A New Method For Tracking Bigfoot?

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

My idea is...

 

Elephants can communicate over vast distances using infra-sound.

They can use the rumbling in the ground to locate each other.

Their foot is the receiver they use to sense the infra-sound output from the ground.

 

Bigfoot also has a big foot and is thought to use infra sound so perhaps that big foot is also a receiver they use to locate each other.

 

It seems that locating each other for mating or socializing might be hard to do for rare animals with huge home ranges. (or even warning off intruding males and creating sonic territorial markers).

 

Perhaps what is needed to track a Bigfoot from a distance is the method they themselves may use.

 

A receiver that can pick up infra-sound from the ground and amplify, record, or output to a computer.

 

With a minimum of three infra sound ground listening receivers positioned at strategic location it may be possible to triangulate movements of Bigfoot at large distances.

 

This would be very handy as they are so skittish, so doing a standoff tracking of movements could tell you a lot and provide a wealth of science and location based data. 

 

It is their own method perhaps? and how they can communicate so as to avoid people.

 

Interpreting the signal might provide some type of rudimentary language (communications protocol) as well.

 

It may be since they are so hard to find they have evolved with tree knocks, infra- sound, and whoops and whistles to locate each other over distance while staying below the horizon of awareness for man to intercept and track, providing them with acoustical "covers".

 

Anyone want to give this a try? We could developed, test and build a proof of concept receiver.

 

copyright LDP

Edited May 4, 2016 by Cryptic Megafauna

[BigTreeWalker]

You'd probably be tracking lava movement under the volcanoes in the PNW.

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

 Just get the frequency right.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Cryptic Megafauna

[hiflier]

In principle it's a good way to think. It may not be feet or ultrasound but testing the idea could at least rule it out as long as it were known the creatures were in the area. One needs a baseline and that's the hard part. One thing might be after a long dry spell after the ground is hardened.

 

I know bat detectors utilize a method of phasing a sound in such a way as to cut the sonic frequencies in half or better to produce ranges that are within Human hearing. For instance a bat that puts out 115,000 hz can be phased with a lower frequency to produce something more between say 8-15,000 hz which we can hear. 

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

I would just get what frequency the infra sound is used by Gorillas to get my testing frequency baseline and go from there.

 

Whales and Elephants would be next to get an idea of the ranges animals find useful.

Then set an algorithm that can sit in those frequencies and listen.

 

The ground antennae would have to be figured out.

 

I'm guessing a transducer that can sense vibration and is held to compacted soil with a lot of mass over a circular membrane to tighten the connection and damp down and eliminate extraneous vibrations or perhaps a modified seismograph with an electromagnetic output to a software that can decipher and run maths on the inputs for frequency recording, analysis, tuning, testing, and filtering.  

Edited May 5, 2016 by Cryptic Megafauna

[FarArcher]

Cryptic, low frequencies are unidirectional.  Like a subwoofer.

 

Now I can see seismic detectors being used to detect nearby heavy foot traffic, but man, those setups are expensive and have a limited range.  I was looking at some systems to provide a silent early warning, but they were too costly and too limited to cover other than 'anticipated lines of approach.'

 

In other words, they'd have to approach along paths or tracks I could anticipate and then "salt" with a limited number of sensors.

[1980squatch]

I kinda recall a thread on this very idea a couple years back, not sure where that ended up...

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

Cryptic, low frequencies are unidirectional.  Like a subwoofer.

 

Now I can see seismic detectors being used to detect nearby heavy foot traffic, but man, those setups are expensive and have a limited range.  I was looking at some systems to provide a silent early warning, but they were too costly and too limited to cover other than 'anticipated lines of approach.'

 

In other words, they'd have to approach along paths or tracks I could anticipate and then "salt" with a limited number of sensors.

If you can record signals then you could rebroadcast them for effect.

A sensor that activates indicates movement and proximity.

 

Seems that some species use low frequency geologic and environmental infra sound for navigation and location finding.

Perhaps triangulation by figuring in which direction the signal is stronger would indicate at least one leg of a triangulation.

Elephants seem to be able to use it to co-ordinate movement.

 

I have no doubt you are basically correct though.

 

Perhaps get trained gorillas of elephants to do the "leg" work?

Teach the gorilla a symbol library that approximates out puts?

[slabdog]

Copyright LDP?

[BobbyO]

I kinda recall a thread on this very idea a couple years back, not sure where that ended up...

 

Less than that i think, it was the QB who went missing in Michigan, Finnerty i think his name was and it was that thread.

[norseman]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282024114127?rmvSB=true&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-53200-19255-0%252F1%253Ficep_ff3%253D2%2526pub%253D5574735181%2526toolid%253D10001%2526campid%253D5336086427%2526icep_item%253D282024114127%2526ipn%253Dpsmain%2526icep_vectorid%253D229466%2526kwid%253D902099%2526mtid%253D824%2526kw%253Dlg%2526srcrot%253D711-53200-19255-0%2526rvr_id%253D1026051740811&ul_noapp=true

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

I was thinking more a tympanic membrane that can record sound, or a tin can and a string.

[norseman]

If an elephants foot is picking up infrasound? Why wouldnt these work? Can you macgyver a recording device to them? But isnt infrasound just a low rumble?

What do they use for elephant research?

[Guest Cryptic Megafauna]

Don't know what the are using for the Elephant research.

 

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/cyclotis/language/infrasound.html

 

But the article did say they (elephants) co-ordinate the movements of remote individuals, groups, main group allowing for movement in tandem, convergence over time, etc.

 

It seems that some how there is a directionality that a brain can use for that purpose.

 

I guess the difference is it would be useful to analyse the frequency on an signal analysis basis and try to see what is being communicated, like a language or whale song, bursts, frequency of range changing and shifts.

 

Perhaps the combat model is mostly tuned to foot steps at a near distance and not true communication infra-sound?

 

You might be able to tune it (the combat intrusion detection model), costly though if you where wrong.

 

Even intrusion detectors in a grid would be good for tracking movement and location.

 

I'm thinking at a distance, valley floors might be better as I am guessing soil rather than rock would be the transmitter.

 

It seems a highly attuned acoustic digital microphone receiver listening in a subsoil chamber might do the trick.

 

Might be good if you have several stations to triangulate loosely a central position. clock timing delays for traveling through the ground medium, loudness, level of noise vs signal at various distances, etc. etc.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Cryptic Megafauna

[norseman]

http://users.firstva.com/hale/Infrasound.html