Bigfoot. Is it possible they exist?

[FyrFytr998]

Bigfoot. Loch Ness. Etc.......

In this day and age of technology it would be impossible to avoid detection.

So no.

 

[ironwolf]

Interesting story! Thanks for sharing. I can definately see why that's a very intimidating situation.

It was a strange feeling. Very helpless I can remember feeling almost angry at the situation because i just couldn't seem to get anything going in my favor if that makes sense.

Whatever it was had the higher ground and like I said, I remember very clearly looking down the slope and realizing that if I were
To split that way, I'd be fucked because of all the fallen trees and thick forest.

Also like I said, the rifle was a 338 win mag, it's a fucking cannon but there isn't any open sights on it, just a scope so it's set up to shoot stuff from 200-400 yards away, I knew it was basically useless because at this distance which was less than 100 feet, the magnification would be too much to get any sort of focus on quickly.

 

[michal001]

Possible, but unlikely.

We discover new species which are usually small animals; large land based animals that we don't know of are highly unlikely.

Most of those pics are bears standing up.

 

[BoogerDawson]

First I'm hearing of this. Can you elaborate?

There was a Finding Bigfoot episode about these rock apes.

 

[Tyrannosaurus rex]

It was a strange feeling. Very helpless I can remember feeling almost angry at the situation because i just couldn't seem to get anything going in my favor if that makes sense.

Whatever it was had the higher ground and like I said, I remember very clearly looking down the slope and realizing that if I were
To split that way, I'd be fucked because of all the fallen trees and thick forest.

Also like I said, the rifle was a 338 win mag, it's a fucking cannon but there isn't any open sights on it, just a scope so it's set up to shoot stuff from 200-400 yards away, I knew it was basically useless because at this distance which was less than 100 feet, the magnification would be too much to get any sort of focus on quickly.

I can see why you'd feel that way. I definately would feel like that if I were in that situation.

 

[FyrFytr998]

It was a strange feeling. Very helpless I can remember feeling almost angry at the situation because i just couldn't seem to get anything going in my favor if that makes sense.

Whatever it was had the higher ground and like I said, I remember very clearly looking down the slope and realizing that if I were
To split that way, I'd be fucked because of all the fallen trees and thick forest.

Also like I said, the rifle was a 338 win mag, it's a fucking cannon but there isn't any open sights on it, just a scope so it's set up to shoot stuff from 200-400 yards away, I knew it was basically useless because at this distance which was less than 100 feet, the magnification would be too much to get any sort of focus on quickly.

You weren't carrying a back up weapon? Thought a large caliber revolver is pretty much a given for hunters where bears be.

 

[CatchOmega]

Snakes sensing infrared and a tiger's roar being capable of temporarily paralyzing its prey have a basis in reality. I even provided a link to a study on the Tiger's roar.

I mentioned these things simply to show that it's possible they have abilities similar to these creatures that contribute to their elusiveness. I see these things as POSSIBLE reasons they've not been found, that is all. They may not have these abilities at all. I do not know. Not once ITT have I claimed explicitly that they exist or have these abilities for certain.

My question would be... why would an ape like creature have these evolved traits? It doesn't make any sense. A species couldn't develop these types of senses through 80-odd years of simply avoiding human contact.

 

[michal001]

My question would be... why would an ape like creature have these evolved traits? It doesn't make any sense. A species couldn't develop these types of senses through 80-odd years of simply avoiding human contact.

One word: Jesus.

 

[Thurisaz]

I don't know if bigfoots are real. The forests they are rumored to inhabit are ridiculously vast. There is room to hide armies if one wishes. I have no real reason to discount the rumors, nor do I have to take a strong stance for their existence either.

 

[Deleted member 429137]

Sure man. It's a long story but here it goes.

I was on a hunting trip in northern New Mexico and we were looking to get elk, nothing new but it was a new area. After a week of getting skunked and not getting anything it was the very last day and my buddy was feeling burned it and tired from all the hiking and climbing so I decided to go out alone the last day.

I used a gps and a topographical map to plan a route that would end up being a loop of about 14-15 miles total and I knew that if I got an early start it wouldn't be a problem. I left that morning at about 4:30am carrying an empty pack (hoping to fill it up) and my 338 win mag, a bit of water and some food.

The plan was to work my way through a valley that dropped a few thousand feet in the first few miles, sort of loop around and come back up a ridge and skirt the ridge at about 9,000 feet and drop back to our camp.

I didn't see anything that day, absolutely nothing and no traces of anything, I worked my way out of the valley exactly like I'd planned and eventually gained a lot of elevation onto the ridge just as planned.

The strange stuff started about 5 miles from camp on the ridge. I was probably ~ 100-150 feet from the top of the ridge in the woods working through the forest, looking down the slope was just deep forest with ahitloads of fallen trees, I can clearly remember thinking that if a bear charged from up the ridge, I'd probably make it about 10 feet before getting all fucked up in the fallen trees.

Looking up towards the top of the ridge I could see daylight through the trees but they were very thick, I could tell where the top of the ridge was though.

So I was hiking along and I heard a huge SNAP like a very big branch being broken. I stopped right there and looked up the slope but couldn't see much, I kept thinking I was seeing movement but the trees were really think like I said.

At that point I was thinking it was a bear and I was a little worried because even though the 338 would floor a bear, the magnification of the scope would make it damn near impossible to shoot a running bear from the distance I was dealing with. I kept the rifle up but left the safety on (but had my thumb right over the safety, Remington 700). I continued hiking along the ridge and heard another huge SNAP even louder but still coming from up the slope, this was probably 75 yards from where the first one happened. Again I stopped and faced up the slope and I know for certain I saw movement in the trees but I couldn't make anything out.

The thing I was thinking about is that me and my friend were the only people in the area, for somebody to get to this point from another access road would have they would have to walk about 30 miles I guessed at the time (later, after doing some map work I found that distance would actually be about 41 miles...no person is doing that).

I continued hiking and again SNAP...I was really thinking "what the fuck it that" bears don't do that. I got to a point where I had to walk across an area about 100 yards across where there was no trees, in that opening I could see the actual top of the ridge not obscured by the trees. It was getting a bit late and I can clearly remember thinking "fuck this I want to get out of here before it gets dark" I was really feeling freaked out.

I crossed the opening and looked back, couldn't see anything but I could hear rocks moving like something walking across the scree. I got back into the trees and made it probably another 200 yards and another SNAP but it seemed closer and I definetly saw movement in the trees, there was nothing to shoot at though, the light was bad, the brush was thick and I doubt I could have made any sort of good shot anyways.

I continued on and I didn't hear anymore snaps, but for the next few miles I was hearing movement on the ridge above me.

Finally I got to a trail which I knew I would because of the map and once on the trail it was about a mile to camp and I could
Move much quicker as there was an actual trail.

I booked it like fuck on that trail and got back, asked my friend if anybody he'd been up there, hikers maybe...nope. Asked him
If he'd heard or seen anything...nope.

I've always guessed that it was probably a hungry bear stalking me but that doesn't explain the snaps and I've also not known black bears to stalk people.

I don't know, I'm not saying it's Bigfoot but it sure as fuck wasn't anything of experienced before or since. Cats are quiet, bears are skidish, elk/deer don't follow people.

I don't know. I hung that map in my study with the highlighter marking the route and it's always seemed strange to me. This was back in 2007.

Thanks for sharing that story. That sounds like a real mindfuck. Just curious: how come you didn't try shouting / making a lot of noise? I'm not an outdoorsman, but I had to work a job where we had to take several certifications for bear/wolf/mountain lion danger and they all suggested making a lot of noise in a situation like that.

 

[BearGrounds]

My question would be... why would an ape like creature have these evolved traits? It doesn't make any sense. A species couldn't develop these types of senses through 80-odd years of simply avoiding human contact.

Good points. I'll grant that the reptile trait is far-fetched, and that these abilities would need to have developed over a longer period than 80-odd years. The roar, however, could be feasible. Apes display some impressive vocals.

 

[D Train]

Terrible argument. Sorry D. They do and scavengers scatter remains. I've happened upon remains of large animals before and if these animals were out there. There would have been definitive proof and at some point a body would have showed up. Especially considering all the different habitats where they have been "observed"

Well, you're the expert. All of my carcass decomposition knowledge is in the context of how fast a zombie would cease to be a threat.

 

[The_Renaissance]

I'm a believer.



But as the years go by, my faith is waning to be honest. It's far more likely that other bigfoot-esque creatures exist in places like Asia, IMO. Orang Pendek for one, in Indonesia. Firm believer in that.



I would LOVE to go fucking squatching though. I'm tempted to do a trip to WA/OR sometime and do the main 'hotspots'!

 

[Deleted member 409801]

Extremely slim odds that something could avoid all the hunters , hikers , trail/game cameras etc etc for this long. The population density is just too great for something to stay hidden forever imo. The last " wild" native American came out of the woods in 1912 ( I believe ) , I don't see how a species that's probably less intelligent could last appreciably longer .

 

[TheFakeMacoy]

While I loved Sasquatch stories when I was a kid, I really doubt that they exist. It's more fun (for me at least) to think about how the stories came about. Bigfoot isn't as exciting, because a large, furry animal, that can walk on 2 legs, fits the description of a bear.

Similar things apply to lake or sea monsters. For instance, take this:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/giant-sturgeon-caught-on-fraser-river-again-1.2676051

Spoiler

If you saw a fish that big, and you didn't get a good look, you'd think it was a monster too. It's entirely possible that different lake/river monsters did exist, because they were interpretations of actual animals, that may have been exaggerated over time.

There's also the oarfish, which happens to look just like a description of a sea serpent. They're rare to find at the top of the water, so that could explain some of the sea serpent stories.

 

[ironwolf]

You weren't carrying a back up weapon? Thought a large caliber revolver is pretty much a given for hunters where bears be.

If there were brown/grizzly bears I would have my 44 mag with me. Not really much need for that with black bears because 99% of the time the are scared shitless of people.

 

[CatchOmega]

Thanks for sharing that story. That sounds like a real mindfuck. Just curious: how come you didn't try shouting / making a lot of noise? I'm not an outdoorsman, but I had to work a job where we had to take several certifications for bear/wolf/mountain lion danger and they all suggested making a lot of noise in a situation like that.

Good points. I'll grant that the reptile trait is far-fetched, and that these abilities would need to have developed over a longer period than 80-odd years. The roar, however, could be feasible. Apes display some impressive vocals.

No doubt that apes pack a mean vocal punch. If any of those animals had me pinned and seranaded me with their voices, I would probably freeze from the shock or just pass the fuck out. I think that has more to do with our senses than theirs though.

I doubt that it does much to hide their existence.

 

[ironwolf]

Thanks for sharing that story. That sounds like a real mindfuck. Just curious: how come you didn't try shouting / making a lot of noise? I'm not an outdoorsman, but I had to work a job where we had to take several certifications for bear/wolf/mountain lion danger and they all suggested making a lot of noise in a situation like that.

i think I did make a bit of noise but not a whole lot, usually making noise like shouting "hey bear" is not to scare them off once they are interested in you, but to alert them early because they usually attack when they are surprised....like coming around a bend in a trail and ending up face to face with a bear with Cubs.

I remember trying very hard to maintain composure because I wasn't sure what was happening and there were very few options....really I could keep going on my way or shoot the gun, there wasn't anywhere else to go or anything else to do.

Again, in this area, black bears aren't generally aggressive, in areas where they are used to people like New Jersey where they come looking for food and are used to people or Yosemite where cars are just big food coolers to them they act more aggresive. In northern New Mexico, not so much...there's very few people in New Mexico as it is, factor in the sheer size of the state and you do t really get bears that are used to people.

I don't know, that was like 9 years ago almost but I didn't really think it was a bear, that's why the story has stuck with me.

 

[ironwolf]

No doubt that apes pack a mean vocal punch. If any of those animals had me pinned and seranaded me with their voices, I would probably freeze from the shock or just pass the fuck out. I think that has more to do with our senses than theirs though.

I doubt that it does much to hide their existence.

Yeah it's hard to explain, as I said I was pretty terrified and little things like remembering the safety on the gun happened probably just out of muscle memory. That's why safety devises on guns suck for self defense because you are probably so scared you aren't going to be able to figure it out unless you have trained a ton.

 

[BearGrounds]

No doubt that apes pack a mean vocal punch. If any of those animals had me pinned and seranaded me with their voices, I would probably freeze from the shock or just pass the fuck out. I think that has more to do with our senses than theirs though.

I doubt that it does much to hide their existence.

True, I doubt their vocals could accomplish anything more than to frighten/confuse and disorient in that manner. I certainly don't have any reason to believe they could have some sort of hypnotic or charming effect that would help them avoid humans. If that's what the poster was implying those people meant, I'm not co-signing that.