Reader John left this comment on our article about the Bear Lake Monster, and we couldn’t agree more. What were we thinking, comparing Nessie’s supposed cousin on the Idaho border to the legendary bigfoot? And whatever happened to those chupacabras we used to hear so much about? FYI: Mountain gorillas were widely regarded as a myth until the early 1900s. Look it up.

“The Bear Lake Monster may or may not be a mythical beast based on the evidence at hand – but to throw the Loch Ness monster and Sasquatch legends into the suggested mix of stories made up by “drunk Mormons” is irresponsible journalism and demonstrates lack of research into either topic – in particular when it comes to Bigfoot/Sasquatch reports.

While sightings of water beasts are comparatively few and far between – reports of encounters with Sasquatch-like creatures number in the thousands – if not tens of thousands. Sightings by early European settlers might be discounted as missed identification of indigenous species – but the same can’t be said by the oral tradition of Native Americans here going back thousands of years. Research into Indian lore reveals that Sasquatch may have had mystical characteristics but was clearly not a mythical beast according to Native Americans. Sightings of Bigfoot-like creatures continue into modern times with additional evidence of their existence building to the point that university academics are participating in serious research into such areas as the dermal ridges in field-acquired footprint casts. Potential nesting behaviors, territorial markers, vocalizations, photographic and video evidence has been and is being scrutinized by specialists in their respective fields – again not by “drunken Mormons.” After decades of analysis and now picking over by modern-day digital tools the seminal Patterson-Gimblin Bigfoot film of 1967 has stood the test of time and the skeptics who dismiss it as a man in a monkey suit. Even if the Patterson film does prove to be a hoax, does that mean that the tens of thousands of others who have had Sasquatch encounters since are wing nuts or under the influence of alcohol?”

Posted: Monday, July 12th, 2010 @ 11:23 pm
Categories: The Hive.
Tags: Bear Lake Monster, bigfoot, sasquatch.