Wanted Dead Or Alive

By John Betts
From Fortean Times Magazine, January 1997

We still don't know for sure that the elusive North American Bigfoot exists, writes Janet Bord, co-author of Bigfoot Casebook (1982), but if it is ever proved, the implications are startling. To those who believe in its reality, Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch) is a hairy man-beast, 7-9 ft (2.102.7 m) tall, possibly a kind of Gigantopithecus survival. To the disbelievers, all sighting reports are lies or misidentifications and all photographs are hoaxes. In the event, reports and photographs are just anecdotal evidence and only an independent scientific examination of an actual Bigfoot is going to settle the matter. Close encounters between the creature and armed men are rare and it has, to date, proved difficult to track and kill. The opinion also exists that Bigfoot ought to be left in peace, for if its existence were proved, its isolated life would be disrupted forever. There are well over 1,000 recorded sightings of Bigfoot going back nearly 200 years. It has been seen in all parts of the North American continent, but mainly in the Pacific Northwest: in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington State and California. Sightings continue to be reported to day, but photographs and other tangible evidence are rare.
The most convincing and convenient proof of Bigfoot's existence would be the discovery of a carcass-but that's not likely. Any wildlife remains are rare finds in the North American forest where scavenging creatures can reduce something as substantial as a dead moose to just toenails, teeth and antlers in a few days. And after a week even those tail-ends are usually gnawed away. The only dead wildlife that most people see are fresh victims of collisions with vehicles. So far, Bigfoot has avoided becoming a roadkill. You are more likely to get a glimpse of Bigfoot in your rear-view mirror than in your headlights. Bigfoot researchers say that drivers consistently report rear-view sightings-usually of something large hunched down at the roadside, rising to cross the road after the vehicle passes. The evidence suggests that Bigfoot is canny enough to stay out of traffic as well as avoiding definitive proof of its evidence. The simple solution to some is to shoot the illusive beast. Dr. Grover Krantz, professor of anthropology at washington State University, author of Big Footprints and renowned cryptozoologist, advocates a hunt to track and kill a Bigfoot. He believes it's the only way to remove any doubt about the thing's existence. Inevitably, his position has drawn opprobrium from other Bigfoot searchers and researchers. "I think it's wrong. It would be criminal and totally unnecessary," objects Peter Byrne, a former big game hunter, author of The Search For Bigfoot and head of The Bigfoot Research Project based near Mount Hood in Oregon. "I think shooting a Bigfoot is something proposed by people who are desperate to get one of these things." Worse, says Byrne, Bigfoot might already be an endangered species. His own research team has not found any likely footprints in years. Byrne figures that, even if there are only a handful of the beasts around, they should be leaving thousands of prints: "I have no idea how many Bigfoots there are, but there are not very many; otherwise there would be more evidence on the ground." In Byrne's view, killing a Bigfoot would be tragic: "As one schoolboy said to me: 'Suppose it's the last one?'" Krantz, however, doesn't believe Bigfoot is at risk and, if it is, it might need to be shot. Not to shoot one, he suggests, might only ensure its demise. "If it's really endangered, which I doubt, then it makes taking a specimen all the more important, because whatever is causing Bigfoot to become extinct is continuing," he says. "The government is going to pay no attention and do nothing to help unless you prove the animal exists. The only way to prove Bigfoot exists is to bring in a specimen. So the more endangered they are the more critical it is to get that one specimen." However, Krantz believes the evidence suggests that numbers are on the rise, particularly in the Eastern United States where forested land is coming back. Notwithstanding the debate about whether Bigfoot is endangered, Byrne thinks he has a better idea for proving the animal's existence. Funded by the Academy of Applied Science in Boston-previously known for its support of Robert Rines' attempts to track the Loch Ness monster on film and sonar in 1976-Byrne's Bigfoot Project resources include stand-by helicopters, infra-red search devices, remote motion detectors, police-trained tracking teams, computer mapping, video cameras and, lately, biopsy darts. With these darts, fired from a gun, Byrne says he can get all he needs from Bigfoot by way of a tissue sample: "After that the creature walks away." Byrne admits that tissue samples and Bigfoot DNA are a far cry from a whole animal. Nevertheless, he insists that being able to prove, technically, that there is something ape-like, and hitherto unrecognised in the woods "would be a giant step forward." Byrne said his mission would then be complete and he would step back to allow the scientists to begin their research. Krantz is sceptical. First, he doubts whether Byrne's trackers could get close enough to dart a Bigfoot. Second, he doubts whether any Bigfoot hunter could take a back seat and let other take over the investigation. "You have to understand why people are taking a stand against shooting a Bigfoot," says Krantz. "They know that once a specimen is brought in, the scientists will take over and the hunters are going to be shoved aside. They want to keep the mystery alive so they've something going for them." At the same time, Krantz says, the possible wealth and notoriety for the person who proves Bigfoot's existence provides a temptation few could resist. "A lot of these people going around trumpeting how wrong it is to shoot one fully intend to if they can," he added cynically. Meanwhile, after four years of research at the Bigfoot Project, Byrne says that computer analyses of sightings are beginning to reveal patterns of movements. "It's quite exciting," says Byrne adding, probably not for the first time, "we could have something tomorrow." In Big Footprints, Krantz proposed a military-style campaign with a team of hunters to bag a Bigfoot. "If some rich person wants to famous or infamous for backing the bringing in of a Sasquatch and picks me to organise it, I would work on it," he says, "but no one has come up with the money yet."