Global Warming = Bigfoot Migrates North

Dont take my word for it! There are specialist in a unique scientific discipline called Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM)

Using a database of sightings and footprints for Bigfoot in western North America, the researchers suggest that convincing distributions of an animals range can be generated from questionable data. By comparing the distribution of Bigfoot to that of a black bear, Lozier et al. “suggest that many sightings of this cryptozoid may be cases of mistaken identity.”

The algorithms take information about sightings or recorded incidences of a species, find commonalities among those sightings against maps of other ecological data (i.e rainfall, forest type, presence of other species, etc.), and produce a geographic distribution for the target species.

The paper, “Predicting the distribution of Sasquatch in western North America: anything goes with ecological niche modelling,” constructs ecological niche models (ENMs) for the elusive Bigfoot. By using a large database of georeferenced sightings and footprints for Sasquatch in western North America, Lozier and his colleagues aim to demonstrate how convincing environmentally predicted distributions of a taxon’s potential range can be generated from questionable site-occurrence data. Lozier et al. do not take an explicit stance on the existence of Bigfoot, but rather make use of publicly available data sets with questionable records to illustrate the danger of using incomplete data to make statistical correlations.


Read a full article on this here.

RELATED LINKS
Paper on Ecological Niche Modeling of Bigfoot

Bigfoot and the Indiana Banana

Is the Rise in Paw Paw (AKA Indiana Banana) trees and Bigfoot Sightings Correlated?

For those not familiar with the Paw Paw (Asimina Adans.), it is a fruit tree native to eastern North America. Historically, this fruit was never cultivated in the way that other fruit trees have, such as the apple, pear or peach trees; however, recent interest in the paw paw’s nutritional, medicinal, and insecticidal properties has peaked farmers’ interest in this delicious and potentially marketable crop. The paw paw has been referred to with many names - the Indiana Banana, Poor Man’s Banana, papaw, Kentucky Banana – to name a few. If you were from the Midwest or any other place that the paw paw is native to, it was always a treat to come across a neighbor or a market stand that had this custard-like treat on hand. Bigfoot most likely feels the same way.

In recent years, the cultivation of the paw paw has increased. Organic farmers grow it not only for its sweet taste, but also for its insecticidal qualities. Freezing the pulp upon harvest now combats storing and shipping the fruit, which was once a hindrance. It is also relatively low maintenance once cultivated.

Bigfoot and the paw paw? Bigfoot sightings do not just occur in Oregon and Washington. The BFRO (The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization) has a great list of sightings per state. Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and many other states have dozens of sightings (for a great listing check out http://www.bfro.net/gdb/#usa) Members of the Bigfoot Researchers Lunch Club believe that Bigfoot may very well have an interest in the paw paw for subsistence and that sightings in these states, as well as others where the paw paw is being grown, directly correlate to this crop. Like the numerous sightings in states with heavy apple and pear production, Washington and Oregon, the states with increasing paw paw production are seeing more and more Bigfoot sightings.
Ohio is currently the biggest producer of the paw paw. It also has had an astonishing number of Bigfoot sightings – 198 reported to the BFRO through 2007. Other states producing the fruit have had many reports of Bigfoot as well. Michigan - 85 sighting, Kentucky – 47 sightings, Indiana – 49 sightings. The states producing the paw paw and the sightings reported in these states warrant all of you field researchers in these states to explore this possibility. We of the BFRLC would love to hear your opinions, thoughts, and research regarding this issue. We invite you to share your stories with us.

Jane Goodall: (Bigfoot) I'm sure that they exist.

British primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall spent almost half-a-century studying the wild chimpanzees of Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Her ground-breaking discoveries have contributed much of what we know about the behavior of these primates. Dr. Goodall recently accepted the Minerva Award from Maria Shriver at the Women's Conference in Long Beach, California, 27 Oct 2009

What most people may not know is Jane Goodall is on record for believing in Bigfoot. below is an audio and transcript of the Friday, September 27th, 2002, Interview. This Interview was conducted on National Public Radio's (NPR) Talk of the Nation: Science Friday with Ira Flatow, Dr. Jane Goodall made a striking comment on her strong beliefs that large "undiscovered" primates, such as the Yeti or Sasquatch, do indeed exist.



The following is a transcript of the relevant portion of the program:

Dr. Goodall: As for the other, you're talking about a yeti or bigfoot or sasquatch.

Ira Flatow: Is that what he's talking about?

Dr. Goodall: Yes, it is and ...

Ira Flatow: Is that the message I'm missing here?

Dr. Goodall: I think that's the message you're missing and ...

Ira Flatow: (To the caller) Is that right?

Caller: Pretty much.

Ira Flatow: (Laughing) I'm out of the loop. Go ahead.

Dr. Goodall: Well now, you'll be amazed when I tell you that I'm sure that they exist.

Ira Flatow: You are?

Dr. Goodall: Yeah. I've talked to so many Native Americans who all describe the same sounds, two who have seen them. I've probably got about, oh, thirty books that have come from different parts of the world, from China from, from all over the place, and there was a little tiny snippet in the newspaper just last week which says that British scientists have found what they believed to be a yeti hair and that the scientists in the Natural History Museum in London couldn't identify it as any known animal.

Ira Flatow: Wow.

Dr. Goodall: That was just a wee bit in the newspaper and, obviously, we have to hear a little bit more about that.

Ira Flatow: Well, in this age of DNA, if you find a hair there might be some cells on it.

Dr. Goodall: Well, there will be and I'm sure that's what they've examined and they don't match up. That's what my little tiny snippet says. They don't match up with DNA cells from known animals, so -- apes.

Ira Flatow: Did you always have this belief that there., that they, that they existed?

Dr. Goodall: Well, I'm a romantic, so I always wanted them to exist. (Chuckles.)

Ira Flatow: (To the caller) Alright?

Caller: Thank you.

Ira Flatow: Thanks for calling. (To Goodall) Well, how do you go looking for them? I mean, people have been looking, right? It's not like, or has this just been, since we don't really believe they can exist, we really haven't really made a serious search.

Dr. Goodall: Well, there are people looking. There are very ardent groups in Russia, and they have published a whole lot of stuff about what they've seen. Of course, the big, the big criticism of all this is, "Where is the body?" You know, why isn't there a body? I can't answer that, and maybe they don't exist, but I want them to.

TOP 10 TUES: Why Bigfoot is Bunk

Photo of Benjamin Radford

Discovery.com has a slideshow provided by Benjamin Radford, managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The slideshow is the top 10 reasons Bigfoot is bogus.

Below I have paraphrased the top ten reasons below. You can see the the slideshow here and read in detail each of top ten reasons Benjamin Radford believes Bigfoot is bogus.

1.) The Empty Fossil Record.
2.) Forget Fossils, Where Are the Bodies?
3.) The breeding population would be tens of thousands.
4.) Most “evidence” are circumstantial eyewitness reports.
5.) Most photos are ambiguous, and even more recognizable ones can be faked.
6.) There no rigorous, documented, peer-reviewed evidence for Bigfoot.
7.) Bird researchers, rigorous observers and exhaustive note takers, have never spotted Bigfoot.
8.) Since the Panda 100 years ago, most new species discovered are microorganisms and insects.
9.) Virtually all the evidence either comes down to being inconclusive or a hoax.
10.) Without a body there is no standard to compare evidence to.

While the Bigfoot Lunch Club would not go as far as saying Bigfoot is bogus, we agree these are all valid challenges we Bigfooters face. It is important that we recognize and embrace these challenges. As steel sharpens steel, we appreciate opposition.

Thank you Mr. Radford for keeping us on our toes, while we try to keep on the heels of Bigfoot.

Doin' IT with Neanderthals

Modern man and Neanderthals had sex across the species barrier, according to leading geneticist Professor Svante Paabo. Humans and Neanderthals lived amongst each other for over 10,000 yrs. Thats twice the timespan of the Egyptian empire (3400 yrs) and Roman empire (2200 yrs) put together! We know through research both species had the technology to make alcoholic beverages and we know through drinking these beverages, it takes less than 10,000 years for beer goggles to take effect.

There is a great article in the Daily Telegraph tying to prove...

...his theory by examining Neanderthal fossils for traces of modern man's DNA. But if Neanderthal DNA existed in modern man's genes, he believes it will have been diluted below detectable levels.

Professor Paabo, who is director of genetics at the renowned Max Planck Institution for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, made the claim at a conference in the Cold Springs Laboratory in New York.
But Prof Paabo said he was unclear if the couplings had led to children, of if they were capable of producing offspring.

In recent years, fossils with both Neanderthal and modern human features have been found suggesting the two species interbred but previous scans of Neanderthal genes reveal Neanderthal DNA to have a very different make-up to modern man's.
Neanderthals were primitive beings that lived alongside modern man 30,000 years ago. Prof Paabo is seeking to prove his theory by examining Neanderthal fossils for traces of modern man's DNA. But if Neanderthal DNA existed in modern man's genes, he believes it will have been diluted below detectable levels.

Read the original article here
Read our other posts re: Neanderthals
Neanderthals Sequenced
Did Humans Make Love or War with Cavemen

Abominible Snowman (Yeti) on MonsterQuest

The History Channel is doubling down on Bigfoot in the snow. For those not in the know MonsterQuest is a series on the History Channel Self described as:

MonsterQuest uses the latest high-tech equipment to take a scientific look at legendary creatures around the world, creatures eyewitnesses claim to see to this day. Each episode will examine all the evidence available, from pictures and video to hair and bones, as well as the eyewitness accounts themselves. Believers, skeptics and scientists will weigh in, but what will the evidence reveal?

This Sunday they will be broadcasting two episodes back to back. Below is an update from their Full Schedule

MonsterQuest : Abominable Snowman
Airs on Sunday October 25 09:00 PM
The Abominable Snowman is among the most frightening and notorious monsters in history. This ferocious nocturnal creature is said to attack people and slaughter their animals. Witnesses report sightings of a strange, hair-covered beast and claim to have heard blood-curdling screams. Evidence amassed over the last century may point to a startling conclusion: that something real and unknown stalks the desolate mountains of the Far East. Scientists and experts will examine the clues while the MonsterQuest team will undertake their most dangerous expedition to date with an epic ascent onto the snowy peaks where recent evidence of the beast was found.

MonsterQuest : Snowbeast Slaughter
Airs on Sunday October 25 11:00 PM
High in the rugged wilderness of Colorado's Rocky Mountains a large hairy creature is said to be preying on the elk and frightening residents. The stories date back centuries with the earliest settlers describing terrifying encounters with a large beast whose scream bellows across the hills. Even today ranchers and hikers report a monster they can't explain that may be attacking their horses. MonsterQuest will sift through the evidence and determine what may be killing the elk. The aerial search ascends to 11,000 ft in search of fresh evidence that could lead to the creature; as the ground team scales the side of Pikes Peak to hunt for the legendary Snowbeast.


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The Monkey Man of New Delhi: India's Bigfoot

WELCOME VISITORS FROM INDIA!

We have been getting tons of visits from India lately and we wondered at the Bigfoot Lunch Club, "How can we return the appreciation?" What better way than to add Monkey Man to the AKA Bigfoot World Map and post a tribute to India's Monkey Man of New Delhi.

An an overview provided by Wikipedia:

In May 2001, reports began to circulate in the Indian capital New Delhi of a strange monkey-like creature that was appearing at night and attacking people. Eyewitness accounts were often inconsistent, but tended to describe the creature as about four feet (120 cm) tall, covered in thick black hair, with a metal helmet, metal claws, glowing red eyes and three buttons on its chest.
Theories on the nature of the Monkey Man ranged from an avatar of the Hindu god Hanuman, to an Indian version of Bigfoot.[1]
Many people reported being scratched, and two (by some reports, three) people even died when they leapt from the tops of buildings or fell down stairwells in a panic caused by what they thought was the attacker. At one point, exasperated police even issued artist's impression drawings in an attempt to catch the creature. Many today still believe this "monkey man" continues to haunt the streets.

Time Magazine even dedicated an article covering this 2001 phenomenon.

In India, where religion dominates lives and where many of the country's 330 million gods take the shape of animals, birds and demons, the supernatural is often fused with reality, and reason often gets plowed under by superstition. In frightened northern and eastern New Delhi, home to some 4 million people, no neighborhood is dark after sunset anymore. Power outages have been stopped as a result of the panic, and city politicians guarantee electricity will remain on around-the-clock until the monster is caught (or forgotten). Wandering bands of vigilantes guard neighborhoods with wooden cudgels, daggers, field-hockey sticks, ceremonial swords and pikes made from butchers' cleavers. They carry whistles around their necks to warn other neighborhoods of impending attack. In the early hours, police fire flares over cultivated ground to see if the Monkey Man is hiding in the darkness. The area's 500-strong police force has been tripled. Some legislators are demanding the central government send in Elite commandos to deal with what they call "the crisis." A bounty of $1,100 has been put on his head.

The man charged with playing Agent Mulder to track down the Monkey Man in northeast Delhi is Vivek Gogia, deputy commissioner of police. At 2.30 a.m. the radio in his curtained automobile crackles, setting him racing to Old Seemapuri, a warren of closely packed, illegally built two- and three-story dwellings crisscrossed with alleys. Every light in every building is on. Women and old men peer from balconies and roofs. The vigilantes men and boys huddle around, babbling excitedly. Singling out a tall man at the back of the crowd, Gogia asks what happened. "There was this shadow, sir," he replies.

And as a final litmus test to determine the Monkey Man of New Delhi we have The Animated TV Series the Simpsons. Apu's wife says to her divorce lawyer: "No offense, but you remind me of the monkey man who slaughtered my family's chickens".

Disclaimer: We neither condone or endorse the stereotype of Apu in The Simpsons. We even found a link that asks, "How do Indians feel about the stereotypical portrayal of Apu in The Simpsons?"


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Learn More about The Monkey Man of New Delhi at Wikipedia
Read an article about The Monkey Man of New Delhi at Time Magazine

Thank you India for your support!the Bigfoot Lunch Club Salutes You!

Hibagon: Japanese Bigfoot

At the Wide Island View blog Courtney Coppernoll reports a rich history of Hibagon. Delving deep into how the legend has even affected the local cuisine. Below is a short sample.

Looking at Saijo on a sunny afternoon, you’d never guess that such a sleepy little town was once the scene of a mass panic that spread throughout Hiroshima prefecture. Yet, in the early 1970s, local residents were terrified to step outside their doors and every news station in the area was covering the shocking events taking place in Saijo and the surrounding villages. So, what exactly was it that caused a typically quiet, laidback community to be so completely overwhelmed by fear?

The answer is Japanese Bigfoot. Or, as they like to call it here in Japan, the Hibagon.

Read the rest of the article here.


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By Courtney Coppernoll
Looking at Saijo on a sunny afternoon, you’d never guess that such a sleepy little town was once the scene of a mass panic that spread throughout Hiroshima prefecture. Yet, in the early 1970s, local residents were terrified to step outside their doors and every news station in the area was covering the shocking events taking place in Saijo and the surrounding villages. So, what exactly was it that caused a typically quiet, laidback community to be so completely overwhelmed by fear?

The answer is Japanese Bigfoot. Or, as they like to call it here in Japan, the Hibagon.

The Hibagon gets its name from the Hibayama Mountain Range, the area it’s said to inhabit in northern Hiroshima prefecture. Like many other countries’ versions of Bigfoot, the Hibagon’s appearance is open to some speculation.

Most eyewitnesses claim that the creature walks upright on two legs, but some describe it as running on all fours like an ape. Some sightings report angry, glaring eyes, while others insist the eyes were more human-like and intelligent. At least one account even makes note of the creature’s smell – a rather unflattering scent of rotting flesh! Generally speaking, however, eyewitnesses agree that the Hibagon is around 5 feet tall (152 cm), weighs around 180 pounds (81 kg), and is covered in black or brown fur. It’s also said to have a triangular-shaped face and, of course, rather large feet.


Little Hibagon at a park in Saijo. (Photo by Courtney Coppernoll)

The first recorded sighting of the Hibagon occurred in Saijo on July 9, 1970, when a creature covered in brown fur was seen crossing a field in a single, large step. Less than two weeks later, a large creature with gorilla-like legs was spotted near a dam, but swiftly crossed the river and disappeared. Another Saijo resident described seeing a large, ape-like creature with brown fur running through a field (and reportedly knocking down 30 ears of corn). For the rest of the year, sightings of this mysterious creature continued to surface and, in December, the discovery of a set of footprints 21 cm long (8 inches) and 22 cm wide (8.5 inches) in the snow secured the Hibagon’s place in the history of Hiroshima prefecture and Japan.

A special department was established to handle Hibagon-related matters and, according to one Saijo resident I talked to, a Japanese national university even came to the area to do research on the Hibagon (their results were apparently inconclusive). Though sightings of the Hibagon continued to be reported for the next four years, they stopped almost completely after 1974, with only a few sporadic reports being made after that time.

However, the Hibagon is far from being a thing of the past in Saijo. There’s a sweets shop in the town called Daikokudo, which is famous for their trademark sweet, “Hibagon Eggs.” Hibagon Eggs are chocolate sweet bean cakes, with the inside of the cakes designed to look like the yolk of an egg. Written on the outside of each Hibagon Eggs box is a warning: “DANGER: The HIBAGON is an unconfirmed Japanese animal. He was witnessed at the foot of the Mt. Hiba mountain range in Saijo-cho, Hiba-gun (incumbent Shobara City), Hiroshima prefecture in 1970. The egg of the HIBAGON is in this box. Be careful! It’s dangerous!!”


Hibagon Eggs (Photo by Courtney Coppernoll)

Each box of sweets also includes a newspaper insert called Hibagon Tsuushin (“The Hibagon Correspondence”), which is full of information on the Hibagon, including a timeline of sightings, speculations about what the Hibagon actually is – possibilities include human, ape, large monkey, bear, or even alien! – and some details about Hibagon Eggs. Though, perhaps the most interesting section is titled “Wait a minute! Big monkeys, apes, bear, humans – they lay eggs…?” It’s a short passage where the Daikokudo shop owner defends their making of Hibagon Eggs by essentially saying that since no one really knows what the Hibagon is – it could even be “an alien creature not from this world” – it’s entirely possible that it does actually lay eggs. So there.

While I was in Saijo I also had a chance to ask some of the locals if they truly believed in the existence of the Hibagon. The owner of Daikokudo, an older man who remembers the Hibagon-induced panic from the 1970s, told me without hesitation that he’s a firm believer. His son, on the other hand, said he doesn’t think the Hibagon really exists, but he’s open to the possibility that it might. Most of the other Saijo residents I talked to couldn’t decide one way or the other and instead settled for telling me that it’s a big “mystery.” Everyone did seem to agree, though, that if the Hibagon exists, it’s probably a pretty scary creature and they hope they never meet it.

Still, whether it exists or not, the Hibagon remains an important and unique part of Saijo and the surrounding area. In addition to selling Hibagon Eggs, a movie about the Hibagon called Dear Hinagon (an alternate name for the Hibagon) was filmed in Saijo in 2005, and a local company features the Hibagon in its logo. Along the highway heading into Shobara (the city Saijo was merged into in 2005) there’s even a Hibagon statue to welcome visitors to the area.



So, the next time you have a chance to travel up north, keep your eyes open and maybe you’ll have a chance to meet one of Hiroshima prefecture’s most unique and unusual residents!

Oct 20th: A Special Day for Bigfooters

The Patterson-Gimlin film (also referred to as simply the Patterson film) is a short motion picture of an unidentified subject filmed on October 20, 1967 by Roger Patterson (Wall, South Dakota, February 14, 1926 – January 15, 1972) and Robert Gimlin (Missouri, October 18, 1931) who claimed the film was a genuine recording of a bigfoot. The film has been subjected to many attempts both to debunk and authenticate it. Some qualified scientists have judged the film a hoax with a man in an ape suit, but other scientists contend the film depicts an animal unknown to science, or cryptid, claiming it would be virtually impossible for a human to replicate the subject's gait and muscle movement. Source:Wikipedia

Today, October 20th, 42 years ago, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin filmed the most famous Bigfoot footage to date. Always at the forefront BLC is one of the first to recognize this anniversary today.

Perhaps throughout the day more sites will recognize this date. In the meantime, I thought I would share some links around the web that focus on the historical film. On top of our list is Cryptomundo, because Loren Coleman has an exclusive tale straight from Bob Gimlin: Roger Patterson's little known deathbed confession.

1. Cryptomundo:Patterson's Confession
2. Wikipedia
3. BFRO
4. Cryptomundo
5. Pattersonfilm.com
6. Bigfoot Encounters
7. Anomaly Magazine: Film Analysis
8. Animal Planet
9. Timeline of Key events of from Oct 20-31, 1967
10. Patterson/Gimlin Film Site on AKA Bigfoot Map


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99% Human 1% Unknown primate

SELIGMAN, ARIZONA -- Seligman is the birthplace of historic Route 66, but could it also be the home of Bigfoot? "Java" Bob Smallsback of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. is in town researching two reported Bigfoot sightings by a Phoenix man who is building a cabin in the area. The sightings reportedly happened on two different occasions over the past two years. Smallsback says he was called in after the most recent sighting and claims he was able to track the creature, finding what he says is a fingernail where the Sasquatch had stubbed his toe on a rock.
Smallsback says a team from Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. will be in Seligman for the next few months in hopes of making contact with the elusive creature.

More Than One in Three Americans Would Like to See Bigfoot Proven as Real, According to National Poll

Just in time for Halloween, Animal Planet and Zogby Explore What Americans Believe About Ghosts, Goblins and Other Creatures of the Night -

Mostly a poll regarding ghost and ghouls, there is some interesting results about Bigfoot. Below are a few of the findings from the poll

More than one third of those surveyed (39%) said they have seen a ghost or know someone who has. Fifty-four percent have never seen a ghost before, while eight percent were unsure.

When asked what legendary creature they would like to see proven as real, thirty-six percent of people said they would like Bigfoot to be real, while 21% said ghosts. Twenty-seven percent said various other creatures, including vampires and werewolves.

About one in five respondents (21%) said they have been visited by a dead friend or relative, while 72% said they haven't been and 8% were unsure.

When respondents were asked what creature they would least like to meet in a dark alley, werewolf topped the list with 20%. Thirteen percent said vampire, and 12% said zombie.

A surprising 35% percent of people said they believe in aliens, while 40% said they don't, and 25% were unsure.

Too see full results of poll click here

Loren Coleman makes USA Today News

Its was only a couple of paragraphs long, it is quoted below.

Bigfoot, Nessie to star in Maine's new Cryptozoology Museum

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Bigfoot is coming to downtown Portland.
Loren Coleman says his International Cryptozoology Museum will open in a Congress Street storefront on Nov. 1.

As a cryptozoologist, Coleman studies creatures that have been reported to exist but aren't formally recognized by science.

Among the displays will be his 8-foot-tall, 400-pound Bigfoot sculpture, which now stands on the front porch of his home. He'll also have a model of the Loch Ness monster, along with what he says are a footprint cast and hair sample from the Abominable Snowman, found during a 1959 expedition in the Himalayas.

Coleman, who has written 17 books on cryptozoology, tells the Portland Press Herald the museum will be in the rear of a new bookstore that will specialize in supernatural fiction, horror fiction and weird fiction.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I'm looking forward to the museum, even if its in the other Portland. I offered to volunteer to illustrate a mural for the new museum, after all I am a paid published professional Illustrator, and avid Bigfooter, but never heard back from Mr. Coleman. I even shared a link to my illustration blog, I wish him well and you can always donate to his cause through paypal. His donation page is here

** NOTE! We have corrected the donation link above.

Werewolves and Bigfoot

I have a theory that prior to Darwin publishing his theory, werewolves were merely misclassified Bigfoot. Prior to the theory of evolution, hairy bipedal creatures were assumed to be werewolves. With this single theory, I, and I alone, have doubled the amount of recorded Bigfoot sightings. A simple search and replace. Search: werewolf. Replace: Bigfoot.

In Tents #4: Bigfoot Man -- powered by Cracked.com

Dont Miss Discovering Ardi

Following publication in the journal Science on the discovery and study of a 4.4 million-year-old female partial skeleton nicknamed "Ardi," Discovery Channel will present a world premiere special, DISCOVERING ARDI, Sunday October 11 at 9 PM (ET/PT) documenting the sustained, intensive investigation leading up to this landmark publication of the Ardipithecus ramidus fossils.
UNDERSTANDING ARDI, a one-hour special produced in collaboration with CBS News will air at 11 PM (ET/PT) immediately following DISCOVERING ARDI. The special is moderated by former CBS and CNN anchor Paula Zahn and includes research team members Dr. Tim White, Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Dr. Giday WoldeGabriel, Dr. Owen Lovejoy, and science journalist Ann Gibbons
The scientific investigation began in the Ethiopian desert 17 years ago, and now opens a new chapter on human evolution, revealing the first evolutionary steps our ancestors took after we diverged from a common ancestor we once shared with living chimpanzees. "Ardi's" centerpiece skeleton, the other hominids she lived with, and the rocks, soils, plants and animals that made up her world were analyzed in laboratories around the world, and the scientists have now published their findings in the prestigious journal Science.
"Ardi" is now the oldest skeleton from our (hominid) branch of the primate family tree. These Ethiopian discoveries reveal an early grade of human evolution in Africa that predated the famous Australopithecus nicknamed "Lucy." Ardipithecus was a woodland creature with a small brain, long arms, and short legs. The pelvis and feet show a primitive form of two-legged walking on the ground, but Ardipithecus was also a capable tree climber, with long fingers and big toes that allowed their feet to grasp like an ape's. The discoveries answer old questions about how hominids became bipedal.
The international research team weighed in on the scope of the project and its findings:

"These are the results of a scientific mission to our deep African past," said project co-director and geologist, Dr. Giday WoldeGabriel of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"The novel anatomy that we describe in these papers fundamentally alters our understanding of human origins and early evolution," said project anatomist and evolutionary biologist, Professor C. Owen Lovejoy, Kent State University.

Project co-director and paleontologist Professor Tim White of the Human Evolution Research Center at the University of California Berkeley adds, "Ardipithecus is not a chimp. It's not a human. It's what we used to be."
DISCOVERING ARDI begins its story with the 1974 discovery of Australopithecus afarensis in Hadar, northeastern Ethiopia. Nicknamed "Lucy," this 3.2 million year old skeleton was, at the time, the oldest hominid skeleton ever found. As the Discovery Channel special documents, Lucy's title would be overtaken twenty years later by the 1994 discovery of "Ardi" in Ethiopia's Afar region in the Middle Awash study area. It would take an elite international team of experts the next fifteen years to delicately, meticulously and methodically piece together "Ardi" and her lost world in order to reveal her significance.

Check out the entire website here

Aridi did descend from apes

Alll right we jumped the gun with the rest of the media. Ardi did evolve from ape ancestors.

You can read the whole argument at the Origins Blog at Science Magazine. Here's an excerpt below.

Ardi is a primate descended from more ancient apes, as are all humans and human ancestors. Apes in turn are descended from monkeys. Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives— we share 96% of our DNA with them, and our lineages shared an ancestor sometime between 6 million and 8 million years ago, possibly earlier. The authors’ point is that the last common ancestor we shared with chimpanzees didn’t look like a chimp—which means that chimpanzees also have been evolving since the two lineages diverged. Finally, Ardi confirms rather than refutes Darwin’s prediction in 1871 that our progenitors lived on the African continent, as well as providing another link in the evolutionary chain from primitive apes to humans.

None the less this is still very exciting news and still pushes bipedal hominids back a previous 1million years than previously thought.

Learn more about Ardi
Learn more about Lucy
And dont forget about the Discovery Channel Ardi Site

Walking Sam added to AKA Bigfoot World map

I have added the legend of Walking Sam to the AKA Bigfoot World Map.

Below is a excerpt from thunderbutte.blogspot.com

On July 15, 2009, I was on a business trip to the area and attended a Tribal Council meeting at Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. People at the Tribal Council session also asked for federal help with some things that sounded strange to non-tribal ears. For example, one local woman, who left before I could talk with her personally, asked Washington for help dealing with Walking Sam. The woman, who was elderly but otherwise quite lucid, described Walking Sam as a big man in a tall hat who has appeared around the reservation and caused young people to commit suicides. The woman was from Red Scaffold, which is a small community on the reservation.

I looked through quite a number of books trying to find any reference that I could to Walking Sam. Well, I didn't go looking for Walking Sam, but I did stay in a town that weekend that straddles the edge of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Whether Walking Sam represents Bigfoot, an evil spirit, or is just a manifestation of the fear that people have about losing their loved ones to what seems an incomprehensible type of event, the teen suicides are real.

--Mike Crowley

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Discovering Ardi

In our two previous posts "Move over Lucy" and "A Planet Where Ape Evolved from Man?" we introduced you to Ardi

Discovery Channel has some fine previews of a special they will be premiering October 11th. Yhe show is titled Understanding Ardi.

Check out the entire website here

UNDERSTANDING ARDI, a one-hour special produced in collaboration with CBS News will air at 11 PM (ET/PT) immediately following DISCOVERING ARDI. The special is moderated by former CBS and CNN anchor Paula Zahn and includes research team members Dr. Tim White, Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Dr. Giday WoldeGabriel, Dr. Owen Lovejoy, and science journalist Ann Gibbons
The scientific investigation began in the Ethiopian desert 17 years ago, and now opens a new chapter on human evolution, revealing the first evolutionary steps our ancestors took after we diverged from a common ancestor we once shared with living chimpanzees. "Ardi's" centerpiece skeleton, the other hominids she lived with, and the rocks, soils, plants and animals that made up her world were analyzed in laboratories around the world, and the scientists have now published their findings in the prestigious journal Science.
"Ardi" is now the oldest skeleton from our (hominid) branch of the primate family tree. These Ethiopian discoveries reveal an early grade of human evolution in Africa that predated the famous Australopithecus nicknamed "Lucy." Ardipithecus was a woodland creature with a small brain, long arms, and short legs. The pelvis and feet show a primitive form of two-legged walking on the ground, but Ardipithecus was also a capable tree climber, with long fingers and big toes that allowed their feet to grasp like an ape's. The discoveries answer old questions about how hominids became bipedal.

Bigfoot a Trend?

Ever wonder how things get popular and become trends? Trendhunter.com seems to think they do. Apparently Bigfoot is becoming a hot trend. The above video is one example of how Trendhunter aggregates different media to support a rising trend.

Below is a self description from the Trendhunter Website #1 in Trends - With 9+ million monthly views, TrendHunter.com is the world's largest, most popular trend community. Fueled by a global network of 28,000 members, Trend Hunter and Trend Hunter TV feature 52,000 micro-trends and cutting edge ideas.

Routinely sourced by the media, Trend Hunter is a source of inspiration for industry professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs and the insatiably curious. Trend Hunter has been featured or cited by: MTV, The Economist, CNN (2x), Time, CBC (3x), T3 (4x), Cosmopolitan, GQ, Glamour, Entrepreneur, The Globe and Mail (2x), Entertainment Tonight (3x), FOX News (3x), The Financial Times (40x) and even the personal blog of Kanye West.

TrendHunter.com was launched in 2005 by Jeremy Gutsche, an innovation expert and keynote speaker who wanted to build a home for new business ideas and creativity.

Go to trendhunter.com to see how bigfoot is becoming a trend.





An exerpt from Trendhunter.com

This week the internet was set ablaze with videos and proof of the Chupacabra ‘Vampire Dog’ in Texas and Bigfoot in Georgia. Could Chupacabra and Bigfoot both be captured in the same week? It seems unlikely… So why the coincidence?

If I had a little more time on my hands, I would fake both of them to create a big publicity stunt.

Accordingly, I am going to explain 5 Reasons to Fake Chupacabra and Bigfoot for Publicity:

1. Accuracy is Not Required for Viral - In March, one of the most viral posts on the net was the redesigning of the Eiffel Tower; the Serero Project. The news spread like wildfire, with people passionate, excited and upset. The kicker is that the project was a fake. Big deal, the Guardian and others still printed it…

2. Mythvertising Works - Last month, we saw UFOs crash land next to the London bridge… But wait, aliens don’t exist! Tell that to Vauxhaul. People were immediately intrigued by the idea that a myth had been made real. Days after getting media attention, the new Vauxhaul was revealed. Vroom vroom.

3. It’s Easy to Fake ‘NO EVIDENCE’ - In the case of Bigfoot, how difficult is it to list the features of Bigfoot and announce that DNA proof of Bigfoot will come later? By the way, did anyone else notice that Bigfoot was discovered in Georgia, but the press conference is in Palo Alto? That’s the heart of Silicon Valley, BTW…

4. It’s EASY to Fake a Weird Dog - Guess what? If you want to make a dog look like Chupacabra, you simply add something around his nose and take a blurry video from far away. But won’t ‘adding something’ to a dog’s head make the dog run funny? Exactly! What if people doubt the legitimacy of blurry Chupacabra footage? Easy, say that the footage is from a police car video and interview a small town police officer…

5. Brand Association - There are 450,000 Google results for “Trend Hunter”… But there are 10,000,000 results for the word Bigfoot. The bottom line is that Bigfoot is a big brand… But nobody owns him, and that means his brand is FREE! Well imagine that. In short, both Bigfoot and Chupacabra are well known brands that you can use to boost your product.

The only other note is that I would fake Bigfoot before faking Chupacabra. I say this because it’s taken me half an hour to write this article and most of that time was spent learning to spell Chupacabra / chupecabre / chupa-whatever. Having said that, maybe it’s just because in Canada we don’t have goat-sucking vampire dogs.

In short, when the Bigfoot Chupacabra hoax is revealed, I’d like say that Trend Hunter told you first… However, I’d be happier to say that Trend Hunter did it!

UPDATE: Orang Pendek

As promised we have an update on the Orang Pendek sighting.

you can read the article at the Sun
Loren Coleman has a great post on Cryptomundo.
Expedition leader Adam Davies has a journal
Some members of expedition are from the Center for Fortean Zoology (CFZ)

And Tonight Adam Davies will appear on the Mark Gary’s radio program tonight, October 1, 2009, from 9:00 PM to Midnight Eastern.




In a breaking news report from Cryptomundo, news of a Orang Pendek Sighting.

Orang Pendek (Indonesian for "short person") is the most common name given to a cryptid, or unconfirmed animal, that reportedly inhabits remote, mountainous forests on the island of Sumatra.

The animal has allegedly been seen and documented for at least one hundred years by forest tribes, local villagers, Dutch colonists, and Western scientists and travelers. Consensus among witnesses is that the animal is a ground-dwelling, bipedal primate that is covered in short fur and stands between 80 centimetres (31 in) and 150 centimetres (59 in) tall.

There seems to be quite a buzz in Sumatra right now. First a quote from Cryptomundo.

I’m on my way to Tyler…but I just received this…so I’ll post it quickly:

“Yeti sighted in Jungle !!!! Two team members have sighted the Yeti while we were in the jungle. I heard a large animal moving towards us. Subsequently the creature was then sighted by team member Dave Archer and Sahar Didmus, a forest ranger. I have a sworn affadavit from Sahar to that effect. It hid from us by a tree, before moving rapidly and bipedally through the jungle. Dave describes the OP [Orang Pendek] as looking almost chimpanzee-like. Sahar was so upset and disturbed he began sobbing, and I had to comfort him. We have taken hair samples found at the site, and bagged some rattan which it was eating. We will have these analysed by Todd Disotell. Numerous tracks also found……………!!!!!!!!” ~ Adam Davies (enroute out of Indonesia via Singapore)

And then the guys at Centre for Fortean Zoology started a trip to Sumatra and have some exciting news that will posted on their website tomorrow!

AN unknown species of Indonesian ape could shed light on how our human ancestors began to walk erect.

The orang-pendek of Sumatra is said to be a powerfully built ape that walks on two legs like a man. Both native people and western explorers, including two noted scientists, have reported the creature from the deep jungle.

This week four English scientists and explorers will brave the rainforest in search of the orang-pendek.

The team from the Woolsery-based Centre for Fortean Zoology, will spend two weeks in Sumatra working with the Kubu people, the island's original inhabitants, who will help them track the mysterious ape.

The expedition comes shortly after the announcement of the discovery of a fossil hominid in Georgia. The Dmansis hominids lived 1.8 million years ago and had legs like modern humans, but primitive arms. Their early occurrence has made scientists rethink how hominids moved out of Africa to colonise the rest of the world.

Richard Freeman, the team's zoologist, said: "It was once thought that our ancestors became bipedal when they descended from the trees and moved onto the grass lands of East Africa in order to exploit new food sources. However, now it seems that many apes and hominids were moving 'bipedally' while they were still rainforest dwellers.

"As well as being a major zoological discovery, the orang-pendek could give us some clues on how bipedalism developed."

The group's trip will be recorded on the Centre for Fortean Zoology's website at

www.cfz.org.uk

Bigfoot Goes Savage

Fangoria magazine has exclusive stills and footage of a new Bigfoot movie titled Savage.

“SAVAGE isn’t your sweet, friendly, cuddly Bigfoot film,” producer Christopher Cook tells Fango.

Move Over, Lucy; Ardi May Be Oldest Human Ancestor

Breaking news regarding evolutionary tree of life, especially when it comes to hominids. we already brought you A Planet where Ape Evolved from Man?

NPR picks up where we left off. You can read the article by Christopher Joyce here.

Embedded below is an audio interview with the discoverer of Ardi.



Want to learn more about Ardi?
Want to learn more about Lucy?

A Planet where Ape Evolved from Man?

Charleston Heston's character from The Planet of The Apes series may have got it right.

According to a series of studies released today, a Skeleton of Ardi, 1.2-metre, 50-kilogram female may hold the clue.

Read the full Article here

In a series of studies released today by the journal Science, researchers have revealed a creature that took the first upright steps toward human beings and fundamentally changes the way we look at our earliest evolutionary ancestors.
The research brings into question the belief that our most distant ancestors descended from apes.

What's closer to the truth is that our knuckle dragging cousins descended from us.
Meet Ardi, a 1.2 metre, 50-kilogram female that is going to cause a big fuss throughout the anthropology world.

In 11 papers and summaries unveiled by the journal, researchers have revealed the partial skeleton of a creature that undoubtedly walked upright like our "hominid" predecessors, yet had many of the distinctive hallmarks of climbing apes.
Among other things, research on the 4.4 million year old creature suggests that humans are far more primitive in an evolutionary sense than the great apes -- like chimps and gorillas -- of today.

Lovejoy explains that the "hominid" lines of upright species that evolved, in fits and starts, into humans, have much more in common physiologically with Ardi than do modern chimpanzees.

"Hominids, it turns out to be, are pretty primitive," Lovejoy says

"We're pretty much unchanged, or let's say we're less changed since the last common ancestor with chimpanzees than are chimpanzees."

Lovejoy explains that the actual missing link -- or last common ancestor in scientific parlance -- may have first sprung up some six million years before Ardi - short for Ardipithecus ramidus.
The Star
JOSEPH HALL
SCIENCE WRITER

Hobbit Still Stirring Things Up

Homo-floresiensis A.K.A. the Hobbit will be starring in its very own special issue of The Journal of Human Evolution

Some of the biggest findings are evidence of close ties to Australopithecus, A famous speculative Bigfoot ancestor.

Combined with other anatomical evidence, the results ruled out Asian Homo erectus as the progenitor. Both jawbones shared characteristics with Australopithecus and early Homo, and were closer to them than the Dmanisi skeletons were. The ancestral hobbits must have left Africa before the hominins who reached Dmanisi, Brown and Maeda reasoned.

Another big one would be the redefinition of the genus Homo.

“What will come from this is either the redefining of the genus Homo or the argument that this species has so many unique characteristics and so many features shared with australopithecines that it probably belongs in its own genus,” Brown tells HES.

Discovery Magazine has a great blog dedicated to the Hobbit here.