Sure - 229 of those reports came after the first episode aired in September of 2003.  Might also be due to the BFRO having a working website - that's a guess as I had no thoughts about Bigfoot at that time.

Orangs are even smarter.    

I don't think she was. She just got the early education other gorillas didn't get. And she was female.

Fascinating!  And, I totally agree when you said:  "Then there's the awareness you're being tracked/hunted, which is something all sorts of animals display."  Just try squashing a fast cockroach/waterbug!  They are about 350 million years ahead of humans in evolution and they can virtually disappear.    I wonder why Koko was a one-off?  Perhaps she had a beneficial mutation that apparently was never passed-on (no kids).  Although I did read that she adopted several cats.    

Yeah, like was this spike continental, or just in the northeast?    I note that the BFRQ was founded in 1995, and the original BFF was founded in 2002.   "Harry and the Hendersons" was released in 1987.