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The track way above did go in both directions and ended near a building, but as I was considering it I just wrote it off as human and did not pursue it to it's conclusion, dummy dummy dummy, I know... Well suffice it to say this was before I had my backyard vocalizations and was not at all thinking realistically about them being in the area. Realize this trail is only a mile or two as the crow flies from my house, and the same area I found a tee pee structure. The same area I have had strange objects seemingly placed to be found. I know it is all hypothesis but the pieces seem to fit. It may take years but I will document this activity and somehow prove to me, and me alone, that I am really dealing with this creature. All of this borders a river and lakes and this is the travel corridor. I think they move south as the weather changes, and sightings several towns south on the same river could even be the same individuals. Then even further south where the rivers empty into larger rivers even more activity and sightings have occurred. The picture is slowly coming into focus as more information reaches me. I think a similar pattern exists on many rivers across the country, they travel along these waterways and have many haunts. My situation is taking place along the Fox river in northern Illinois in case you were wondering, and the Channel Lake State Park is where the snow prints came from, and many dogs walk those trails, but also many small animals and coyotes and deer. Sightings have occurred near Algonquin and further south in La Salle area. Many greenways extend from the river valley outward, one in the Barrington area has had two sightings on the BRFO. I see the pattern of movement and I think that it must be a few individuals, not any numbers. Just a lot of movement during the fall through spring months depending on the weather. My guess is they move further north again in the summer months as extreme heat sets in, say July when I heard the vocalizations. Our area is generally 5-10 degrees cooler than the southern end of the river during those months, and the opposite is true in the winter. Also there is a large nuclear cooling pond near to the southern sightings which would attract a lot of wildlife in the winter months as the warmed water is discharged. Just some theories at present, and all subject to revision.

There are two sides to everything ... that included. Lets take a moment to look at it from the other side. The BFs seem to be studying us, spying on us, peeking in windows, creeping around camp, messing with our stuff, flinging cones and pebbles, etc. In what double standard way is it then not ok for us to try to study them, spy on them, etc? Something feels very wrong about what you're saying. You've become habituated. I understand wanting a relationship, but what you're suggesting is an unhealthy one with all the power in one set of hands, none in the other. I want a relationship with them, but on even terms, give and take. What is fair for them to do has to be fair for me to do. If it can't be done in a fair, balanced, mature way, I don't want any part of it. MIB

Yes the Medulla is wide ( about half the hair width if not slightly less) with a straight uniform margin, and this is one feature that is different from typical human hairs when the medulla is continuous ( mostly in pubic hair) and more like an animal. The pigment in the cortex has fine and dark granules which is uniformly distributed like humans and other primates IMO. The medulla does vary from absent near the root to trace further out to amorphous continuous and finally the solid straight appearance before fading out again at the naturally tapered distal end. This is an illustration of it below. This one shows a comparison of the suspect sample where the hair shows an amorphous medulla and human pubic hair. Human on the right, same magnification.

Yes it would be very painstaking to have done such analysis on every hair sample from the morphological characteristics of each one to the mito preliminary ID to full genome. Not all of which would have been within Ketchum's expertise. So with the outsourcing method you get what you pay for as we could say. All the data points may not have been covered in those contracted costs. Concerning my sample, I think it would be unlikely to have hairs in that collection of two different species, they are too consistent internally. They vary in length from 2" to 8" with examples of both extremes not having cut ends. They are about to be independently tested on DNA, so hold tight.