Ten Things I Learned About Sasquatch from Watching Finding Bigfoot

While Matt, Bobo and Cliff declare 'Squatch! at any given moment; Ranae applies scientific principles to tear them down.

Finding Bigfoot is the result. Two seasons down and another poised to air in the Fall, it's made Bigfoot fanatics of us all!

(In fact, it's completely responsible for my own sudden run on Sasquatch articles. Blame them.)

So what has the show taught us about this legendary quarry?  Turns out, it's quite a lot.

"This place looks 'Squatchy!"  It's practically a catch-phrase call now, generally made by either Bobo or Matt. But what do they mean by that? 

There will always have been a good many Bigfoot sightings.  The team wouldn't be there, if there hadn't.  But that means little in the vast scheme of things.

Eye-witnesses may be mistaken, or they could be hoaxers after their fifteen minutes of fame. As soon as the BFRO are in the area, they start looking for much more than what people thought they saw.

Is there a large forest here?  Sasquatch are terrestrial, bipedal creatures, but they live amongst the trees.  They aren't going to bother with a small copse. They want dense foliage, where they can hide out of view, should nosy neighbors like us turn up.

Is there a source of water?  Just like us, the average hairy giant would soon collapse of dehydration, if there wasn't a handy stream or river. 

Is there food in these woods?  The biggie here is deer. Bigfoot loves a meal of freshly slaughtered bambi.  Where there are deer, then it might not be far behind. 

Combine all of these factors and terrain together, and someone will proclaim the area to be ''Squatchy as Hell!'

Most reported Bigfoot sightings tell us that its fur is brown or black.  This dark pelt is common in the Pacific North-West of the USA.

That region is a hotbed of Sasquatch activity.  More are seen there than in the rest of the country (and Canada) combined.

However, that isn't the whole story.  It appears that there are different races of the species.  Depending upon the state, different colors may be more prevalent.

For example, in Ohio, Sasquatch is usually seen with silvery-white or grey fur.  That's one of the clues which separate the genuine eye-witnesses from the hoaxers.

It's the classic Sasquatch sighting.  A large and hairy man mountain appears briefly in a clearing. It roars, displays, then quickly bounds away. 

The ground appears to shake under its heavy foot-falls. Then it's gone.  Disappeared, as if it never was, into the darkest forest depths.

Except not all of them are like that.  As Cliff pointed out, in Season Two, every adult male Sasquatch was once a little baby.  And for a baby to occur, there also has to be a female to have given birth to it.

While the largest male Sasquatch may tower at heights of ten to eleven feet, the ladies are a mere seven to eight feet tall.  Their infants may only be the size of small bears.

Let the mistaken identifications begin!

It's thought that the prevalence of adult male sightings is because they are providing a distraction. While human hunters are gaping at the huge, hairy giant, they are missing the females and children sneaking by behind them.

Footprints have been found showing adults and children walking side by side. 

There's also the fact that Sasquatch will call out, to warn other Sasquatch of danger.  Why would they bother doing that, if they were solitary creatures?

In New York state, during the 1990s, a man with a camcorder accidentally filmed an infant primate.  It was playing in a tree in the background of his home video.

That's as far as zoologists can ascertain, as the images are too grainy and distant for much else. But Bigfootologists have noted that an adult can also be glimpsed.  It is briefly seen carrying the baby on its shoulder.  After the infant leaps off up the tree, the adult waits below.

If this was a Sasquatch (and not, say, an illegally owned gibbon with a human being), then it's evidence that they do nurture and care for their young.

These huge primates may have their own language, or they might be mimicking us. 

There have been many reported incidents (and one captured in the show), where people have heard talking from the trees. It's a true back and forth conversation, but in no language known to the human race.

The diction appears wild and unfathomable.  Not the sort of sounds that humans make when they speak.

On other occasions, Bigfoot can be heard whistling inside the tree-line. It was explained that they often do that to warn other Sasquatch standing near by. 

For such a shy and retiring creature as your average Sasquatch, they sure are noisy about it!

One of the favorite techniques employed in Finding Bigfoot is for a member of the team to let out a howl.  Another BFRO person might then respond.  It's to imitate the back and forth calls of Bigfoot in the wild.

The exciting moments come when something out there answers them in kind.  Is it a Sasquatch making its presence felt?

Quite often, distinct knocking can be heard in the forest. The hairy man is believed to bang on the trees with sticks, rocks and branches.  The sound that's emitted can carry quite far, thus can be better than a howl for conveying location.

Sasquatch are called Skunk Apes in the American state of Florida, and not without good reason!

The creatures throughout North America aren't known for being fragrant, but those in Florida live in and around a swamp.

As they crouch down in the foliage, their fur brushes against leaves covered in methane.

This is a gas coming from the stagnant water around them.  It's the reason why Floridian Bigfoot sightings usually come with a description of a stench like rotting eggs.

However, that also tells us that it's not naturally occurring methane in those swamps. That would be odorless.  The foul-smelling compound was only added to commercial methane, as it's a gas that's dangerous to humans. Being able to sniff it out is a health and safety boon!

In several episodes of Finding Bigfoot, we see examples of Sasquatch curiosity. 

An incident in Oregon involved lots of glow-sticks being placed around a camp. When this elicited a certain amount of activity, amateur hunters placed a rabbit in a cage in the center of the encampment.

It was there as bait, but also it was well lit with glow-sticks.  The bunny reportedly ran around in circles, terrified as something lurked in the bushes.  However, the humans watching it had no distinct sighting of the Sasquatch, other than a shadow of its hand and arm.

Elsewhere, in the mid-west, a female Bigfoot stood on the edge of a forest playground. A mother with her baby and toddler was petrified, as they surveyed each other for long minutes.

It was concluded that the Sasquatch really wanted to see how humans interacted with their young. It had showed itself on the basis that no human will attack, while it's got little ones to hold closely.

Sasquatch have been known to create shelters. 

These range from the often seen three stick constructions through to elaborate hunting blinds (as in the one pictured from Ohio).

Bigfoot will hide behind them to spy on passing herds of deer.

Deer is one of the main sources of protein for Sasquatch.  Lone deer are caught and killed using their bare hands. 

The Sasquatch will typically break one of the legs of its prey. Thus immobilized, the deer is helpless, as it's torn to pieces.

On the east side of the Rockies in British Columbia, Canada, two eye-witnesses spotted an adult male Sasquatch stand up.  Once it was sure it had been seen, it crouched back down behind the rocks and disappeared.

It was concluded that the hunters had stumbled too close to a nest of sleeping Sasquatch. Day watchers had been posted as sentries to keep the family safe.

This giant male was one of those, distracting attention away from the rest of them.

Elsewhere, there have been frequent signs that, while nomadic, Bigfoot will patrol its current area. It needs to know what dangers lurk, where the food is and what is in the vicinity of its family.  If you can work out where this circuit is, then you have your best chance of getting a sighting.

Hint:  Follow the deer!