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I look at it this way. I have little to no skin in the game so far as obtaining a specimen. I have no intention of ever shooting one for any reason. Yes, science would probably prefer a darn good piece of a real creature to capitulate towards acknowledgement of the species, which probably means a full body, or obvious part, like a hand, foot or head. Obtaining it and presenting it in any manner is problematic. I am not interested in that dog and pony show at all. The ethical considerations seem to be six of one, and half a dozen of the other. There's as many pros as cons. However, if the obtainee was someone from here, I would donate what meager funds I could, because we should stand together and support one another, and show solidarity as a community, as researchers, the curious and experiencers.

My research shows it uses symbolic representations and improvisations, graphic (visual/kinesthetic/tactile/motor) and auditory. Sure it could be one of any number of things. It probably buries its dead and thinks symbolically. Can't explain the tool and maybe the fire thing. It is probably an offshoot around or before Neanderthal in my thinking.

Both. No way do I want another court date, criminal or civil. And I wouldn't kill somebody who didn't need killing just to satisfy the demands or ideological needs of others. When I thought it was an ape, I would'a done it. As I've evolved to believe that they're a hominin.......a human species, and pretty much peaceful...........well, I think I'll pass on the killing stuff.

Tried a different sort of area last time out, just outside of a small town and beyond the farming belt around it. Camped above a nicely flowing stream, the green patch upper right is a farm field. Had a tolerable view while sipping on an Old Rasputin, watching a 4 point muley buck very warily make its way through the brush below and waiting for darkness to head down canyon to a nice petroglyph panel to offer a bit of tobacco and mojo to the Ancients in exchange for the view. Last time we were here we did the same nighttime hike down and when the wind shifted, there came with it a strong musky animal smell that even i picked up and i can't smell a thing out in this dry climate, uneventful this time, just a nice hike under a gibbous moon til it was obscured by clouds. Camped out on cots till the thunderstorm arrived at 3am, lightening illuminating the valley and distant mountains. i scrambled to get the tent set up and cots stashed, made it in with about 3 minutes to spare before the wall of wind and rain hit. It didn't last long, things quieted down to where we could hear 3 different packs of coyotes howling and yiping to one another along with a pair of great horned owls calling. That activity kept up intermittently til dawn. This area has had the most animal activity we've seen. I've scrambled around the state looking for the spot to dedicate a focused search, a lot of possibilities just need to take a block of time. Bi-pedal Bighorn:

Just got back from seven day Alaska cruise with my wife. I haven't been very active the past few years due to health issues. Doing better now dropped 50 lbs getting out walking and plan to get out there and do more time in the forests. We saw dozens of hump back whales some Orcas, porpoises, sea otters, seals but no bears. Lots of salmon in Sitka AK.

Zana and Sykes came up in a previous thread and I forgot. Still haven't looked into it but it appears to be a different Sykes DNA study AND a different book by Sykes than what I was thinking. I will have to look into it more closely. I guess I am baffled at how Zana, if she really was a BF, was captured and became a willing participant in being "property" or a housewife or whatever social dynamic among humans she was in. I also don't get your fascination with the word compelling but I guess that is your business. Either Hersom or Erickson or maybe a tag team effort by both, originally funded Paulides . I don't know the reason why Paulides would have been hired at that time because he had not yet written any books or anything in the field. Guessing he sold his law enforcement, investigative background. He claims on his web site that "they" found Ketchum to lead a DNA study so maybe it was a group decision. It is also clear from events that followed that Ketchum was not the best choice to represent the interests of the study. I can't imagine how or why people with money to burn on BF studies would have allowed it to go on that way. So I put it on the financiers shoulders to permit Ketchum to drift into the orbit of the blueberry bagel lady's habituation area, which is what (I think) drove Ketchum's motivations. I also think that Erickson was swayed since he talked about it on his web site. Not sure if that content is still up there. There was talk about a secret habituation site, maybe even the short clip of the BF allegedly sleeping was taken there, who knows. The fact that they tried to use the sleeping BF as a link to the study was really a bad turn. Mainstream news picked up on it. Just comes down to professionalism. Either do it right or keep your money. Then Hersom says he wanted the "whole genomes" returned to him after the project bombed. He must have very deep pockets to do so after the fact. For 150 grand (I think that was the figure he gave Ketchum?) I would have gotten real scientists to lead the study.

Last night we stayed in Blanco canyon just south of Pagosa Springs.

Yesterday we did a 30 mile run over Bolum pass. Roughest USFS road I have ever seen. Much of the road up top was just jagged boulders. The Chev on 35’s was too low in spots and scraped. Weird but pretty rock down here. Some gray like home but a lot of red. And some of it erodes like blocks. Which gives the road a step like appearance. Saw a red fox and mule deer. Lots of aspen trees. Lots of grass. Lots of old mines. Wyatt fished in a small lake. But it was full of what he called salamanders? No idea. Saw a Ford with MO plates on the Durango side. Plate said FOOTN!

Paulides sometimes talks at bigfoot conferences but never comes right out and claims BF is involved. He cannot really know. However common sense tells one that in areas with bigfoot activity BF should be a suspect and would be in disappearances if BF were thought to exist by law enforcement. With lost children and women, I myself would suspect cougars before bigfoot. Cougar numbers in the wild are increasing and since they have exclusionary territory and will not tolerate other cougars it has to be putting tremendous pressures on them for survival. In Oregon and Washington aggressive cougars are getting to be very problematic. Experienced and well armed hunters might be a different situation.

When you refer to "him" it reminds me of the backwoods guy/gal or even city slicker who saw "him" on TV and thinks there's one Bigfoot running around. I should have just said, you come across as completely uneducated on the subject at all.