Urban Bigfoot, Seriously?

[Guest DWA]

Most cats have recorded melanism.  There seem to be lots of reports, most of them - this is the interesting part for me - from putative rather than confirmed puma range.  Not sure what to think about that, but not sure I can dismiss it.

[dmaker]

There are several other animals I would like to discover in my area, I have never heard or seen a bobcat, though they are thought to be common in the area, how can this animal escape detection. Another would be the rare cougar or wolf that has moved through the area, more and more commonly, as they have spread from the Dakota's to Minnesota, then Wisconsin, and now northern Illinois. I remember when I was just a kid, Field and Stream had articles of black panthers, or black versions of cougars in Wisconsin. Sightings were fairly common, but this was never established. The dogman accounts in Wisconsin are troubling, but who knows what variation there could be with these creatures. Some have suggested the possibility of several types. Baboons and Gorilla's look fairly different.

Be sure to take lots of pictures. The scientific consensus, I believe currently, is that there is no such animal as a black puma. 

[Guest Urkelbot]

What's a dogman some type of werewolf? Are people really reporting seeing dogmen and taken seriously?

[dmaker]

^^ Not sure UB. Would not surprise me one bit. In fact, there was a hoax video making the rounds ( not sure how old it is) that was supposed to be a vintage 70's home movie that purported to record a fatal dogma attack. Pretty sure quite a few people believe in the dogman. I don't seek out their conversations though..

[Guest DWA]

What's a dogman some type of werewolf? Are people really reporting seeing dogmen and taken seriously?

Don't rightly know what a 'dogman' is.

 

That said, a scientist's reaction isn't hahahaha.  It's:  show me your evidence.

 

When scientists get that, it's much easier to respect what they say.

[Guest Stan Norton]

The only reason I'm here is to instigate or witness a fatal dogma attack!

[Guest DWA]

^^^The latter sure would beat another Slow News Day in crypto.

[Guest]

There are several other animals I would like to discover in my area, I have never heard or seen a bobcat, though they are thought to be common in the area, how can this animal escape detection. Another would be the rare cougar or wolf that has moved through the area, more and more commonly, as they have spread from the Dakota's to Minnesota, then Wisconsin, and now northern Illinois. I remember when I was just a kid, Field and Stream had articles of black panthers, or black versions of cougars in Wisconsin. Sightings were fairly common, but this was never established. The dogman accounts in Wisconsin are troubling, but who knows what variation there could be with these creatures. Some have suggested the possibility of several types. Baboons and Gorilla's look fairly different.

 

Gorillas and baboons should look different - they are in different Family, Genus and Species.  They are both in the Order Primates which also includes lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, apes and humans. 

 

As far as dogmen - the Gable film was outed as a hoax.  But yes, there are still reports of them.  Video link

 

To my knowledge there are no melanistic cougars.  Most sightings are more than likely black leopards or jaguars that either escaped or were let loose from captivity.  Here is an interesting read about black panthers.

[Guest]

Well I don't want to get into all the complications of this, but there are a few.

 

1) "People's backyards" are private property.  I know I know.  But this is just like our previous exchange; we're dealing here with people. and their idiosyncrasies.  Sometimes PARTICULARLY if one is an amateur (aren't they all) researcher, or just plain having something really cool and really private happening in their back yard, one may not be really happy with - or, to be fair, one may still be trying to sort out the ramifications of - having the Proof Patrol show up on their property and start imposing their own research protocols on what the private citizen wants to - and has the Constitutional right to - do him or herself. 

 

2)  And yep, some of those people may be coming on here to talk about this dandy habituation they're doing, and not want to (I didn't say "be able to" but no, didn't rule it out) provide proof.  It's still their property.  And again to be fair, they seem to be coming on here to talk to other habituators, not to Brag At All You Heathen Who Cannot See The Forest People.

 

3) Some people, just sounds to me, have what to them is a very legitimate concern about what will happen to their guests when science nails them down;  they may not be too keen on "great medical research subjects" or "evidence seems to indicate limited hunting seasons feasible."  And may not trust any protestations that Oh That Won't Happen.  I think some of them honestly don't want to betray a trust.  Like it or not it's a basic human thing, and may for some be magnified when something that Isn't Real is involved.

 

4)  THEY'RE AMERICANS, DAMMIT.  Don't Tread On Me.  You Don't Care, But I Do, So Serves You Right.  I Could Give A **** Who Else Knows etc.

 

5)  The Proof Patrol is on site...and nothing has happened for a month.  Maybe it was a really quiet sector and "quiet son you'll scare the fish" really did apply here.  Whoops, and now you're outed as a fringe weirdo who Thinks He Saw Bigfoot.  (Remember:  no evidence found on site that isn't a body will mean a thing to the Proof Patrol.)

 

Those are just a few things off the top of my head.

 

(All prefaced of course with "if this is all really going on."  Which you know, I'm not so sure I can doubt.  We've habituated all the apes and many monkeys and most other stuff too.)

 

Yes, I often forget how very little (comparatively speaking) public land there is east of the Rockies.  But to be fair, the OP did say that his county has been buying up land for the wildlife refuge - which is public land.  It looks like this is near Chain OLakes State Park probably as well.  Yes, I understand that public does not always mean accessible, but some of it must be - OP said that he and his wife go in there and the place is literally criss-crossed with roads so even public areas should have good access.

[Lake County Bigfooot]

My point earlier is to demonstrate that there are obviously more than one mystery animal out there. I think that the Dogman reports really are bigfoots by the other aspects of the accounts, bipedal, large prints, being found in family groups, similar hair, just a more prominent snout. Well if you doubt bigfoot I guess all the other weird reports of Bigfoot and UFOs, disappearing Bigfoot, and the extra dimensional Bigfoot, all of these only further cast doubt on the subject. Playing devil's advocate here, you see I strictly see Bigfoot as a biological creature. A primate in the order of the Gorilla, or lesser apes. Capable of higher reasoning however, and so well adapted to a nocturnal existence, especially in areas where us homo sapiens live, and completely self aware. These qualities are what allowed it to survive, even thrive, during the last few 100 years. I do believe they know not to leave their dead to be discovered, may even eat the remains, or hide them. I think they know how to hide their tracks, as well as disguise themselves by mimicking other animals and sounds in the environment to escape detection. All of this while standing 7 foot plus and weighing well over 500 pounds, and spanning about 4 feet at the shoulders. Capable of gliding quietly through the brush, or crashing through depending on what they want to communicate. Possessing unusual eyesight and hearing, able to transition from bipedal to four wheel drive on the fly, climbing trees, leaping walls, fences, in general only fearful of man, and only because we fear them. I think that they trusted humans once, and saw what we did to those humans, having driven them (Native Americans) from their native lands, and spreading disease to them, and forcing them into starvation, why should bigfoot trust us when we treat our fellow man so horribly?

Edited September 14, 2013 by Lake County Bigfooot

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Yes to anyone wondering I am about 3 miles south of the state park and connected to it via greenways, and marshland. I suspected that a curious Squatch might come into investigate my marsh because of all the coyote activity, as well as the number of deer, only had not thought it would happen so soon after developing the reasoning last winter. Now I am pretty well persuaded that this type of Bigfoot is on the move, never staying more than a brief time, say a week or two in any area. This allows them to leave little trace of there having been there as well as preserving the area for later use. I think that the territory of a family group is at least a 300 hundred mile circle. This is based on what I think the creature needs to sustain itself. I think they fatten up for winter, and continue to live in the snowy areas, but retreat to the most secluded areas they can find. Spring and Fall may find them moving to and from less isolated areas and summer allows them their greatest range of movement. These ideas seem to fit with the sighting reports as well, and I will continue to observe the movements of the animal via the sighting data. It is not enough to establish the creature as real, we need to understand its existence and habits to fully appreciate them.

[Sunflower]

I agree with you regarding the Indians and the hairy people. 

 

I'd like to add that they are great swimmers, they learn at an early age from the pictures I've seen.

[Guest Urkelbot]

Isn't it more likely that it was the native Americans who either killed through competition or directly hunted Bigfoot. Which is why Bigfoot had to learn to hide from humans. Native americans aren't exactly saints they did plenty of killing, enslaving, destroying other people long before the colombian exchange. Not to mention changing the environment through controlled burns and most likely causing the extinction of a good chunk of north American mega fauna. Humans are humans they are jerks wherever they are.

[Guest]

if that was the case you'd think there be at least a few NA artifacts like bones or something

[Sunflower]

Isn't it more likely that it was the native Americans who either killed through competition or directly hunted Bigfoot. Which is why Bigfoot had to learn to hide from humans. Native americans aren't exactly saints they did plenty of killing, enslaving, destroying other people long before the colombian exchange. Not to mention changing the environment through controlled burns and most likely causing the extinction of a good chunk of north American mega fauna. Humans are humans they are jerks wherever they are.

 

Do you have an historical account of these activities?  I'd like to read it.