Is Habituation A Safety Hazard?

[Guest]

I've been  wondering about this. With all large predatory animals, it seems that the number one rule about sharing territory with them is that you dont feed them, you dont invite or tempt them to your house. This seems pretty much universal, all across the board... Alligators, Cougars, Wolves, Coyotes, and, I imagine, Primates. One of the largest habituation sites for wild animals is, of course, the Macaque temples of Sri Lanka and Thailand, which often result in overly aggressive and emboldened, and seem to like to attack people and steal their stuff. Now imagine that, but instead of Macaques... who, by the way, are strong enough to maul people pretty seriously... not to mention slightly larger Black-Handed Spider Monkeys, who seem to like to scalp people... and make it eight feet tall and upwards of four hundred pounds... habituate it, teach it to associate people with food... and it would seem that you have a pretty dangerous scenario with habituation. 

What do you guys think? I'm not anti-habituation, for the record. If I was put in a habituation situation, I might partake, too. It's just the potential risks involved I'm wondering about.

[Guest]

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

[Guest wudewasa]

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

 

 

And you know this how?!

[Guest]

lol

[Old Dog]

Since we have no proven habituations, along with the needed hard documentation for proof, I would say it's kind of up in the air.  There are too many factors and unknowns to make an educated determination, let alone a wild ass guess, as to what would happen.  I'm still waiting for the proven case of habituation, not just some one who says they have a family of BF's living in their backyard, but no photo's or videos to back it up, even though they are there daily and only a few feet away in the wide open area of a yard or farm.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Old Dog

[Guest]

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

 

 

And you know this how?!

From the evidentiary re

Edited May 4, 2013 by Mulder

[Guest wudewasa]

You mean anecdotal accounts? 

[Guest]

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

And you know this how?!

From the evidentiary record, extending all the way back to aboriginal America, it is clear that BF are opportunistic predator/omnivores (similar to bears) and have been known to be aggressive towards humans.

Even if you do not accept that record, we can look to the behavior of other great apes and hominids. Chimpanzees, orangutans and (occasionally) gorillas are all known to be aggressive towards humans at times, and chimpanzees are known mankiller/eaters. Cannibalism among hominids such as Neanderthals is also well documented.

So it is self-obvious that it is a bad idea to habituate a wild great ape or hominid that is faster, stronger, and better adapted towards stealth in the woods than you are.

[Guest]

 

 

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

And you know this how?!

 

From the evidentiary record, extending all the way back to aboriginal America, it is clear that BF are opportunistic predator/omnivores (similar to bears) and have been known to be aggressive towards humans.

[Guest wudewasa]

 

 

Short answer: yes.

BF, whether hominid or ape, are documented to have the potential to be highly aggressive, opportunistic predators, and ANY habituation of those is fraught with danger.

And you know this how?!

 

From the evidentiary record, extending all the way back to aboriginal America, it is clear that BF are opportunistic predator/omnivores (similar to bears) and have been known to be aggressive towards humans.

Even if you do not accept that record, we can look to the behavior of other great apes and hominids. Chimpanzees, orangutans and (occasionally) gorillas are all known to be aggressive towards humans at times, and chimpanzees are known mankiller/eaters. Cannibalism among hominids such as Neanderthals is also well documented.

So it is self-obvious that it is a bad idea to habituate a wild great ape or hominid that is faster, stronger, and better adapted towards stealth in the woods than you are.

 

[Guest]

You mean anecdotal accounts?

Wude, if you were about to take a walk in a particular forest and a passerby said "Be real careful, that forest is crawling with rattlesnakes..." would you sneer at him and say "That's 'anecdotal evidence'!" or would you make darn sure you were paying attention to where you were walking?

It may be "anecdotal", but it IS the best (indeed the ONLY evidence) we have right now.

And I'll reiterate, if you chose not to accept that evidence, then consider what BF most likely is, and how others in that group of animals ARE fully documented to act.

Do you REALLY think that encouraging a 400+lb critter that could if it wanted to beat you like a pinhata to hang around is a good idea?

 

From the evidentiary record, extending all the way back to aboriginal America, it is clear that BF are opportunistic predator/omnivores (similar to bears) and have been known to be aggressive towards humans.

*dismissive media imbed removed per board reposting rules*

So, in addressing the OP's question, what do YOU consider the best evidence of BF's nature and therefore safety towards humans in a habituation scenario to be?

Do YOU have any evidence to support the idea that BF are 100% peaceful and safe to be around for humans?

Edited May 4, 2013 by Mulder

[Midnight Owl]

I still have more questions than answers about the Bigfoot/Sasquatch subject, but I can speak from first hand experience rather than a "Wild ass guess".

I have been fortunate enough to interact with several habituator situations. It was the primary reason I was able to have a family group approach me and my host, three of which came to within about 15-20 feet of me. It was a very organized, non-threatening situation that was built on their trust of the habituator. I have seen first hand where there is mutual respect between parties with various give and take matters.

Having said that, I have also seen other conditions where this living close to one another can be a living nightmare. For others, it can be a mixing of the good, bad and ugly.

I have found no two Bigfoot look exactly the same and there are feature variations very much like us. Take a young attractive college coed and compare her with an old street dwelling man that has not groomed in months. They look very different. The same with a younger Bigfoot in their prime verses a much older one.

There are people you would not want to meet in a dark alley or live next door to. The same holds true with a rogue Bigfoot. There is a real and present danger not knowing the risks involved on close interaction with these subjects. Fortunately, I have never had anything bad happen to me. That has not been the case with others, some of which has been documented for hundreds of years. I would say trust your instincts. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't....don't push the envelope out there...be safe.....

[BobbyO]

Wude, its not rocket science.

If you are aware of this animals existence you will be of the mindset that of course, the animal could be dangerous.

If you are not aware of the animals existence, you will of course continue to put jpg's that are in a sarcastic manner, to answer posters that give you the answers that you wanted in the first pace, that you won't accept.

[Guest]

Is a habituation scenario safe?  Depends on the people and the bigfoots involved and in the situation.  Too many parameters to consider without specifics.  However, it really seems to be a mixed bag from self reports.  I think the best case scenario would be to do like FloridaReader has done and reach a compromise.  I think these are intelligent homins, so I think THEY think and reason and can make decisions....that said, that is also the problem!  You aren't dealing with ONLY an intelligent animal, but a reasoning being.  Puts a new spin on things.  I prefer to imagine them as something like a very primitive, tribal Neanderthal person with hair and of larger size and use that as a working hypothesis when dealing with them, or potentially dealing with them.  Anything less and you might be depriving yourself of valid information that would assist you in figuring out how to deal with them and live in cooperation with them.  After all, they ARE bigger, faster and stronger than you - we are not used to not being the dominant species - it's them habituating US and not us, them.  IF they are there, they will do pretty much whatever they want to do - how would you stop them?  (Answer: cameras' right?  What if they get angry?).  I don't think it's generally a safe scenario, but a human's job should be to become knowledgeable about the group of bigfoots they are dealing with, determine why the foots are there and find a compromise everyone can live with.

 

Also, they don't NEED anything of ours.  There must be another motivation for them approaching and interacting with humans.  We have nothing they need.  Therefore, is it logical to conclude that we have something they simply want?  Snacks?  Entertainment?  Territory that was theirs that humans have encroached upon that they want continued access to?  

Edited May 4, 2013 by madison5716

[Old Dog]

I still have more questions than answers about the Bigfoot/Sasquatch subject, but I can speak from first hand experience rather than a "Wild ass guess".

I have been fortunate enough to interact with several habituator situations. It was the primary reason I was able to have a family group approach me and my host, three of which came to within about 15-20 feet of me. It was a very organized, non-threatening situation that was built on their trust of the habituator. I have seen first hand where there is mutual respect between parties with various give and take matters.

Having said that, I have also seen other conditions where this living close to one another can be a living nightmare. For others, it can be a mixing of the good, bad and ugly.

I have found no two Bigfoot look exactly the same and there are feature variations very much like us. Take a young attractive college coed and compare her with an old street dwelling man that has not groomed in months. They look very different. The same with a younger Bigfoot in their prime verses a much older one.

There are people you would not want to meet in a dark alley or live next door to. The same holds true with a rogue Bigfoot. There is a real and present danger not knowing the risks involved on close interaction with these subjects. Fortunately, I have never had anything bad happen to me. That has not been the case with others, some of which has been documented for hundreds of years. I would say trust your instincts. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't....don't push the envelope out there...be safe.....

 

 

So, is there any photo or video documentation of these encounters?