Matt Moneymaker in it to “make money” (and you know what his profession is? Lawyer, LOL!). Bobo just reminds me of a good natured pot head. Last night he did a Curly Howard and broke a bunch of beakers in a science lab they went to in order to get some hair DNA sampled.

But the truth is, they’ll never find anything even it a real bigfoot is out there. Do note that there must be a whole horde of cameramen, soundmen, directors and other assorted crew with them when the four are “alone” in the woods...

[eartrumpet]

Bo-bo, there is a real scientist/researcher in action... They go traipsing off through the woods like a pack of wild goats screaming and carrying on. I would think blending in and cancelling out your scent and presence would be a far better tactic than the finding bigfoot scramble through the woods.

Here is what annoys me about their methodology... They show up in a hot bigfoot zone. (Pick a location, everywhere they go has bigfoots knocking and calling and throwing rocks at them.)They spend 2-3 days hearing stories, agreeing with every account, listening to the bigfoot sounds at night, and they decide there are definitely bigfeets here, in fact, this is one of the best places ever.

Then what do they do?

Well, time to head down the road to our next investigation. Bye.

How about spending a month and getting proof? Because that is hard to find.

[The Cajun]

Back in the 1950s there was a section of Chacahoula Swamp bordering sugar cane fields we would totally avoid riding our bikes around as kids and field workers wouldn't’t work there without somebody having a shotgun.
Supposedly a very big man covered in hair was spotted over the years back there by the field workers.
Believe me, rural Louisiana, in the sticks, in the 50s, nobody knew about Sasquatch, Bigfoot or anything like that.
Few people even had TVs back then.
Always remember about that when I hear about Bigfoot, who knows?
Probably was a swamp bear, every now and then one is spotted.

[Cvengr]

They tried the bait container in barbed wire enclosure, trace the hair procedure, but the guys sampling the hair were eaten by the Sasquatch. ;^0

[Cvengr]

I’ve often wondered if there wasn’t a simpler spiritual explanation for the reports. (Taking the Quix line of reasoning, it wouldn’t surprise me is a flavor of demonic beast wasn’t involved in those sightings.)

[TexasTransplant]

***** “Now ya got me picturing AlGore running around in the woods wearing a gorilla suit to make a few more bucks for himself.” ******

Residuals from “Man, Bear, Pig” are not enough? (Greedy Bastard)

TT

[The Cajun]

If I had to put money, I'd say swamp bear.
A year or two ago one was caught south of Houma, not that far away and transported to the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge.
I think a lot of *Bigfootings* are just bears viewed at a distance.
I own a lot of land back there now, mostly sugar cane fields, and still don't go back there carrying anything smaller than a .44 Redhawk, LOL.
Some memories last.

[lowbridge]

I don’t believe it was disproven. Those who came forward admitting to the “hoax”, themselves are easilly disproven. Their claims just don’t add up.

http://www.bfro.net/news/korff_scam.asp

[lowbridge]

Don’t be silly. There’s no such thing as gorillas. Scientists from the 19th century said so.