It is a topic that gets a reaction from people. To most sasquatch is a myth, the subject of many jokes. It brings up the image of someone dressed up in a fur suit walking along a darkened highway. At times it is a case of mistaken identity, such as a bear standing on its hind legs. Skeptics point out the unlikelihood of such a large animal finding enough food to sustain itself.

Believers point to reports of credible observers of a huge apelike animal. There are aspects of animal behavior that appear unbelievable to the general public but is actually well know to wildlife biologists. The question to ask is, "is there sufficient evidence to treat sasquatch as a bona fide member of North America's family of large mammals?"

Sasquatch is referred to as the big brother that looks out for the Native American. Ralph Gray Wolf, an Athapaskan Indian from Alaska, says sasquatch brings "signs or messages that there is a need to change, a need to cleanse. They make appearances at troubled times to help troubled Indian communities get more in tune with Mother Earth." To the Hopi, sasquatch is just one form that the messenger can take when delivering a message from the Creator. Hopi elders say the increasing sightings of sasquatch are not only a message or warning to individuals & communities but to humankind at large. This warning is from the Creator that man's disrespect for His sacred instructions has upset the harmony and balance of existence.

Natives regard sasquatch with great respect. Seen as a special kind of being and having a close relationship with humans, some native elders regard sasquatch as standing on the "border" between animal and human style consciousness. This gives sasquatch a special kind of power as described above.

This existence of sasquatch is taken for granted throughout Native North America. Native elders say that sasquatch knows when humans are searching for him. Sasquatch chooses when and whom he makes an appearance to. In Native culture, the entire natural word is seen as a family. Sasquatch is regarded as one of our closest relatives - the great elder brother. In each tribal dialect there is a word for sasquatch. If the terms Bukwas and Dzunukwa are other names for sasquatch, then coastal aboriginal people have been recording it in their masks, crests and totem poles since the 1700's. The term sasquatch is from the Salish tribe in the Pacific Northwest.

There have been several sightings of sasquatch-like creatures throughout the world. In Pakistan it is referred to as the Pakistani Gorilla Man or the Barmanu. In Vietnam & Cambodia, it is named the jungle man, forest man or Ngoui Rung. In Russia, witnesses report what is called the Russian wildman among other names. In other parts of the world, references to hairy wild men are on written records. In China and the Middle East these references go back thousands of years. In 1811, David Thompson recorded a sighting of what may have been sasquatch footprints. Sightings of sasquatch have occurred across North America but the majority happens in the heavily forested and sparsely populated regions of the mountains.

Public perception of sasquatch has changed over the years but in most cases it is at a snails pace. Early stories picture giant Indians with long hair on their heads, wearing clothing and living in small villages, using signal fires and kidnapping human females. Natives pictured creatures that were completely covered in hair and in their culture were just one of a wide range of creatures known to exist. Perhaps worth noting is that drawing a hard line between real and unreal was not done in most cultures until recent centuries.

But most of the public may still consider sasquatch to be a myth, conditioned by years of stories that the creature is only a legend. Some suggest that humanity has an inner need to create and believe in monsters and that sasquatch was invented to satisfy this need. Others may fear the possibility of another mammal walking easily on two feet instead of four. They seem to be uncomfortable with the potential existence of an ape that has some very humanlike characteristics. Considering the terrain that sasquatch inhabits, it could remain undetected for years. But things are changing regarding sasquatch research. Modern technology developed in the last few years will add credibility to what researchers know about this unknown primate. Years ago they knew something was leaving giant footprints but now scientists have the ability to analyze hairs, feces, and do DNA sequencing which will confirm the exact identity of what sasquatch is.

Once sasquatch existence is confirmed, it will prove that man does not know as much as originally thought. The abilities and habits of sasquatch would make for a fascinating study. How much of the scientific community would be bothered by the apparent "Origin of Man" theories remains to be seen. Study of even a small amount of blood, tissue or hair could eventually establish the reality of an unknown species of higher primate. But for proof beyond doubt, some substantial part of a body or skeleton would have to be produced. Also learned would be that the ability to walk on two legs for an extended period is not confined to humans but occurs in at least one great ape. It may also show that some apes are more intelligent than what they are given credit for. Many researchers feel that sasquatch could be classified as a Great Ape or unknown primate.

The idea that a community of undiscovered creatures live in modern North America may sound absurd. This is in part because the general public has only a small idea of the enormity of the forests in the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Northeast. In the American western states & British Columbia, Canada, forest still covers a vast region that remains untouched and unexplored by many. But it's quite possible that sasquatch has been observed more often but not reported because of the ridicule involved.

Questions can be raised about the population, feeding habits, ability to swim and whether sasquatch hibernates or migrates. There has been an enormous amount of speculation regarding the sasquatch population. Dr. Grover Krantz, from the University of Washington, estimates the sasquatch population to be from 2000 to 3000 in North America. Some estimates are as high as 5000, while others are at 200 or less. Sasquatch expert Peter Byrne, from Oregon, is quoted as saying; "I do not know the answer. Nor truly does anyone else. I will venture a guess on one aspect of the question, however is that there are far fewer of them than most people think."

Dietary habits of the sasquatch have been compared to the black bear. Indications are that sasquatch is omnivorous with a diet ranging from grass and leaves to large animals. From scat analysis, it has been determined that grains, wild fruit seeds, salmon, rabbits and deer make up a good part of sasquatch eating habits. Like some other wild animals, domestic fruit and vegetables at time tempt sasquatch. Near Alpine, California, a sasquatch was seen eating apples from in front of a house. Many of the trees were stripped of their fruit higher than a man could reach. Sasquatch tracks were found in the area the next day. On a Arizona race, a girl and her mother watched a seven foot tall sasquatch, with an armload of corn, pulling up turnips in their vegetable garden. They continued to observe it as it ran through a wheat field then jumped a garbage rail fence, carrying the corn and turnips. There have been reports that sasquatches have developed a garbage habit. In the Trinity River of northern California, spring of 1966, a sasquatch was seen raiding a trashcan one night. Another night at 2 a.m., the same sasquatch dumped out another trash can and took some eggs and raw bacon left out for it. Occasionally sasquatches have been observed examining tents and campfire areas. This activity appears to have been motivated more by curiosity than by hunger. However work camps have had food supplies such as salty pancake flour, canned meat, bacon and candy taken. On the nights these thefts have occurred a sulphur odor, strange wailings and other mysterious sounds were heard. At daylight, two very large sasquatch tracks were found. These tracks were measured at eighteen and three quarters inches long, nine inches across the ball and five inches across the heel.

Sasquatch are reported to be great swimmers. The late Bob Timus operated a boat service among the inlets and islands between Bella Coola and Prince Rupert, on the west coast of British Columbia. On several beaches he found sasquatch prints coming out of the water into the woods of small islands that could be reached only by swimming. One Sasquatch was observed swimming underwater with its arms forward and legs doing a frog kick. This suggests that they swim extremely well, under water as well as on the surface. Other reports suggest that swimming in sasquatches not only serves as a means of locomotion for travel but also may be sufficiently developed to serve in catching fish.

Hibernation and migration are unlikely in the life of a sasquatch. They seem to have the ability to leave an area quickly depending on weather conditions. The only time sasquatches seem to migrate is when seasonal conditions make this movement advantageous or necessary. On the whole sasquatches seem to congregate in areas where food is available in sufficient quantities year round. Sasquatches seem to have adapted to a cold climate due to their extreme hairiness. Torpor is an over wintering mechanism used by bears that involves a slightly lowered body temperature. It has been suggested as a possible over wintering strategy for the sasquatch in northern and interior locales but this can be only speculation at this time.

Two stories have intrigued sasquatch buffs over the years. One is the Albert Ostman kidnapping in 1924 which has had a large number of reactions from those who think it is an outright lie to those who are persuaded that it is reasonably authentic.

The story begins at the head of Toba Inlet on the British Columbia coast. Ostman was about to start three weeks of prospecting as a break from construction work. At the start the tenth day Ostman noticed his campsite was disturbed but nothing he could see was missing. Ostman suspected it had been a porcupine. The next morning he found his pack emptied out but returned to the position where Ostman had left it hanging on a pole. A package of prunes and his pancake flour were among some items missing. That night Ostman climbed into his sleeping bag fully dressed and kept his rifle alongside him. Ostman fully intended to stay awake and see who the visitor was. But he had fallen asleep.

Ostman was awakened by something picking him up and he was carried in his sleeping bag for about three hours before being set down. At daybreak Ostman could see his captors. According to Ostman's tale there were three sasquatches - "like a family, old man, old lady and two young ones - a boy and a girl." His confinement lasted for several days in which Ostman was able to observe details of the appearances and behavior of the sasquatch family. Regardless of different opinions, Ostman's bodily details of the sasquatches were quite interesting and have been consistently supported by other eyewitness accounts. Apparently Ostman made his escape when he produced a can of snuff. Taking a pinch for himself, Ostman offered some to the elder male, who took quite a violent reaction to it. In the ensuing panic, Ostman escaped and made the three hour trek back to his camp without further contact with the sasquatch family. Once back in his original campsite. Ostman threw his camp gear together and headed back to civilization.

The best evidence for the existence of sasquatch happened in October 1967 at Bluff Creek, California. Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were on a horseback expedition when they were able to film a sasquatch with a 16-mm camera. The film showed a female sasquatch - breasts are evident in parts of the clip - walking along a sandbar in broad daylight. It is the only film evidence to date that is corroborated with tracks plus anatomical details and motion of the filmed sasquatch is consistent with other digitally enhanced film analysis. With the gait, length of stride, locomotion and general biomechanics of the sasquatch, the general science communities by a 9 to 1 margin call the film authentic. As far as a hoax and assuming fur suits are a dime a dozen, no actor yet has been able to duplicate the mechanics of the creature. In the ensuing years, no one has been able to demonstrate anything that challenges its authenticity.

Ron Murdock

Ron Murdock is a free lance writer based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Ron has had a strong interest in crypto zoology. Over the years Ron has contributed articles to several publications in Western Canada and to several websites. He is a regular contributor to the Wyoming Winds street newspaper in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Read about Ron Murdock's own experience with a sasquatch here!

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