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Sasquatch: The Great Controversy
by Sean Dow
Many people believe that Sasquatch doesn’t exist. However, just as many people believe
that it does. Sasquatch must exist because of extensive evidence given in support of his
existence. This evidence includes ancient myths and legends, eyewitness accounts of sightings,
and actual physical evidence gathered such as photos, videos, and footprints.
All over the world, different myths and legends are told about a strange hairy man-like
creature that lives in the surrounding wilderness. In Oriental Regions, this creature is known as
the “Chinese Wildman”; in Western North America, it is known as “Sasquatch” or “Bigfoot”; in
the South-eastern United States it is called “Skunk Ape”, due to its horrible odor. All these
legends and myths had to come from somewhere, so who or what started them? Wouldn’t it be
logical to assume that all the legends and myths about this creature originate from actual
sightings and encounters with this creature? If this is the case, then all the legends and myths
about Sasquatch are actual accounts of this creature. This would be then considered evidence for
proving Sasquatch’s existence, and would add thousands of reports of the creature to the already
extensive list of eyewitness encounters.
Thousands of eyewitness reports of Sasquatch or one of its cousins are submitted to the
scientific community each year. These reports come from all over the world. Some of these
reports can be discounted due to hoaxes, misidentification of animals, and misidentification of
other objects. But, after filtering these out, hundreds of verifiable sighting reports still exist.
Many of the sightings are similar, yet they were given by different people who have never come
in contact before. This suggests that this is not a random thing or a planned hoax, but a real
phenomenon that needs to be further investigated by the scientific community. Many creatures
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have evaded the scientific community for centuries throughout history. Every year, new species
and subspecies of animals are discovered all over the world. Why wouldn’t it be possible that
there is at least one more creature that still hasn’t been officially discovered? There have even
been reports of people getting attacked by or saved by Sasquatch. A famous story of this would
be a group of friends shot and injured a Sasquatch. The Sasquatch ran away, later that night at
their cabin, they were awakened by loud banging sounds on their walls. They claimed that is
was a group of Sasquatch hurling gigantic boulders at their cabin. The next morning, their cabin
was lined with humongous boulders that would be impossible for normal humans to lift, let alone
throw. This story has been published and retold hundreds of times, yet the scientific community
still cannot come up with a logical explanation for it besides the very real answer of Sasquatch
existing. There have also reports made by people who claimed that they were saved by a
Sasquatch and then brought to a Sasquatch “village”, where they recuperated and later came
forth with their amazing story. This would imply that Sasquatch is an intelligent and sentient
being capable of advancing in technology, making them very similar to humans. In Peter
Byrne’s book, The Search for Bigfoot: Monster, Myth or Man?, he tells about hundreds of
various sightings and encounters with Sasquatch. All of these witnesses who are separated by
both space and time, actually all described the exact same creature. For descriptions to be this
accurate, the creature has to actually exist. Many reports of Sasquatch are false, or hoaxes, but
there have been a few that couldn’t be debunked by the scientific community. These few are
what keep people believing in the existence of Sasquatch until a live specimen is finally
captured.
Many types of physical evidence have been submitted to the scientific community. This
physical evidence includes photographs, home videos, and footprint casts. This category is
where most hoaxes are created, which makes proper examination of the evidence very difficult.
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According to an article named “We hear that…”, three British explorers and a Cryptozoologist,
someone who studies creatures that have not yet been officially recognized by the scientific
community, have found hairs in Sumatra that they believe came from that regions version of the
Sasquatch, the Orang-Pendek. According to labs in Australia, the hairs do not match any
currently know creature. Many hair samples have been found all over the world that may be
from Sasquatch. Many footprints have also been found, but footprints are easily faked, so this
type of evidence must be more carefully examined. However, many unexplainable footprints
have been found. Barbara Tandory included in one of her articles that, “The first recorded
mention of Bigfoot came in 1811, when explorer David Thompson stumbled upon a set of 14-
inch-long footprints near what is now Jasper” (Tandory). Also, a very famous video known as
the Roger-Patterson video was taken of a supposed female Sasquatch in North America. This
video shows a Sasquatch walking through a field. However, scientists still cannot agree on its
authenticity.
However, even with the evidence presented, the mystery of Sasquatch's existence is still a
controversial subject within the scientific community. With all the evidence in support of
Sasquatch's existence, the only missing thing is a live specimen. Until then, we can only keep
searching, speculating, and theorizing over its existence. But, it is only a matter of time until we
finally capture a living, breathing Sasquatch. It has to exist, otherwise, why would we have all
this evidence? In an article by Kristin Baird Rattini, an anatomy professor is quoted as
having said about Sasquatch, “Who could have made these traits so consistently if it's all a
hoax?".
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Works Cited
Byrne, Peter. The Search for Bigfoot: Monster, Myth, or Man?. New York: Pocket Books, 1976
Rattini, Kristin Baird. “Does Bigfoot Exist?”. National Geographic Kids. Issue 349.
(2005): 24- 25
Tandory, Barbara. “The Original Apes of the Galaxy”. Alberta Report/Newsmagazine.
Volume 20, Issue 8 (1993): 25
“We hear that…”. New Scientist. Volume 175, Issue 2360 (2002): 17.
