Bigfoot Follies: part trois

[Resume]

Then there was that Lake County Bigfoot idiot over at the BFF who fantasized footie lived here.

[eerok]

Originally Posted by Resume

Then there was that Lake County Bigfoot idiot over at the BFF who fantasized footie lived here.

Connect the dots. Links. Missing links. There are no coincidences.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Resume

Then there was that Lake County Bigfoot idiot over at the BFF who fantasized footie lived here.

I was watching this ThinkerThunker video, because I hate myself and my fellow man, about a "bigfoot sighting" along the Cass River, where he's all excited he found the co-ordinates and can pin it to a specific location, except when you do that and look at the area via satellite photos, well...

I mean, sure, it's the woods, great. But it's not the trackless wastes of the wilderness, it's a recreational area halfway between Sandusky and Saginaw, where people hunt and fish and hike and camp and picnic, just basically every chance they get, and the odds of there being families of large primates (TT claims to see not just a "forest giant," but her two youngling, crossing a river) are basically none.

I tell you this, maybe you could wander around out there and break your ankle and die of exposure and it's a long time, if ever, before they find your body, but it's a lot less remote and isolated than where gorillas live, and you can go see them in zoos and museums.

[Resume]

Originally Posted by George F Haley

I was watching this ThinkerThunker video, because I hate myself and my fellow man, about a "bigfoot sighting" along the Cass River, where he's all excited he found the co-ordinates and can pin it to a specific location, except when you do that and look at the area via satellite photos, well...

I mean, sure, it's the woods, great. But it's not the trackless wastes of the wilderness, it's a recreational area halfway between Sandusky and Saginaw, where people hunt and fish and hike and camp and picnic, just basically every chance they get, and the odds of there being families of large primates (TT claims to see not just a "forest giant," but her two youngling, crossing a river) are basically none.

I tell you this, maybe you could wander around out there and break your ankle and die of exposure and it's a long time, if ever, before they find your body, but it's a lot less remote and isolated than where gorillas live, and you can go see them in zoos and museums.

Thinker-Thunker thunks a **** load more than he thinks.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Resume

Thinker-Thunker thunks a **** load more than he thinks.

I just can't even with that guy, wow. Imagine having someone that toxic and exhausting with the kayfabe in your life for real.

[whatsthedreamnow]

Originally Posted by George F Haley

I just can't even with that guy, wow. Imagine having someone that toxic and exhausting with the kayfabe in your life for real.

Kayfabe? Is that covfefe?

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by whatsthedreamnow

Kayfabe? Is that covfefe?

"Fugayzi, fugazi. It's a whazy. It's a woozie. It's fairy dust. It doesn't exist. It's never landed. It is no matter. It's not on the elemental chart. It's not #@$!%-ing real."

[Spektator]

If I am not mistaken, it's a term used by professional wrestlers describing the make-believe aspects of their shows.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Spektator

If I am not mistaken, it's a term used by professional wrestlers describing the make-believe aspects of their shows.

It's the code by which wrestlers and such live, whereby they act, always and everywhere, and certainly in front of us marks, as though their matches aren't staged.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Originally Posted by George F Haley

It's the code by which wrestlers and such live, whereby they act, always and everywhere, and certainly in front of us marks, as though their matches aren't staged.

I had a friend who took his 10-year old son to a wrestling "match" in Toronto and then did the same thing a week later in Winnipeg. Exactly the same out-of -the-ring "fight" took place on both accessions.

[Axxman300]

Serious question: What if Bigfoot sightings are really unobserved bear behaviors?

This just crossed my mind on the drive home. We have claims of a tall creature on two legs, something bears can do. These creatures have either black or brown hair, as do bears. We have the bear-DNA from alleged Yeti hair samples.

Could it be that easy?

[William Parcher]

The witnesses will tell you that it wasn't a bear. Then they point to the PGF and say it's like that - certainly not a bear.

I believe that some sightings are bear but most are human and hoax.

[William Parcher]

There are also thousands of witness reports from places where bears don't live and those reports are the same as ones from bear country.

The standing bear explanation is too simple.

[Axxman300]

Hoaxing is the main problem with the high-profile videos and photos. But in cases of sightings in remote areas, dressing up in a gorilla suit seems like a lot of work, and a lot of risk if you're hoaxing people who aren't in on your plan as you have a good chance of being shot.

Off the wall side-note, wouldn't it be ironic if many of the "missing 411" cases are, in fact, bigfoot hoaxers who got shot trying scare unknowing hikers, and ended buried in the middle of nowhere.

[William Parcher]

When I said hoax I meant a made up sighting story not a guy in a fur suit.

[William Parcher]

I believe that the majority of sighting reports are made up fiction and nothing was seen.

[Pope130]

Originally Posted by William Parcher

When I said hoax I meant a made up sighting story not a guy in a fur suit.

I agree. I think hoaxing would be making up false reports, photos, or track casts.
Putting on the furry suit, making strange noises or trackways for others to find I would call spoofing.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by William Parcher

The witnesses will tell you that it wasn't a bear. Then they point to the PGF and say it's like that - certainly not a bear.

I believe that some sightings are bear but most are human and hoax.

Many Bigfoot sighting have a line like "I know bears and it wasn't a bear," or "I don't know what it was but I know what it wasn't...and it wasn't a bear," like those words in that order, like they were all made up by the same hack writer.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Axxman300

Serious question: What if Bigfoot sightings are really unobserved bear behaviors?

I don't think Bigfoot encounters are all any one thing.

[Drewbot]

Originally Posted by George F Haley

Many Bigfoot sighting have a line like "I know bears and it wasn't a bear," or "I don't know what it was but I know what it wasn't...and it wasn't a bear," like those words in that order, like they were all made up by the same hack writer.

I'll take it a step further.

"I know bears and it wasn't a bear, and the person I was with saw it too, and he's worked as a game warden for 35 years, it wasn't a bear.'

[Spektator]

Or, as Creekfreak once claimed, he was camping when a teenaged Bigfoot opened the tent flap and he and his friend, a respected judge, both saw it up close and clearly. When asked for the judge's name, though, Creek said it was none of our business.

[Axxman300]

Originally Posted by Drewbot

I'll take it a step further.

"I know bears and it wasn't a bear, and the person I was with saw it too, and he's worked as a game warden for 35 years, it wasn't a bear.'

My favorite quote about bears from a biologist who studies them went like this:

"Just when we're certain a bear is incapable of doing something, we get a report of a bear doing that thing."

I technically don't live in bear country here in coastal Monterey County...but we get black bears here every once in a while. When I hike I'm not on alert like I would be in Yosemite, Shasta, or Tahoe. And this means I am 100% unfamiliar with bears and bear activity. I don't know what kind of noises they make, and while I do know about how they mark their territory on trees, I never look for those markings when I'm out.

I get that bigfoot is a cottage industry these days, but it seems like there might be bear behavior people might not know about.

Again, just thinking out loud from the skeptical side of things.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Axxman300

it seems like there might be bear behavior people might not know about.

A substantial portion of the "evidence" for bigfoot is really just arguments from incredulity and ignorance.

[George F Haley]

Originally Posted by Spektator

Or, as Creekfreak once claimed, he was camping when a teenaged Bigfoot opened the tent flap and he and his friend, a respected judge, both saw it up close and clearly. When asked for the judge's name, though, Creek said it was none of our business.

When telling a story that someone might be inclined to disbelieve, it helps to have a second opinion from either an authority, or a person with some social capital.

[Drewbot]

Originally Posted by George F Haley

When telling a story that someone might be inclined to disbelieve, it helps to have a second opinion from either an authority, or a person with some social capital.

A witness with what the Footer would consider a moral authority, gives extra sighting bonus points among the Footers. For example, a minister, a police officer, game warden, tribal officer, anyone who they and their kin, would consider beyond moral reproach.

Example:

Originally Posted by BF INVESTIGATOR

We was out late at night, on the Indian reservation, investigating sounds around the witness' mobile home, Douglas Highwater, the official Tribal Shaman was with me, we both saw the creature leap from the dumpster and sprint across the road into the mesquite thicket. We discussed whether to even mention it, knowing how important Mr. Hightower's political position was, and he insisted that regardless of the political repercussions, we must make a report. He literally had nothing to gain by doing this.

Originally Posted by pattycake nomination committee

Ye shall be awarded 10 extra Pattycake Award points for this story!

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Warp12

I don't know, man. I believe in bears, but I've never seen a dead one in the road. AND, I've never come across bear tracks or a dead bear just laying about.

If this doesn't prove that Bigfoot is real, I don't know what will. Some people just can't be convinced no matter how much evidence is presented.

I can't say I've ever encountered a road killed bear or a dead one in the woods (though I've found remains of many deer, elk and moose), but I've seen plenty of live ones, including one on my back deck a year and a half ago. To me, the complete lack of any sort of physical evidence (or clear photgraphic evidence) for bigfoot is compelling. It would be so cool is they existed, but show me the monkey.

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Axxman300

In my area, the state has had to rewrite the boundaries for Mountain Lions due to home security cameras picking up the big cats in places they were not supposed to frequent. Mountain Lions are secretive and nocturnal, so few people ever see them.

Trail cams are everywhere these days. Bears are photographed or filmed by them every day. Many of these bears share the same habitat as the alleged Bigfoot, yet Mr. Foot is never caught on these same cameras. A reasonable person will ask, "Why do all the other animals show up on these types of cameras, but never Bigfoot?".

There hasn't been any credible evidence presented for the existence of this creature. DNA has shot down all the hair and "blood" samples.

We'd love to see Bigfoot be a real thing, we really would.

Yes. In spite of spending a fair amount of time outdoors in mountain lion habitat, and now living where there are most certainly some around, I have never seen one in the wild. Nonetheless, they have been photographed many times, and people used to hunt them (still do some places, I'm sure) and there is no shortage of museum specimens (or mounted trophies) of them. For that matter, I've only ever seen one bobcat in the wild, a smaller and more common cat with similar habits.

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Axxman300

Serious question: What if Bigfoot sightings are really unobserved bear behaviors?

This just crossed my mind on the drive home. We have claims of a tall creature on two legs, something bears can do. These creatures have either black or brown hair, as do bears. We have the bear-DNA from alleged Yeti hair samples.

Could it be that easy?

I'm sure that at least some bigfoot sightings are misidentified bears. But then there's the, "bigfoots were throwing rocks at the cabin" or "bigfoot was imitating the call of a crow" sort, where it's just pretty much a matter of faith that it was a bigfoot that was responsible. I do remember seeing a youtube video a few years ago, of a dead "bigfoot" that was quite obviously a dead bear.

[Warp12]

Originally Posted by CORed

I do remember seeing a youtube video a few years ago, of a dead "bigfoot" that was quite obviously a dead bear.

I doubt it was a bear. Bears bury their dead.

I have seen plenty of bears around my area. Nothing I would ever confuse with an upright primate. Even with the many videos that I have watched, it seems pretty obvious that I am not observing a primate.

Now, I'm not the "bear whisperer" or anything, I just live in a somewhat rural area around the mountains. So obviously I usually see these bears either on the road, or sometimes in the yard. Pretty clear line of sight.

[George F Haley]

The hilariously named "Bob Gymlan" posted the following video featuring Billy Humphries recounting his bigfoot encounter, and I was curious if the Bush Pilot would give me his two cents as to "deception indicators," as I see...

1) Lots of fidgeting, lots of self-soothing behavior, hugging himself, some weird little thing at the opener where he's rubbing the inside of his forearm like he wishes he had some heroin or something.
2) the boring parts of the story are really detailed, the interesting part, you know, not so much. There's some time shifting. His account goes from past tense to present tense
3) contradiction as to what he saw. It was like the PGF. It was like a silverback gorilla. It was too human to shoot. It could have gone down on all fours and come at me, closing 30 yards in...in what? too short a time for two experienced woodsmen and hunters to put lethal shots on target?
4) convincing statements with some table pounding for emphasis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvGQgPM49E4

[GT/CS]

Is Todd Standing still searching for fame, or did he finally give up?

[CORed]

Originally Posted by Resume

Then there was that Lake County Bigfoot idiot over at the BFF who fantasized footie lived here.

I didn't know that footies like to golf.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Mystery solved?

Bigfoot Has a Very Simple Explanation, Scientist Says

Quote:

A data scientist by the name of Floe Foxon has shown that most Bigfoot sightings in the United States and Canada were probably black bears, plodding about on their hind legs.

American black bears (Ursus americanus) usually walk on all fours, but will stand on their hind legs if it means they get a clearer view or a stronger whiff of something interesting. And from this position, they can appear uncannily human-like – albeit rather hairy.

Quote:

According to Foxon's rigorous regression model – which shows if changes seen in one variable are associated with changes in another – Bigfoot sightings are largely explained by misidentified black bears.

In areas with high numbers of black bears and humans, more people see Bigfoot, and this is especially true in the Pacific Northwest.

Pretty convincing . . . unless you are a believer.

Supporting evidence:

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

[William Parcher]

If you read the encounter reports it's pretty obvious that people are making up stories, not seeing bears.

[William Parcher]

Plenty of reports from places where bears don't live.

We've seen this thesis before and it always falls short of explaining the phenomenon.

[Drewbot]

The article linked above says this:

Quote:

But in 2009, another paper based in the same region showed a high degree of overlap between black bear populations and sasquatch spottings.

Foxon has now expanded on prior results by extending the analysis to all places in the US and Canada where black bears and humans live near one another.

The data he used for Bigfoot sightings came from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, which keeps a geographic database of eyewitness reports mostly from the twentieth century onwards.

And we all know that paper was written as a joke to show the silliness of Ecological Niche modelling.

I mean they say it in the conclusion:

Quote:

We were stimulated to write this piece as a tongue-in-cheek response to the increasing prevalence of ENMs in the literature and in papers presented at professional meetings. As in any rapidly developing field with the promise of exciting applications, there is the potential for the empirical acceptance of new approaches to outpace conceptual understanding. The point of this paper has been to point out how very sensible-looking, well-performing (based on AUC and threshold tests) ENMs can be constructed from questionable observation data.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...9.2009.02152.x

[Drewbot]

Parcher:

https://twitter.com/FloeFoxon/status...21306788548610

[AlaskaBushPilot]

Originally Posted by Drewbot

Parcher:

https://twitter.com/FloeFoxon/status...21306788548610

Well a small portion can be explained by this.

We had a bear come out of hibernation this winter. He was all over our property, the poor thing had a real struggle going through the deep snow and we could see after about the third day he was getting frantic with the way his tracks were going all over the place, twirling around, romping down the road but then coming back...

We put out 50 lbs of dog food for him that night, in 3 different spots, but we never saw the tracks again. He had gone on other people's property by then and someone probably whacked him.

You will hear that you never see bears in the winter, but they do come out of hibernation. A polar bear killed a couple people up here this winter.

It is possible they were going to make an albino bigfoot report.

[rockinkt]

Originally Posted by AlaskaBushPilot

<snip>

It is possible they were going to make an albino bigfoot report.

Would that have been considered a "white lie"?

[MBDK]

Originally Posted by rockinkt

Would that have been considered a "white lie"?

Well, definitely not, "a little white lie.