If you are like me, you have just started to come out of a turkey induced stupor (aren’t left-overs great!) and have started to think about pulling out your Christmas decorations, or maybe you have already started decking the halls (in which case, I applaud you). This year when you are trimming the tree, why not add a little cryptozoological flair to the old Tannenbaum? Cast in designer resin and hand painted, this playful Bigfoot ornament is available for $9.95 or $19.90 for 3 from Design Toscano makes a fun addition to any Christmas tree. If you happen to order by November 30, you can get 20% off your purchase.

Bigfoot, the Holiday Yeti Holiday Ornament

There has been a bit of a flap going on in the Bigfoot hunting community regarding a research opening fire on a Sasquatch during a field investigation. While I want to come back to the particular incident later, this event has served to cast a spotlight on an issue that divides the Bigfoot research community. On one side, you have the no-kill researchers who are completely opposed to any attempt to kill a Sasquatch. Other researchers, however, feel that a specimen must be taken to further the study of the creature. Looking at this one issue, the two groups couldn’t seem to be any more different in their goals, but they both want the same thing. Both pro-kill and no-kill researchers ultimately want to protect the Sasquatch and their habitat.

While no-kill research is important to understanding Sasquatch and how it lives, ultimately a specimen will have to be taken to have the species formally classified and accepted by the mainstream scientific community. While unfortunate, this is the process by which new species are identified. Without formal identification there is no way that Sasquatch or its habitat will have any hope of receiving protection under the law. Especially considering that protecting Bigfoot, in its natural habitat, will have a significant impact on the multi-billion dollar lumber industry. There can be no controversy regarding the existence of Sasquatch that could be leveraged by the lumber industry to limit or prevent habitat preservation efforts. As saddening as the unnatural death of a Bigfoot would be, the simple fact is that its sacrifice would benefit the rest of its species.

That being said, I hardly think that every Sasquatch researcher that sets foot in the woods should head out looking to bag a Bigfoot. If a Bigfoot is taken, it needs to be done humanely as possible AND in a way that allows the scientific community a viable sample to be used for classification. Ideally, a team looking to collect a Sasquatch specimen should include an experienced marksman/hunter armed with a weapon that will allow a clean kill with minimal tissue damage. The last thing Bigfoot and the Bigfoot research community needs is an animal being taken in a way that makes its remains useless. That would be a horrific waste and is inexcusable. Additionally, if an expedition intends to take a sample for classification they need to be very clear of their intentions with whomever is granting them access to the property they are hunting on. If a landowner does not want a Sasquatch killed on their property for whatever reason, that is well within their rights. Ignoring this would endanger all Bigfoot research as private land owners may become less likely to allow any researcher on their land for fear of it being turned into a shooting gallery in spite of their wishes.

photo by Ed Siasoco

This brings us back to the incident in question. This past July a team member performing an investigation with Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy opened fire on a Sasquatch while on the land of one Charles Branson. While this particular event has become somewhat of a black-eye for the Bigfoot community, there is quite a bit that can be taken away from it for future expeditions. Foremost, it would seem that Mr. Branson was unaware of the groups intent to take a specimen for analysis. Had the group been upfront about their intentions, Mr. Branson could have easily either rescinded his permission to access his property or made clear that agreeing to not harm any Sasquatch was required to access his property. Secondly, according to the account released by TBRC the individual who opened fire on the Bigfoot with a shotgun, “firing all the rounds in rapid succession”. The landowner’s nephew was on the property at the time of the shooting and he believed the gunfire he heard to have been from a “machine gun”. Ignoring any other issues (including possible safety implications), witness reports like this paint Bigfoot hunters who would like to collect a specimen in a bad light, making them out to be crazed Yosemite Sam types who would shoot down a whole forest in the hopes of hitting a bigfoot. Hopefully the community as a whole can learn from the mistakes made by the TBRC team and move forward better prepared to secure the future of the Sasquatch species.

Ultimately, it is up to each individual Bigfoot researcher to decide whether they want to be involved with the potential killing of a Sasquatch. It is perfectly fine for a researcher to decide that they want to focus their research on observing Bigfoot in their natural habitat without doing any harm to the creatures. Hopefully researchers who make this choice will acknowledge the benefit collecting a Sasquatch specimen will bring to the field and not attempt to prevent that from happening. Ultimately, this misguided “protection” could end up hurting the entire Bigfoot population. On the same token, researchers who choose to attempt collecting a Sasquatch specimen need to ensure they conduct themselves in the most professional manor and are beyond reproach in their methods or they risk damaging no only their own reputation, but the reputation of the entire community as well.

Major Update: TBRC Admits To Shooting

Is it possible that there is a conspiracy afoot that has moved to suppress the existence of Sasquatch in the United States? According to a series of tweets by Big Foot researcher William Jevning, that is exactly the case. Jevning relates an incident that he was involved with in 1994.

While scouting a favorite hunting spot the father of one of Jevning’s co-workers and his friend came across a series of what they believed to be Sasquatch tracks running down a little used access road in the Mt. Adams area of Washington state. On the way out of the area the two reported the prints to a forest service supervisor. The supervisor then headed out to the area with a camera to document the tracks. When they returned home, the two contacted Mr. Jevning and offered to take him out to the area. On the way in, they passed a forest service water tanker that was leaving the area. Upon arriving where the tracks had been, Jevning discovered that the water truck had been driven down the access road spraying water, destroying any evidence. Jevning attempted to follow-up with the forest service, but was told the supervisor the hunters encountered didn’t exist. According to him, the forest service personnel he spoke with responded in a less than honest tone.

But why would the forest service cover-up the existence of a big foot? According to Jevning, it all has to do with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the logging industry. While researching his new book, “Notes From the Field: Tracking North America’s Sasquatch“, Jevning discovered that if the existence of a North American Hominid or Great Ape were proven, the entire logging industry in the area would be shut down while scientists conducted research on the new species and studied the impact that continued logging would have, costing the industry what would certainly amount to billions of dollars.

I have to say, I never thought to consider the effect that the “discovery” of Sasquatch would have on the logging industry. After seeing the lengths that other industries have gone to protect their bottom line, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to learn that the logging industry was taking steps to prevent the formal identification of Sasquatch as a living species. While all we have right now is a single anecdote which hardly proves anything, I would love to see more research into this facet of the Big Foot story. (I will admit though that this has peaked my interest and I have a copy of Jevning’s book sitting in my cart at Amazon as we speak.)

[via "Recent Cryptid Odds and Ends" @ Phantoms & Monsters]