From the Discovery Channel: 9 Feb. 2006
Yeti and Sasquatch - bears in disguise? By Sara Beck; Could the Abominable Snowman be a bear?
Adventurer Reinhold Messner thinks so. And he's spreading his theory in his own book and media interviews. Messner is one of the world's greatest mountain climbers. He was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest without using oxygen tanks, and has gone on to conquer all 14 of the world's 8,000 meter mountains. He is no stranger to snowy, icy wastelands, and other places where
myth and mystery meet. The Yeti, or "Abominable Snowman", has lived in the folklore of the Himalayas for centuries. It is believed to be large creature, standing 9 or 10 feet tall, covered in brown or red hair, and capable of vicious attacks on people and animals. Messner had seen pictures of Yeti footprints many times before, but he first saw a Yeti with his own eyes in 1986. He described the encounter to National Geographic's Adventure magazine. The light outside was dim when he saw the creature. He couldn't see it distinctly, look at its face, or even tell what color it was, but he saw its form clearly enough. When the Yeti moved on, he went to the place where it had stood to look at the footprints it had left behind. Sure enough, they were "Yeti prints". The footprints were the exactly the same as those he'd seen in the photographs.
And that was the curious thing. The Yeti is believed to stand upright, like a human. The creature he had seen didn't stand up, but when Messner looked at the prints, he saw that they looked like they'd been made by a bipedal creature.
How could that be? Messner says there is a creature that uses a special technique when walking over difficult or snowy ground. It places its back feet directly in the prints its front feet left behind, making the footprints look like they were made by something that walked on two legs. And, this creature can stand upright, making it look like a
large, furry human, 9 or 10 feet tall. It is the Asiatic black bear, also known as the Tibetan Moon bear.
Could the Yeti be this bear? Although young Asiatic black bears are still sometimes captured and trained as dancing bears, a full-grown adult can stand around 9 feet tall. Given its fierceness, height, and ability to walk on its hind legs for longer distances than any other bear, it definitely could be the beast behind the Yeti legend. Messner describes that his suspicions were confirmed when traveling through eastern Tibet and later in Pakistan. Villagers told him about a creature that was stealing women and killing yaks. A Yeti. When Messner asked the villagers if they could show him one of these creatures, they led him to a remote area. When they spotted a Yeti, the villagers pointed and told Messner it was precisely the creature that was plaguing the village. Messner recognized it immediately. It was an Asiatic black bear. It's possible that people don't recognize the Yeti as a bear because the creature is nocturnal, lives in remote caves and is generally spotted when in poor light and shadow. With Messner's conviction, those shadows are beginning to lift.
And the North American bigfoot legends? Messner is sure a grizzly bear is behind them, too.
From the Birmingham (UK) Mail: 14 Feb. 2006
Team called in over Bigfoot sightings Feb 14 2006
REPORTS were circulating today that a strange beast is roaming Cannock Chase - and now paranormal investigators are investigating. A Bigfoot-type creature is said to be roaming the woodland of Cannock Chase and a number of eyewitness accounts are adding weight to allegations that Sasquatch - as Red Indians dubbed the creature - is alive. Respected "X Files" reporter Nick Redfern has monitored sightings from Castle Ring to Slitting Mill. And all of the locals who spotted the mystery beast give the same description - a giant, hairy creature with blazing red eyes. Jackie Haughton sparked the Bigfoot alert with a sighting in the early hours of February 18, 1995, on the Cannock-Rugeley road. Writing for Fate magazine, Mr Redfern reports: "She was suddenly forced
To swerve the car and narrowly avoided collision with a large, shambling creature that stepped into the road at a distance of about 20 feet. "Considering that she was traveling at high speed, said Jackie, it was a miracle that she didn't hit it. The encounter lasted barely a few seconds, but she had caught sight of the animal and said it was man-like and tall, very hairy, with two self-illuminating, glowing red eyes. It quickly vanished into the trees." Jackie's claims gained credence when a motorist and his party recorded a sighting on a night in September, 1998. One of the party of four said: "It was a tall, man-like figure, sort of crouching forward. As we passed, it turned and looked straight at us. "I would describe it as around 6ft 8in, very strong-looking and with a darkish, blacky-brown coat. I still get goosebumps thinking about it."
Alec Williams had an eight second encounter with Bigfoot at Castle Ring – an ancient monument - in April 2004. He describes a 7ft creature, with short, shiny, dark brown hair, large head and eyes that glow bright red. Mr Williams claims he saw what looked like a camera flash nearby and heard an "owl-like cry".
"Michael Newton" |
From the Electric New Paper (Singapore): 14 Feb. 2006; Could 'Bigfoot prints' be that of orang utan?
ANOTHER group which calls itself Asia Paranormal Investigators (API) claims to have shed some light on the Johor Bigfoot mystery. After doing historical research, map analysis and interviews of locals in Johor, API's founder Charles Goh, 38, a part-time tour guide, claims that the Bigfoot sightings in Johor were nothing more than misinformation.
SAME SIGHTING? 'Many different sightings reported actually stemmed from just one incident last November. The sightings in Mawai of three fish farm workers and the sightings in Kahang of three Orang Asli are the same,' said Mr Goh. He has led a few trips to Johor to verify witness accounts that were reported in the press. After carefully going through various media reports, he found
inconsistencies, possibly due to insufficient information being released or poor interviewing techniques. For example, one reported sighting seemed to involve two locations – Kincin River and Kampung Mawai - but these are actually 80km apart. Mr Goh thinks the creature sighted in November could have been an orangutan species that managed to survive in Peninsular Malaysia for thousands of years. He said: 'The other two known species are in Sumatra and Borneo island. 'This could well be the third because Johor lies within the same geographical band. 'The reason for there being more sightings in recent years could be due to human encroachment into pristine jungle habitats.' He added that there have been historical records of encounters between early settlers and orangutans on Mawai.
REPORT OUT; API has come up with a 49-page report on its website www.api.sg on their Bigfoot research. Mr Goh said: 'Not all may agree with our report's findings, but then again, the purpose of any report is critical analysis. 'So we welcome anyone or any organisation with evidence to show that we've erred in our conclusion.'
* "Michael Newton"
From The Star (Malaysia): 13 Feb. 2006
Bigfoot lives in Johor jungles, says Ghani
DOES Bigfoot really exist? "Yes! Bigfoot exists in Johor," said Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani
Othman, adding that there was truth in recent reports that some orang asli had sighted the hairy giant brown ape near Kota Tinggi several months ago.
"The orang asli have the ability to sense the presence of Bigfoot by smelling the air and following the tracks. They are not known to make up stories," he said when launching the Johor edition of the tabloid Kosmos! At Danga Bay on Saturday, according to Mingguan Malaysia. "Backed by our own research, we are positive that Bigfoot exists in the jungles of Johor," said Ghani. Media reports of the creature, said to be furry and 24m to 30m tall,
surfaced months ago when several orang asli workers claimed to have seen a family of Bigfoots lurking in the jungle.
From the Toronto Globe & Mail: 1 April 2006, Tracking a tall tale, Bigfoot specialist inspires off-road safaris in the wilds of Vancouver Island, BRAM EISENTHAL
SHAWNIGAN LAKE, B.C. -- They're as old as time, perhaps inhabitants of this planet longer than us. Some native North American tribes refer to them as naxnox, or supernatural beings, and have encountered them for centuries. Fishermen, loggers, hikers and day trippers claim to have seen them on occasion. We're talking about Sasquatch, Bigfoot or Wildman -- it doesn't matter what you call them, it appears they're here, living among us. Unless, that is, you think every one of the thousands who claim to have seen them are charlatans. April fools? Hardly. For five years now, Sasquatch enthusiasts, or those simply looking for an unusual adventure experience, can head out into Vancouver Island's deep woods on expeditions inspired by a man who has spent more than three decades obsessed by the mysterious creature. For 35 years, during a career as a wildlife biologist, John Bindernagel has collected Sasquatch lore and "evidence." He has written numerous papers on the subject and a recent book, North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch.
(Note: John has been to the WBS Conferences to talk about his book in the past, Ray)
He's so serious about his passion that he doesn't even like the term Bigfoot. "I use Sasquatch instead of Bigfoot, because the latter has such a jestful connotation. Bigfooters see the creature behind every tree," Bindernagel told me late at night, in a bed and breakfast owned by Michael and Elly Ruge in Cowichan Valley, on the shores of Shawnigan Lake about 45 kilometres north of Victoria.
Michael has set up a unique tour business under Bindernagel's guidence. The latter's mother was Ruge's nanny once and, though he's now in his mid-forties, he has maintained close ties to the bright, affable and deadly serious Bindernagel. "Knowing him as I do, I really believe in John's work, so I wanted to create a business around his research," Ruge says. "Bigfoot Safari was the answer." For five years now, guests can head out into the deep woods and isolated mountain country of the Island. Individuals or groups drive 4x4s such as Land Cruisers to areas where there have been claims of Sasquatch sightings. "The odds of finding something are slight, especially on the shorter
trips, "Ruge said. "But you never know." I took a Land Cruiser out for an afternoon, with Ruge as my guide and Bindernagel as our passenger. I struggled with the wheel of the powerful vehicle as I learned how to manoeuvre it over fallen tree trunks and along old logging roads. We didn't happen across anything unusual, but the exhilaration of off-road driving and the lush scenery was thrilling enough.
Ruge also books week-long excursions, with participants living and sleeping in the wild. As he says, you just never know. It's a matter of faith, I suppose, whether you believe a humanoid throwback like Sasquatch truly exists.
For Bindernagel, the author of numerous papers and a recent book on the Sasquatch, there is no doubt. Ontario-raised and educated at the University of Guelph, where he graduated as a wildlife ecologist, he came to B.C. primarily to search for Sasquatch. He was also fed up with the prevailing attitudes on the subject. Every year, until winter snows make it difficult, Bindernagel is out on field trips for days on end, looking for signs such as Sasquatch nests, hair, spoor or footprints, such as the ones he made castings of in October, 1988. He discovered the tracks while hiking on the shore of Lake Helen Mackenzie, in Strathcona Provincial Park. Back at Ruge's B & B, Bindernagel pulls out a box, reaches inside and lays an assortment of castings on a table. They're very human-like in appearance, but huge: 15 to 16 inches long and five to six inches wide. The implications are rather unsettling, as is the image of encountering a creature reputed to be seven to 10 feet tall. The biologist's biggest challenge is to find an actual specimen or some other irrefutable proof to garner respect from his peers. According to Ruge, the purpose of Bigfoot Safaris is to support Bindernagel and his research whenever possible. "We also help expose people to the research that has been done, through the excursions we take into the wilderness of Vancouver Island," he said. That night, I slept in fits and starts. Though very comfortable in a modern, fully equipped upper loft-like hideaway the Ruges call Taj Lodge, I kept picturing an eight-foot tall Sasquatch coming out of the forest behind me and peering into the window above my head as I slept. About 3 a.m., I was wakened by what sounded like a rock striking the log wall of the building, making a hollow, ringing sound. I'll never know who or what flung that projectile, but it certainly fired up my already swollen imagination and had my heart break-dancing until I nodded off again. The next morning, I had an encounter along the Victoria waterfront that really had me pondering the mystery again. Vendors, mostly Canadian natives,
sell various goods here during the summer months. I jokingly asked one artist if he had any Sasquatch sketches. "I had a couple last summer, but I haven't drawn any more this year," said 68-year old Thunderbird T-Thedu. "We saw one, my wife and I, just outside McKenzie Creek." He went on to relate a chilling tale of how, while mushroom picking, he and wife, Margaret Summers, stumbled upon a large, hairy, humanlike creature foraging for food at the base of a hill about two hours from Victoria. When they called out to the creature, it "jumped up the hill very fast, or so it appeared," he says. Minutes later, Summers comes by. "Tell him about the Sasquatch we saw," her husband prods. Her details are exactly the same. Summers also told me that they met "this guy who saw the same thing two
years prior to that, a mile down the road. Ken and his wife, Sandy, both saw it. And around that time, their rather hefty dog, a cross between a Saint Bernard and a German shepherd, disappeared." The couple found it later, dead, appearing as if it had been strangled, a fact later confirmed by a veterinarian. "That really gave me the chills,"
T-Thedu comments. "That was a dog which could easily defend itself."
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