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One has to avoid misunderstandings. Apes and monkeys are different. A person could report seeing a monkey in Florida , and someone else might insist it was a skunk ape because monkeys aren't indigenous there. But I suppose there will always be a population there now. I could see these populations ruining things for the deer hunters.

I have always thought that riding horses instead of cars was a big part of Patterson & Gimlin's success. 17x7

No. There was such a thing as Bigfoot. And if it's a social construct today? It's because humans are wired to be looking out for large hairy cousins hiding in the bushes.

They've been there since around the 1930's. Florida has long been the winter home of traveling carnivals and someone abandoned a troop of these monkeys there. But a Skunk Ape is a far different thing than these rather small monkeys.

Trust me, it isn't easy for me to suspend my personal opinions, and many times I don't. I will admit that I have a built in prejudgment about certain people who post on the forums, and it is nearly impossible for me to disassociate myself from those judgments, many times I can't. I find the best way to dispose of frustration is to not look at it in terms of who is right and who is wrong, but look at it in terms of differing opinions, and taking a step back and trying to discern the reasons for that differing opinion. Where is that persons point of view coming from and what are the facts they are presenting to bolster their side of the issue. There are many "stories" that I find hard to swallow, and I look at them as just that, stories. Some may think a story a total fabrication, but who is to say what is truth and fiction in this field? If we suspend judgement and just listen to the story, then ask the logical questions about the story, the truth usually comes out, if the storyteller will respond to the questions. So many times the storyteller is attacked out of hand, before any pertinent questions are asked, that they decide not to engage in a discussion and just go away. Some may say that this is a sign of deception, but sometimes it is just a matter of not being willing to subject themselves to the harassment that ensues. You may find there are real people that have encountered something, even it is fear induced, imagined or a honest mistake and they believe it is real. You may even consider that they deserve respect for their belief. Have you ever considered that what they find belief in may actually be real? I know for a fact that I don't have all the answers for what is out there, but I am willing to listen to people, find out the facts of the issue and make a judgement based on that individual encounter, sighting or evidence. Like the X-Files says, "The Truth Is Out There". It may be a huge massive hoax, it may be mass misidentification, mass hallucination, or maybe, just maybe, it may actually be an undiscovered primate. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.

Respectfully disagree as what I/we experienced on multiple occasions was a F&B entity that bled, left handprint and destroyed property when antagonized. IMO, suspect they may be able to deploy infrasound in a manner that causes confusion, time and space disorienting effects which would account for some of the perception of paranormal attributes.

What am I doing to prove BF's existence to "SCIENCE" i.e. the popular conception of a loosely organized body of scientists who communicate with one another about a wide range of issues and form "scientific consensus" based on informed expert opinions? Nothing, the concept is a myth. What am I doing to prove BF's existence to scientists? To those of them that I can call my friends to an extent that I feel assured that telling them won't damage my career, I talk their ears off. I walk them through the evidence, hold their hand, and take them out into the woods. When we're hiking and they ask "Woah... Is that what you'd call a woodknock?" I smile and say "yep." I contribute to the snowballing of public opinion, which, in the case of the subject at hand, is no less informed nor less relevant than scientific opinion. I believe the evidence in favor of BF's existence is already painfully obvious if one takes the time to look at it thoroughly and logically (I know that's hardly a unique position around here), but it takes someone well-acquainted with the subject to walk you through that. That's why I'm here, and I fully intend to bring others around. If you were hoping for me to describe what caliber rifle I'm shopping for, don't hold your breath. As far as my personal investigations are concerned, right now I want to contribute to documenting locations and seasonal movements. Where, specifically, do we find structures? That tells you a location has been in use at some point, for some length of time, even if they're just passing through. When do structures appear, disappear, and change? When do you get actual encounters? That tells you a lot more, i.e. they're in that specific location at that specific time (well, duh). Think about the sightings map / BFRO Google Earth layer - it gives a pretty good sense of their range right? Is there any reason we shouldn't be able to produce something MUCH more extensive, and with a seasonal or temporal aspect to it? I want to understand the Chicagoland clans, and start to predict their movements. I've already found an area they use that's MUCH closer to the heart of Chicago than anything else I could find online. I want to try to help understand structures, their meanings. This aspect is absolutely brimming with possibilities. There are so many common archetypes found all over the place, how could that be random rather than symbolic? This is also an aspect of pushing the snowball, which if you spend any time on Youtube and #projectgoandsee you know is really taking off in the past year or two. Ultimately, I want to find myself a family of backyard BFs in the mountains of Colorado and work on getting to really know them, because that's what this study should really look like, but I think that's a ways off for now. At any rate, the way I see it there are two approaches: trying to "prove" it to "science," which is really no different than proving it to any lay person, they are equally uninformed and unqualified to opinion, a body on a slab will surely suffice (though I'm equally sure you won't get one, and for that we can be thankful); OR we can work to define what the study of bigfoot should actually look like, since there is no such discipline currently. As a scientist, the latter is the far more exciting, tantalizing option. And everything I've read and experienced leads me to believe that the study of bigfoot should much more closely resemble a type of cultural anthropology, or primate habituation, along with documented field observations, as opposed to this crime scene forensics approach that people seem to think is the way to "prove it to science." Let me rephrase the question and turn it around: what are you doing to prove the existence of BF to anthropologists and wildlife biologists? They are the only relevant scientists to this subject.

Thanks. One of things that surprised me when I first started going out in the woods with WVFooter, was the "bigfoot behind every bush syndrome". I've read about it from other people, but didn't think it would happen to me. It did. Specially at night in the middle of nowhere. I think it's the initial rush of lofty expectations. But after a few outings, I settled down. Then I went the other way, dismissing possible signs... anyway, it takes a while to settle down and becoming objective. That's my biggest take from searching, you have to spend time out there... know the territory, get comfortable in the woods.

You mean, acquiring proof that BF exists? That is a loaded question because what is proof to one, is not enough for another. I'll just say that I've tried everything within my limited resources mostly to find an answer for myself, one way or another. The day I reach a solid conclusion, is the day I retire from bigfootery to use the time and energy for other things. Things I've tried so far: Website, sightings database for data mining/analysis, trail cams, audio recorders. Haven't been able to do any to the scale and quality that I'd like, but it's better than nothing. The real answer though is: I'm waiting for a "professional" to go out and take care of business. Second hope is for a trucker to get "lucky" and runover one.