​According to Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, sleep is essential to intelligence, memory function, and evolution. Why are we smarter than other primates? It may just have something to do with sleep. REM, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep, is a deep paralysis that occurs during slumber that boosts social complexity and cognitive intelligence. Because primates sleep in trees, they cannot achieve REM sleep, as the sleep paralysis would cause them to fall to their death. Even though primates sleep longer than Homo sapien, they do not reach the depth of cognitive development that we do. While other hominids were sleeping in trees, Homo erectus learned how to make fire, allowing them to sleep safely on the ground and reach REM sleep. This change in sleeping patterns could be what evolved Homo sapien intelligence. Evidence strongly suggests that Sasquatch sleeps on the ground just like us humans. Between credible eye-witness reports, possible ground nesting sites and no evidence of nesting in trees, we can infer that Sasquatch spends their time sleeping on the ground. Primates sleep in trees to avoid predators, which is something Sasquatch doesn’t really need to worry about. Being the largest and most powerful animal in the forest may have caused them to transition from tree-dwelling to bipedalism and ground-sleeping. What does this mean? If modern humans evolved our social complexity and cognitive intelligence through REM sleep, the same might go for Sasquatch! 

When it comes to Bigfoot, researchers are eager to find out how they live and how they have remained so elusive in the forests surrounding our civilizations. Some questions that come up often in the Bigfoot community are as follows: What food sources do they take advantage of? Where do they live? Do they migrate? For us to understand how these creatures live, we must first theorize their origins. Bigfoot has been thought to be either a highly adapted great ape or a relict hominid with close ties to modern human. To determine how Bigfoot may survive the unforgiving wilderness, we must analyze how both humans and apes have done so. The Takelma tribe occupied the Rogue Valley region in Oregon and were considered a hunter-gatherer society. This tribe took to lower elevations in the spring and higher elevations in the summer and early fall, eventually returning to their villages along the river for the winter. The Takelma tribe took advantage of different food sources during each season in order to survive the changing climate. Throughout the spring season, this tribe focused on catching the spring run of salmon using techniques such as hook and line, nets, and harpooning. Trout, steelhead, freshwater mussels and crayfish were also harvested from the river during this season. Could it be possible that Bigfoot has the agility & strength to catch fish without these tools? Interestingly, early explorers reported seeing these natives occasionally catching fish by hand. The Takelma tribe was highly adapted with a strong knowledge of wilderness survival. Acorns collected in the fall were preserved during the winter months, making them a valuable food source in the spring. During this time, men and women of the tribe collected camas bulbs and materials for their hand-woven baskets, often used to catch fish. During the spring months, this tribe bow hunted and corralled deer, elk, rabbits, waterfowl, squirrels, chipmunks, and other small animals.

Bigfoot is described as a hairy, bipedal ape-like man that roams the dense forests of the United States. They are often characterized by their sheer size, strong odor, large footprints, and striking resemblance to our own kind. How can we know that they exist? What clues has nature given us that many scientists choose to ignore? In this post, we will take a look at the evidence nature has provided us with, that signals a strong correlation between Bigfoot sightings and prime habitat conditions.
 
A rainforest can be described as a luxuriant, dense forest rich in biodiversity, found typically in tropical areas with consistently heavy rainfall. Most often, one may relate the term “rainforest” to South America, Asia and Africa. However the seemingly secret dense, tropic-like areas of the Pacific Northwestern United States are unknown to many. The Olympic Rainforest lies within Washington State, and soaks up an average annual rainfall of 170 inches, making it the wettest place in the U.S. Imagine a creature 3 times the size of a large Chimpanzee. What might they be thriving on in a Pacific Northwestern rainforest? The answer lies in the diet of known rainforest apes. Primates are omnivorous, however while most of their diet consists of fruits, leaves and other plants, most apes will also eat insects, spiders, bird’s eggs and occasionally rodents. Chimpanzees have actually been seen hunting full-grown colobus monkeys. The Olympic National Park is not so different from your average Asian or African rainforest.  However, for a large hominin like Bigfoot, the prey must be larger for an animal of such size to thrive. Species that dwell in these forests include plenty of deer, moose, grizzly bears, river otters, pine martens, and an abundance of edible plants and insects. If Bigfoot is an intelligent hominin, perhaps its species creates tooling to assist in hunting large prey. However, if Bigfoot is classified as a Great Ape, (Click Read More)

Interview with Cliff Barackman:
​
1.Bigfoot has been described as a bipedal ape-like man. Do you believe it could be a surviving hominid, or do you believe it to be an ancestor of Gigantopithecus?

Cliff: "Sasquatches are definitely a surviving hominid, but all apes and humans are hominids, which means they are in the family Hominidae.  The question would be if they are a surviving hominin, which is defined as being in the lineage or an offshoot of human beings.  Hominins include Australopithecus all the way up to present day Homo sapiens sapiens, and all the offshoots thereof.  This is most likely the case for sasquatches as well.  At the same time, it is entirely possible that Gigantopithecines were also an offshoot of the Hominin lines. So little is known about them (though much is speculated), that it is impossible to say at this point."
 
2.What are some common behaviors that you’ve seen/heard in a Bigfoot report?

Cliff: "Most of the time when a Bigfoot is encountered, besides the mere shock of the event, it is rather a dull affair.  The Sasquatch typically either walks/runs away, or it watches the observer and then walks away.  Some atypical reports would include intimidation displays, such as yelling, growling, throwing and breaking objects, stomping, or even bluff charges."
 
3.If Bigfoot is so large, how could it remain so elusive?

Cliff: "They are large, but not significantly larger than a brown/grizzly bear.  Many members of the species, if not most, are smaller, perhaps the size of a large black bear.  These animals also largely stay out of sight.  Sure, there are many reports of seeing bears, but there are probably at least 100 bears for every Bigfoot.  The numbers are in favor of Bigfoots being rarely seen.  When one adds to this that Sasquatches seem to be mostly nocturnal, very smart, hyper aware of their surroundings, and want nothing to do with us, it seems natural that they would rarely be seen."  
 
4.Could you give me your best description of a Bigfoot’s features?

Cliff: "In general, adult Sasquatches range from six to eight feet or so in height, and they probably weigh between 400 and 1,200 pounds.  They are generally human-like in shape, but covered, with hair (except on parts of the face, the palms, and bottom of the feet) with wider shoulders, longer arms, and a lower-placed head that often seems to rest on the shoulders (they do have a neck, of course, but their muscles can often obscure this).  The hair covering is dark, usually brown or black, with a reddish tinge when seen in the right lighting conditions.  They are often described as having an overhanging brow ridge, and a head that slopes away from the forehead in a conical shape.  Their noses are wide and broad, though not ape-like." 
 
5.How many do you think there are?

Cliff: "I guess that there are probably between 8,000 and 10,000 individuals in North America, give or take a few thousand.  This sounds like a lot, but would make them one of the rarest large animals."
 
6.Based on your research of footprints, how does Bigfoot’s anatomy differ from humans or apes?

Cliff: "The footprints indicate that the Sasquatch foot is proportionally wider than a human foot.  It also seems to be flexible in the mid section of the foot, just like the feet of other apes.  In other words, Bigfoots lack the rigid arch that the human foot has.  The ankle is shifted forward on the foot, which is a biomechanical redesign of the human foot in order to accommodate their larger mass."  
 
7.Have you come across many hair samples? What were the results of DNA testing?

Cliff: "I've seen a couple purported hair samples, but the ones I've been directly involved with have not produced testable DNA."
 
8.If one were to come across a Bigfoot, what would your advice be?

Cliff: "Savor the moment.  It might never happen again. Oh, and take a photo if possible."​

​Bigfoot- a 6-10 foot tall bipedal ape-like man, possibly a hominid, dwelling in the rainforests of North America. Many questions arise when discussing the possibility of such a creature, however the biggest skepticism lies in the absence of Bigfoot remains. A body of the creature has never been brought to the attention of science, and undeniably remains the most vital missing piece of evidence we have.
 
However, there may be a clear explanation as to why we haven’t found a body. After all, gorilla remains are few and far between due to the humidity and rainfall that occurs in their habitat.  In Indiana, a body farm serves as a research facility for determining criminal acts. The Blow Fly and its maggots are examined in order to determine the age of the decaying body, and often, the cause of death. Dr.Neil Haskell, one of the world’s leading entomologists recalls a record during the early 80’s indicating a pig of 50 pounds that was reduced to 18 pounds within 96 hours by a species of Blow flies, which inhabit most of the world. By using a mathematical proportion, and basing it off of an estimated 800 pound Bigfoot, this would mean that the entire body of a Bigfoot could decompose in 100 days with just the influence of the Blow fly. This calculation would not include the influence of vultures, who have been known to decompose a human body in just 5 hours. It would also leave out the influence of other insects, bugs, animals, and weather. Bigfoots habitat is the Pacific Northwestern U.S., an area with a large amount of rainfall. In a rainforest, the average time for a leaf to decompose is 6 weeks, as opposed to 7 years in a pine forest.

​ The climate of Bigfoot’s habitat can leave huge clues as to why we haven’t found remains. Another important point to recall, is the possibility of Bigfoot burying their dead, as seen in many hominid groups’ behavior. Bigfoot sightings usually occur deep in the woods, mountains, and rural terrain. If such a creature is roaming the Pacific Northwest, its remains would lie in the deepest parts of the forest. Many animals have an instinct to hide when they are sick, hurt, or dying. If such a creature seeks cover, their remains may lie in a hidden location. The legend of Bigfoot will forever remain a mystery if a body is not discovered. However, because of the creatures’ illusiveness along with the nature of its habitat, scientists may want to consider the other evidence we have of the creature, such as footprints revealing anatomical features, hair samples, and the countless sightings by credible witnesses. Could Bigfoot be intelligent enough to bury their dead? Leave a comment below! 

Bigfoot evidence can be considered credible at times, and a complete hoax at others. But how can one tell the difference? The answer lies in the anatomy of the creature-anatomy that cannot physically be recreated by a human. Through digital analysis of the famous Patterson-Gimlin film, the creature’s size of 7’6.5” was determined. However, one does not need scientific skill to distinguish a Bigfoot from a human hoaxer. In fact, there is a 21 degree difference between Bigfoot’s stride and a human’s, which is often the line that draws the two apart. When a human walks, they lift their foot 52 degrees off of the ground, whereas a Bigfoot lifts theirs 73 degrees. Such an anatomical difference is why the Patterson-Gimlin film has been proven not to be a hoax. In the most credible photography and videography evidence of the creature walking, it represents the same image: a back leg that bends at an extremely abnormal angle, not possible for modern human anatomy to recreate. Such anatomy can be supported in the way the creature steps.
​After close examination of hundreds of credible footprints, scientists have been clued in to why the creature walks the way it does. A human has a longitudinal arch, which means the entire foot is incorporated into the lever which propels it off of the ground, and weight is pushed to the ball of the foot. The bending happens on the toes, providing traction. In a foot with mid-foot flexibility, like the subject in the film, the weight is not concentrated on the ball of the foot, but rather the midfoot. A Mid-tarsal break causes weight to transfer from rear to forefront and is most commonly present in apes. By piecing the evidence together, it can be determined that the way the footprints are formed lies in the way the creatures walks, which can be proven by geometry, to be 21 degrees different than a human.
Many skeptics in the Bigfoot community believe such footprints to be pure hoaxes. However, large, humanlike footprints do not stray far from current scientific discoveries. About 9 miles from the Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano in Tanzania, Africa, a huge collection of Homo sapien (modern human) footprints were found solidified by a previous lava spill. However, just because the word “modern” is used in our name, one must not draw the conclusion of these prints being recent. The prints date back to up to 12,000 years ago, and imply a lot of jogging that took place by our own kind. Some suggested up to a 12 minute-mile running pace, and others revealed a misshapen big toe. Interestingly enough, protruding big toes are often seen in Bigfoot tracks, and many eye witnesses report seeing the creature running at a shocking speed. As much as many do not wish to admit, this creature is eerily close to us in the sense of anatomy, and even behavior. Our own kind left evidence of running, stepping, and jogging through the natural elements. How could Bigfoot be much different? If this creature is-in-fact, a hominid, it would surely leave tracks just as we once did some 12,000 years ago. The real question becomes: What is the creature leaving these tracks? 
 
What do you think? Leave a comment below & stay tuned for more posts!