Answers To A Question?

[Guest nona]

Surveyor, I'm under the impression that you realize animals that appear to have particular "amazing" ability which sets them apart from other animals usually have specialized morphological features which allow them to do so. I am also under the impression that the Bigfoot also has similar morphological features to that of humans or chimps when it comes to its face. Knowing that do you think Bigfoot would have a sense of smell similar to that of a human and chimp or to that of a creature with a long muzzle such as a German Shepherd?

They say under perfect conditions such as a cold environment and no wind a dog may be able to pick up a scent that is up to 4 weeks old. Trail cams are exposed to everything that mother nature can throw at them including the sun, snow, rain, and wind, which by far makes for less than ideal conditions. Under such conditions I would assume that even a creature with an amazing scene of smell such as dog would have a hard time picking up on a human sent left over 2 weeks ago. Combine that with the many number people who have left trail-cams out for months before they've decided to pick it up...

[Guest RightBoot]

Surveyor, I'm under the impression that you realize animals that appear to have particular "amazing" ability which sets them apart from other animals usually have specialized morphological features which allow them to do so. I am also under the impression that the Bigfoot also has similar morphological features to that of humans or chimps when it comes to its face. Knowing that do you think Bigfoot would have a sense of smell similar to that of a human and chimp or to that of a creature with a long muzzle such as a German Shepherd?

They say under perfect conditions such as a cold environment and no wind a dog may be able to pick up a scent that is up to 4 weeks old. Trail cams are exposed to everything that mother nature can throw at them including the sun, snow, rain, and wind, which by far makes for less than ideal conditions. Under such conditions I would assume that even a creature with an amazing scene of smell such as dog would have a hard time picking up on a human sent left over 2 weeks ago. Combine that with the many number people who have left trail-cams out for months before they've decided to pick it up...

[Guest]

Well, it is difficult to say because we do not really know what BF are, so we don't know how to classify them. Anything we say would be best guess, just like everything else we say about them. Scent containment therefore becomes paramount. Unless the camera is completely sealed, it is spreading scent from the inside as well. Also, yes I believe animals can pick up human and foreign odors from trail cams and other objects that have been left in the woods for a week or two. You also have to consider this - the animals (BF in this case) who may have scented the camera trap during the first few days it was in the woods are now aware of its location and may have a tendency to change their travel pattern to avoid it, if they are offended by the odors or if they recognize them as threatening, etc. Also, if other species, such as deer, etc. change their travel pattern to avoid the camera, other species, including predatory ones (BF?) may change theirs to follow.

I don't know what the nose of a BF looks like. Matt Moneymaker claims it is black like a dog's. If that is so, it is reasonable to think it (BF's nose) would have similar olfactory properties to the noses of similar animals (dogs, bear, dear, etc.). MM may very well be wrong. Heck, I may very well be wrong, lol. We all might be wrong and the true answer is really behind Door Number 3! But it is fun to speculate with intelligent dialogue and theories.

As far as the camera setups go, my mentality is to handle the setup like you are trying to catch a creature who can smell as well as a bear, can pick out objects as well as a deer or wolf, and can hear as well as any animal can. Take every precaution to make sure your camera setup is scent free, well camouflaged, that the unit is quiet and is sealed tightly to contain any additional noise, and face the camera at an angle down and across the trail, not perpendicular to it, in order to overcome poor partial pics due to slow trigger speeds of running targets.

[Guest RightBoot]

I have no clue how i reposted "Nonas" comment. Sorry about that. And not to highjack my own thread, but can someone please tell me why I have a "Warn Status" under my Name on my post?

[Guest]

And not to highjack my own thread, but can someone please tell me why I have a "Warn Status" under my Name on my post?

If it looks anything like mine, then it is an indicator bar which is still blank (hopefully). That threw me off too, but I suspect everyone has that and it is best if it is still white.

[Guest Lesmore]

Well, it is difficult to say because we do not really know what BF are,or, I would add...know...for sure...if they exist so we don't know how to classify them. Anything we say would be best guess, just like everything else we say about them.

I think these couple of sentences, pretty well says it all. With my addition in bold, of course.

[Guest RightBoot]

Ok..I thought, **** all i did was express a little skeptisim about some of the things Ive seen on television. I didn't know that was against the rules.....Thanks for clearing that up.

[Guest LAL]

I have no clue how i reposted "Nonas" comment. Sorry about that. And not to highjack my own thread, but can someone please tell me why I have a "Warn Status" under my Name on my post?

Everyone has a warn status bar under their names. You can see it; others can't. If you get a warning for an infraction of the forum rules you see it there. See the BFF Rules & Guidelines 4. Procedures Regarding Moderator or Administrative Actions, Punishment and Appeals for details.

See the Help menu in the upper right hand corner of the screen for help with posting.

Good question on the trail cams. I've read some get attacked by bears because they have an odor that attracts them. Maybe bigfoots don't like bees.

Edited July 14, 2011 by LAL

[Guest RightBoot]

As far as setups go for trail cameras go. I've got one of mine on a small pond off to the side of a gas line right of way that is heavily traveled by wildlife. I get lots of pics both day and night. The camera is not IF but a model with a tradional flash and it does not bother the animals at all. I get pics of the same deer day after day. As far as trigger speed goes Ive gotten pics of birds in flight. Got to cuddebacks websight and look at their user submitted pics section. There is some truly amazing pics on there.

[Guest]

I think these couple of sentences, pretty well says it all. With my addition in bold, of course.

I could use a good copy editor.....

[Guest nona]

Well, it is difficult to say because we do not really know what BF are, so we don't know how to classify them. Anything we say would be best guess, just like everything else we say about them. Scent containment therefore becomes paramount. Unless the camera is completely sealed, it is spreading scent from the inside as well. Also, yes I believe animals can pick up human and foreign odors from trail cams and other objects that have been left in the woods for a week or two. You also have to consider this - the animals (BF in this case) who may have scented the camera trap during the first few days it was in the woods are now aware of its location and may have a tendency to change their travel pattern to avoid it, if they are offended by the odors or if they recognize them as threatening, etc. Also, if other species, such as deer, etc. change their travel pattern to avoid the camera, other species, including predatory ones (BF?) may change theirs to follow.

I don't know what the nose of a BF looks like. Matt Moneymaker claims it is black like a dog's. If that is so, it is reasonable to think it (BF's nose) would have similar olfactory properties to the noses of similar animals (dogs, bear, dear, etc.). MM may very well be wrong. Heck, I may very well be wrong, lol. We all might be wrong and the true answer is really behind Door Number 3! But it is fun to speculate with intelligent dialogue and theories.

As far as the camera setups go, my mentality is to handle the setup like you are trying to catch a creature who can smell as well as a bear, can pick out objects as well as a deer or wolf, and can hear as well as any animal can. Take every precaution to make sure your camera setup is scent free, well camouflaged, that the unit is quiet and is sealed tightly to contain any additional noise, and face the camera at an angle down and across the trail, not perpendicular to it, in order to overcome poor partial pics due to slow trigger speeds of running targets.

Not all dogs have the same ability to smell. A pug is not going to be able to smell as well as a German Shepherd or a bloodhound. Generally the longer the snout the better the sense of smell is when it comes to dogs. I would agree that bears also have an excellent sense of smell and they have a long snout as well. Yet we have pictures of coyotes, wolves, and bears from trail-cams.

The notion that a bigfoot can smell as well as a dog would make sense to me if people are claiming to 7 foot bipeds with long snouts like that of a wolf. However, there seems to be a notion that their facial features are similar to humans and other primates.

As for a scent radiating from inside a trail-com box lingering for weeks I can also see that, if one were to spray the inside with cologne or perfume or if one left a piece of cheese or their finger inside. I would think however most of the time this does not happen.

If it is a case of Bigfoot noticing a scent and then avoiding an area you would have to assume that the creature would have had to be walking in around the area with in reasonable amount of time in which the cam was set up and for the scent to be there. If there is only one creature and only a few trail-cams, sure I can see one arguing that there is a good possibility of that happening. However, if there is a considerable population of these creatures like some claim, the possibility of that seems less likely with the with the hundreds if not thousands of trail-cams out there.

Your approach to setting up your trail-cam seems sensible. I would assume if there is a Bigfoot in your area one day you should be able to catch it on film. How long that could take I don't know. However, as you are waiting and the days, months, and years go by without a picture a possible explanation may be there is no creature. Well, at least not in the place where you have placed your trail-cams.

[Incorrigible1]

Nona, careful. I agreed with **** near all your previous posting. You made pretty good sense, at this particular time to me. Thanks.

[Guest nona]

Nona, careful. I agreed with **** near all your previous posting. You made pretty good sense, at this particular time to me. Thanks.

Now, I am starting to wonder if I am doing something wrong.

[Guest]

Not all dogs have the same ability to smell. A pug is not going to be able to smell as well as a German Shepherd or a bloodhound. Generally the longer the snout the better the sense of smell is when it comes to dogs. I would agree that bears also have an excellent sense of smell and they have a long snout as well. Yet we have pictures of coyotes, wolves, and bears from trail-cams.

Correct, but dogs are bred specifically by man for certain qualities. Also, most trail cams are placed on game trails to take pics of prey species (deer for example), and those are areas that other predators (coyotes, wolves, bears, cougars) are likely to check out, and thus get photographed. We suspect BF preys on deer, but we may be wrong. Or, if they do prey on deer, they may not follow them down game trails, but may ambush at water holes, etc. Who knows? Also, creatures that are not molested can get used to objects and scents. Deer will feed in my back yard, because they expect human scent there. However, those same deer will flee if they smell me in the woods, because my scent is out of place there. However, if I start habituating a place in the woods without molesting them, over time my scent will not be alarming to them in that particular area.

The notion that a bigfoot can smell as well as a dog would make sense to me if people are claiming to 7 foot bipeds with long snouts like that of a wolf. However, there seems to be a notion that their facial features are similar to humans and other primates. I am not sure what physical adaptations give animals a superior sense of smell. I know turkey vultures have the greatest sense of smell on earth (or so I have read), and they do not have an elongated snout, though I suspect, unless scent is enhanced solely in the brain, that it would be difficult to compare that of a bird to a mammal. I will have to do a bit of studying on it. Thanks for giving me some inspiration to do so!

As for a scent radiating from inside a trail-com box lingering for weeks I can also see that, if one were to spray the inside with cologne or perfume or if one left a piece of cheese or their finger inside. I would think however most of the time this does not happen.Cologne, cheese, etc. are obvious things that we as people can smell. However, things that are not obvious to us, and in fact things that we may not detect at all, stand out as much as cheap bad cologne to animals. When you handle and open the case of your trailcam, it takes in all of the scents of your camp, car, or home (wherever you happen to be). Scent molecules float around in the air, and we become acclimated to them, and don't notice them as much, many times. Many natives and indigenous people who are still hunter/gatherers and whose senses have not been dulled by constant exposure all the deafening sensual assaults of modern society are still to this day able to hear, see, and smell much more than we can even dream of in the wild. I have a reasonably good sense of smell (not like an animal, obviously). I cannot stand to be around perfume or chemical smell, as they trigger migraines and nose bleeds. I can smell larger snakes and some deer (mostly bucks due to their glands in fall) if they are close enough. I am confident any animal can detect infinitesimally more than any human. Of course, I could very well be wrong, and please know that I do understand that. I'm not bull-headed at all about my theories about BF. No one knows really until it can be studied, and it may well not even exist. I am optimistically skeptical, in that I think there is a probability that they could exist, I would like them to exist, and I don't reject at all that they may, to the extent that I read a good bit bit about them and intend to make some trips to explore several promising regions for evidence. I am skeptical to the point that I scrutinize all of the evidence to rule out every possible known creature, human causes, natural causes, and potential hoaxes before I ascribe something to BF, and though I would like BF to exist, my world will not fall apart if it does not exist. I will merely have met some wonderful folks, read some great stories, and explored some beautiful country!

If it is a case of Bigfoot noticing a scent and then avoiding an area you would have to assume that the creature would have had to be walking in around the area with in reasonable amount of time in which the cam was set up and for the scent to be there. If there is only one creature and only a few trail-cams, sure I can see one arguing that there is a good possibility of that happening. However, if there is a considerable population of these creatures like some claim, the possibility of that seems less likely with the with the hundreds if not thousands of trail-cams out there. I think the locations of most trail cams, as I said above (game trails primarily) tends to make them less likely to take pics of potential BF. I agree that the longer a trailcam sits in the woods undisturbed and unchecked, the most likely it is to be visited, and the scent eventually goes away. The best results I have gotten (I use mine for deer) was where I set mine up in the rain while wearing rubber boots and a rainsuit.

Your approach to setting up your trail-cam seems sensible. I would assume if there is a Bigfoot in your area one day you should be able to catch it on film. How long that could take I don't know. However, as you are waiting and the days, months, and years go by without a picture a possible explanation may be there is no creature. Well, at least not in the place where you have placed your trail-cams.

I don't think I am in a good area at all (who knows really, lol?) for BF activity. I do plan on visiting some places that have long histories of BF sightings and recent BF activity with Rod, though, and I will bring my trail cams with me, along with other equipment. I cannot venture out in the heat, because I have MS, and it is exacerbated by heat, so I have to wait until cool weather or go to a cool environment to really explore.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Surveyor

[bipedalist]

As for a scent radiating from inside a trail-com box lingering for weeks I can also see that, if one were to spray the inside with cologne or perfume or if one left a piece of cheese or their finger inside. I would think however most of the time this does not happen.

I would say this is not true. FWS biologist/wildlife personnel referenced in bear studies in particular that animals including bear can smell specific compounds in the petrochemicals and/or plasticisers used in the construction of gamecam casings and internal/external components (this would include cabling). Obviously this off-gassing and detection of smell is not a temporary issue known only to "new" cameras. I (and probably many others) have specific experiences with bear chewed gamecams....many use the steel security casings as a result. If bears can do it I would say it is not a huge leap to say BF can do it. I believe it was Larry Batson that had more specific references or William Dranginis....don't have the easy references myself. As a side bar the ultrasonic frequencies emitted (also investigated by Dranginis and others) from these same devices also are dead give-aways....actually any reference to IR sensitivities is probably further off the mark IMHO.

To stay on specific topic with the OP, sportsmen are by and large lazy (yes, I said that), they tend to hang gamecams on the closest most obvious looking tree trunk, it is in no way naturalistic. People like Derek Randles in the Oly. Proj. have refined the ability to camouflage and lower detection rates and still notice classic fails as their cameras are detected from what I have read of their successes and failures on this very forum.

Descenting (or cover scenting), camouflage, burial in embankments and original placements such as in rock outcrops, hollow tree trunks, under logs, in hollow logs, etc. is one way to look at it. BF are not elk (well.....too some.... ) Staking out springs, spring creeks in remote areas would be a likely target but manipulations on site out of the sight of others would be paramount and about the only way that is going to be done is if there is some form of diversion going on to divide attentions so the intruders' set-up is not the focus.