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squatchdetective · 6 years

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Sasquatch: One man’s Opinion

I recently read an older (circa 2016) article by UK Paleontologist, Dr. Darren Naish that was a short piece that widely covered the topic in the Scientific American website.

Dr. Darren Naish, Paleontologist

I love to do point counter point on his article. Of course I am not a scientist, nor do I claim to be. I am an Investigator by trade. Now how all that moshes into the Bigfoot mystery sums up as this.

As an investigator (not a scientist) my job is to gather evidence forensically to prove to the scientist either it is worth taking a reexamination of the topic or to prove it is existence.

My job is not necessarily the scientific method of hypothesis, experiment, result and repeat to see if we get the same result. That is rather a difficult task since like us and other animals, behavior is dynamic and can be different, for the same experiment.

My job is to document, gather evidence and present a good case. Most of the evidence is either direct evidence (in the form of testimony), subjective evidence and circumstantial evidence. Physical evidence would be things such as DNA, hair samples (which would defy classification), undisputed photographic evidence (which with CGI today, even if the real thing would be argued for decades). Track evidence which can be forensically determined (which also is a point of dispute amongst folks).

So lets look at some of the things Naish has stated.

“I do not think that the data we have at the moment – this includes tracks, hairs, vocalizations, photos, and the innumerable eyewitness accounts – provides support for the notion that Bigfoot is real, and have come to the conclusion that it is a sociocultural phenomenon: that people are seeing all manner of different things, combining it with ideas, memes and preconceptions they hold in their minds, and interpreting them as encounters with a monstrous, human-like biped.”

Counterpoint: I agree that the data at the moment does not provides scientific support, however the sheer number of eyewitness reports defies that. The old adage of “preconceptions” does not hold water to the folks that have encounters that, do not one iota, believe in the existence of such a creature until they have a sighting. Some are left traumatized, and haunted by what the have seen because it defies their belief system. And while this blanket statement may hold true for some it is not applicable to all. The article later goes on to state that long time Sasquatch researcher Rene Dahinden never found tracks (or had a sighting), can lend credence that Naish’s statement is in error. Certainly, Dahinden had a preconceived notion, as did Green, and Byrne, yet neither of those veteran researchers had laid eyes on a creature.

“…while writing this article (and others) is that there’s scarcely any Bigfoot imagery online which is marked for re-use: everything is protected by copyright and unavailable for free use by others. Make of that what you will.”

Counterpoint: Well, we are in the internet age. Everything in places is subject to copyright. There are pictures of all sorts of animals on the internet that are copyrighted. Does that mean they are faked or not real?

“Bigfoots purportedly make noises, and a standard part of modern Bigfoot lore is that people might be able to ‘call in’ or even communicate with Bigfoots by making wails, screams, roars or howls, or by hitting trees or rocks to make far-carrying percussive whacks, these sounds resembling the noises that are attributed to the creature. What’s notable is that these vocalizations are phenomenally diverse: the ‘Ohio howls’, ‘Samurai chatter’, the whoops, whistles, growls and howls attributed to this animal well exceed what we’d expect for a single animal species that communicates over long distances, and there’s nothing approaching homogeneity of the sort present across known primate species… The conclusion must be that the noises have diverse origins, by which I mean that they are mostly sounds made by known animal species, including cattle, coyotes (and their hybrids) and humans.”

Counterpoint: Dr. Naish may be a paleontologist, but not a primatologist whom will tell you, whistles, growls, howls and whoops are all part of primate communication. However in fairness, there is a diverseness to many vocalizations some of which I am certain are misidentifications, and I truly do not consider them much other than anecdotal evidence. They will not prove a Sasquatch exists unless there is direct or physical evidence proving they are the ones making the sounds, tree knocks, etc. But in an investigation, these are important to make correlations amongst other investigators (researchers). The conclusion must be, more research and good investigation is required, not an assumption, because there is no more proof than Dr. Naish’s conclusion than a conclusion that a Sasquatch caused it.

The Sierra Sounds recordings, Ron Morehead

“Indeed, some of the most incredible of these sounds – if you’ve never heard the ‘Sierra sounds’ or ‘Samurai chatter’ recorded by Ron Morehead, well, you’re in for a treat – sound nothing at all like the others that have been reported and recorded, and have only been heard exclusively in one small area…And, yes, I think that many of the more incredible Bigfoot sounds – ‘Samurai chatter’ and other speech-like utterances among them – were generated by people.”

Counterpoint: In one of more recent posts was mistaken for defending the Sierra Sounds. That was not necessarily my intention. But in the last comment by Dr. Naish, it is an opinion, as are all of the above statements. Has Dr. Naish taken the Morehead – Berry recordings to an acoustical engineer to analyze the audio? Certainly not mentioned in his statement, making this a layman’s opinion as his field of expertise is Paleontology (which is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch). His area of expertise is not acoustics, nor primatology nor anthropology, all of which Dr. Naish’s “conclusions” are based upon. However stuff of the “Sasquatch Ontario” ilk definitely are human and hoaxed.

Summary

I respect Dr. Naish, for being a scientist, and he has a bit of an open mind to the topic, but all of what you have heard by him is opinion, some of which is spin by the scientific community to brush away the phenomena which we have heard over the last two decades.

Remember the older excuse of there not being enough food source in the forest, until it was mentioned that a black bear needs 21,000 calories a day for a month prior to hibernation?

I have the ability to read and learn of things that cross over into other realms of expertise. So why is his opinion more weighted than any other laymen who have read upon topics? I am sure his intentions are well meant, but many times scientists are turned into talking heads, basing their statements on opinions rather than research.

Many of heard me speak about Dr. Phillip Stevens and Biologist Curt Kogut talk of some of the ridiculous “talking head” statements said on my MonsterQuest episode. This is is vary similar, but with more fairness and a gentle touch.

“There is no evidence that North America could support a large primate”

— Dr. Phillip Stevens on MonsterQuest

“Homo-sapiens are large primates, and so were the aboriginal native Americans!”

—- Steve Kulls

“If these things were out there, people would be seeing them”

—Curt Kogut Biologist, NYS ENCON

“WTF???”

—- Steve Kulls

This week on Squatchdetective Radio (4/22/18)

Chris and I are pleased to have on as our guest, Suzanne Ferencak, the main subject of a Bigfoot documentary named “The Back 80.” Also we’ll have on Alan Megargle, Jesse Morgan of Twisted Tree Productions, the duo behind “The Back 80!”

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Click on photo to order DVD

“In the heart of mid-America, among the forests and streams, something terrifying lurks. During the summer of 2013, a woman’s world is turned upside down after seeing a creature cross the road in front of her one afternoon. She soon realizes that she is not alone on her own property and struggles to separate the truth from her own obsession. After some digging, she finds others in town who have similar stories to tell. Her quest for answers takes her to the only place these creatures could live…the abandoned, gated woods of the back eighty.” – http://www.theback80.com

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Till Next Time,

Squatch-D

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