It has long been speculated that Bigfoot type creatures have the ability to see in the infrared spectrum. There are many people who have the opinion that this is why there are no clear photographs of the creature taken with an infrared triggered device, such as a game tracker camera. This topic has also come up during conversations in regard to the implementation of nightvision devices in the field as a means to try and spot one of these creatures hiding in the darkness. Nightvision devices normally require the usage of an infrared emitter that appears as a spotlight when viewed through the nightvision scope. Some believe the Bigfoot creatures can see this infrared "spotlight" and avoid it accordingly.
In hunting, hunters apply techniques and equipment to conceal themselves from being spotted by their game. Some of these are based on the principles of vision in the specific animal they are hunting. For this reason, as a Bigfoot researcher, I found it beneficial to learn what I could about vision. If a person were to find out certain information about vision in mammals and primates, they could possibly use that to their advantage while in the field. That coupled with the speculation about infrared is what directed me in my own research on the subject of vision capabilities in mammals and specifically primates.
During my research, I kept running across papers and published scientific journals all written by the same person. I would also notice on papers written by various people, that in their acknowledgments and works cited, a lot of them mentioned articles written by this same man, GH Jacobs. So I took it upon myself to search out this GH Jacobs, which I was able to do. To find out more about who he is, you may look here: http://www.psych. ucsb.edu/ people/faculty/ jacobs/index. php
The man is a leading expert in the field of mammalian and primate vision. The website provided his contact information, so I thought who better to ask than an expert on the subject. At first I was a bit reluctant to contact him. For one, I was leery about explaining why I wanted to know the information, and two, I didn't want him to think I was some crazy person attempting to get some sort of backing, either financial or academically, for Bigfoot research. Not that it wouldn't be great, but that was not the reason for my inquiry. After some deliberation with myself, I decided to just be up front and honest in my email. To my surprise, he responded to my email rather promptly. The following is the context of both emails in their entirety.
My name is Matthew Knapp, and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I'm what one might call an anomalous wildlife researcher. I avoid the term "cryptozoologist. " I will admit however, my greatest field of interest is the "Bigfoot" phenomenon. That is in fact why I am writing you. I have no college degrees, any research or investigations I do is during my own free time, and any expenses come straight out of my own pocket. I understand the scientific community's reluctance to investigate this sort of thing, or to provide any type of funding to someone like myself to help with further in depth investigation. What I am looking for though is some information that could prove valuable in my own endeavors. Please keep in mind I am far from being some sort of fanatic or crazy person. I'm just a man who has seen and experienced things that warrant my own further investigation and research.
I have read several papers you have written on mammalian and primate vision. I come from the belief that if "Bigfoot" actually does exist, it would be some sort of higher intelligence primate. It has been speculated that this creature might be able to see in the infrared spectrum. This is usually said to explain why there is a lack of photographic evidence coming from game tracker cameras that have an infrared trigger device. If we go by sighting reports, even if only a small fraction of them are accurate, we can reach the conclusion that these creatures would be either nocturnal or crepuscular. For sake of argument if that were true, how possible would it be for their vision to reach the ranges it would take to see in the infrared spectrum? Are there in fact mammals out there that can see in the infrared spectrum? Along with that, if an animal were to be able to see infrared, are there any color ranges it would not be able to see, such as blue or ultraviolet? I would also like to know how close the color vision is of great apes and other primates to that of our own. For example, do gorillas see as many colors as we do? It is my own understanding that nocturnal vision lacks color. So it's difficult for me to understand if you are dealing with a nocturnal or crepuscular animal, how it could see in any color spectrum at all, including infrared. Any answers or information you could provide me with will be greatly appreciated, I just humorously ask you not to hold my particular field of interest against me. If nothing else, I hope it brightens your day a little just to know that a non-student layman such as myself appreciates your work and expertise on the subject. Thanks for your time.
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Mr Knapp,
Here is what may be relevant to your interest. No primate, indeed no mammal, has visual sensitivity tuned to the infrared. The mammalian gene family that specifies the long-wavelength sensitive pigment cannot produce a pigment with a spectral peak longer than about 560 nm. And there is seemingly good reason why no mammal has infrared sensitivity. That is because we abundantly emit infrared and those emissions would swamp any photopigment tuned to infrared, thus rendering it unusable. The biological infrared receptors that have proved useful are all in cold-blooded animals, e. g., the pit organs of some vipers.
To your other points:
1. All Old World primates (apes, monkeys, ourselves) share in common their photopigments and, to a large extent, all their visual capacities.
2. Some mammals (mostly rodents) do have visual receptors tuned into the ultraviolet, but as I noted above they do not have any infrared sensitivity.
Hope this helps.
Jerry Jacobs
So there you have it. According to a leading expert on mammalian and primate vision, there is absolutely no chance they would be able to see within the range of the infrared spectrum. The only alternatives to this is that they are either cold-blooded, or they do not fall in biological accordance with any other mammals, let alone primates, living on our planet.
Matt Knapp
Tulsa, OK
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