What would you do if you were walking around the woods and saw a huge, beastly-looking footprint? In 1958, a northern California construction crew is said to have been the first to see these prints; they claimed they came from a giant we now call Bigfoot or Sasquatch (Bindernagel 53). Since then, many different conspiracy theories surrounding what Bigfoot is and where he came from have appeared (Aagard 1). Some major theories are: Bigfoot is an alien, Bigfoot is a human hybrid, or he is a spiritual phenomenon. Let’s discuss these different theories, including the most plausible one, which is that Bigfoot is a human-hybrid.
When you hear the name Bigfoot, what do you imagine? Those who have encountered Bigfoot describe him as ‘non-confrontational,’ ‘intelligent,’ and ‘curious’ (Kuykendall 5). Throughout the years, there have been numerous eyewitness accounts stating they have witnessed Bigfoot, and they recount his actions. In his research, Wilson has found that most eyewitnesses claimed Bigfoot is 8 feet tall (Wilson 1). He is also said to be covered in hair, with a ‘robust build,’ and have human-like features (Wilson 1).
William Roe is one of many who claim to have had an encounter with Bigfoot. In an affidavit, he details his experiences with Bigfoot. In October of 1955, Roe hiked 5 miles up Mica Mountain (Clark). While hiking, Roe thought he saw a bear, but what he soon realized was that it was not a bear he had seen, but a creature unlike any other (1). Roe states that what he had seen was, in fact, Bigfoot. He claims he was “close enough to see that his teeth were white and even”; however, Bigfoot did not realize Roe was there until the wind picked up and allowed him to catch a whiff of Roe’s scent (1). Roe shares that when Bigfoot realized he was there, “a look of amazement crossed its face” (1). Roe tells how the creature did not want to engage with him: “Still in a crouched position, it backed up three or four short steps, then straightened up to its full height and started to walk rapidly back the way it had come. For a moment, it watched me over its shoulder as it went, not exactly afraid, but as though it wanted no contact with anything strange” (1).
The encounter William Roe had with Bigfoot shows that Bigfoot is a “non-confrontational” creature. Instead of engaging with Roe, Bigfoot slowly takes a few steps back, away from Roe. He does this to not scare or intimidate Roe, the same way humans slowly back away from animals when they feel threatened. The way Bigfoot steps away slowly is also a sign of his intelligence. Another sign of intelligence shown by Bigfoot to Roe is when, leaving, he “threw its head back and made a peculiar noise that seemed to be half laugh and half language; however, I do not know what sound was meant to convey” (1). Roe is stating that he believes that Bigfoot is intelligent enough to have his own way of communicating.
In John Kuykendall’s book, he talks about how Bigfoot is a particularly curious creature. He states that Bigfoot is very curious about things in his environment, especially new things such as humans (Kuykendall 5). He gives examples of Bigfoot causing a commotion to see the actions of humans: “They throw rocks and sticks to scare and drive an intruder away,” and “sometimes the items are tossed at a tent with people in it. We don't know why they do this, but we think they may be testing us to see how we will react” (Kuykendall 5). Bigfoot also goes into the camp while the humans are sleeping to rummage through their stuff to learn more about them and what they use; however, he doesn’t take anything (Kuykendall 5). He just looks and observes the campers' stuff, but he doesn’t take a single thing, not even the food that has been left out (Kuykendall 5). “More than just keeping an eye on us, they sometimes seem more fascinated by us and our trappings” (Kuykendall 5).
Bigfoot is not a creature that is commonly found around the world; however, in the interactions that humans have experienced with him, they find him to be brighter than a regular animal. He shows intelligence in every interaction by studying the way humans act and interact with him. He demonstrates his curiosity and desire to learn more about humans and how they live. He also shows that he is non-confrontational by backing away when there is a threat shown by a human. Bigfoot has shown that he is a developing and growing creature.
The question of what Bigfoot truly is has three highlighted conspiracy theories. Oneconspiracy is that he is an alien. Another theory explains that he is a human-hybrid creature.However, some believe him to be a spiritual phenomenon (Todd).
The first conspiracy that has been made about Bigfoot is that he is an alien. In the article“Is Bigfoot Possibly an Alien Entity?” it states that there is solid evidence showing that Bigfootis connected to UFO cases (Ruehl). The earliest clues came from Humboldt County inCalifornia, where Native Americans say they had a friendly encounter with him (1). The NativeAmericans claim that they saw “three ‘crazy bears’ cast out of a small moon that dropped fromthe sky and landed (1) . The ‘moon’ then ascended back into the air” (1). The article states thatthe ‘crazy bears’ were really Bigfoot and the ‘moon’ was a spacecraft (1). There are people whodon’t believe in the testimonies of people having encounters with aliens; they believe it to be ahoax. However, there have been several different accounts of people stating that Bigfoot is an alien since the 1800s (1).
Another theory that is prominent in the Bigfoot community is that this creature is a human-hybrid. Dr. Melba S. Ketchum is a veterinarian; she spent twenty-seven years studyingand researching genetics and forensics (Graham Media). She led a team of scientists to findevidence of Bigfoot's true species by “sequencing three complete Bigfoot nuclear genomes” (1).In doing this, Ketchum was able to determine that Bigfoot is, in fact, a ‘human-hybrid’ (1). Shespoke about how she used the DNA of purported Bigfoot hair samples; the samples had been collected by different Bigfoot research teams (1). Ketchum stated:
The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch DNA is identical to modern Homosapiens, but Sasquatch DNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens another primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybridspecies, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homosapiens (1).
With that information, Ketchum believes that Bigfoot is the result of a human womanmating with an unknown animal (1). Ketchum says she understands that some people arestill skeptical about her findings (1). To the skeptics, she says, “Look at the data published; it’s the best science that the United States has to offer… we have used a lot of different disciplines to bring this paper together” (1). Ketchum continues to look for more evidence and answers.
The third theory is commonly believed by Indigenous people across the globe (Todd).Within their culture, for many years, they have believed Bigfoot to be a ‘natural or spiritualphenomenon’ (1). There are various different descriptions of Bigfoot within the different tribes; however, they all describe him to be an “enigma shrouded in power and magic” (1). Theydescribe him as being violent and crude, but in certain circumstances, he is a helpful partneramong the tribes (1). Some tribes believe that he is here to be “kind of intermediary between the human and natural worlds, enforcing taboos and moral codes” (Harper). These beliefs have remained and progressed for many years, and the tribes will continue to share them amongst themselves. The debate over the origin of Bigfoot remains; however, with the evidence circulating throughout the community of Bigfoot believers, many of them come to the same conclusion. Dr.Melba S. Ketchum found and proved her theory with an exceptional amount of evidence(Graham Media). With the evidence presented by Dr. Ketchum, one can find it easy to believe that Bigfoot is a human-hybrid creature (1). However, even though Dr. Ketchum has found exceptional evidence, other believers continue to search for different answers about who or what Bigfoot truly is.
