Bigfoot: More On Squatching Safety From A Reader

Someone posted some good advice under the comments on Sasquatch"ing" Tips: Safety First

Anonymous said...

"Regarding the topic of Sasquatch field research safety I have a few thoughts to add.

I base the following on a wealth of personal experience in the deep wilderness, much of it rifle and bow hunting in pursuit of elusive big game. I have spent entire seasons off the grid and apart from civilization for seasons on end. BTW I make no apologies for hunting, it is an honorable pursuit and I have never taken any trophy animals that were not eaten either by my family or donated to a food bank. For the record too; I am of Algonquin descent.

The preceding post on safety afield is all good advice—but I would add the following in regards to dangers often underestimated or even made light of.

Bear safety; This subject is misrepresented by many outdoor “experts”. I frequently see comparisons made between the chances, (probabilities), of being killed by a bear and say; being killed by a bee or lightning strike. In making such statistical arguments (comparisons) the “experts” are comparing “apple and oranges” instead of making factual statistical comparisons. Every human in the U.S. is exposed to common dangers such as lightning strikes, dog attacks, motor vehicle accidents and bee stings etc. Only a tiny sampling of US residents avail themselves of the possibilities of a bear attack. The two sample groups cannot be equitably compared in the same statistical grouping since they are not evenly populating the sample studies. When accurately compared the probability of being attacked, injured, fatally injured changes dramatically. This is one of the common misunderstandings that lulls people into a set of careless behaviors in the woods.
Another common misrepresentation is the arrogant “Timothy Treadwell” attitude fostered by nationally televised “nature” specials” so popular with today’s armchair naturalist.

Timothy Treadwell (not his real name) held himself out as a protector of Katmai’s coastal brown bears, supposedly protecting the bears from “poachers”. What poacher ? Since the mid 1950’s the Katmai National Park has never had a single incident of poaching. Treadwell was but a fraud; guilty of negligent homicide, in the case of his girlfriend Amie. Treadwell and Amie were both killed and devoured by a large brown bear he had named “Satan”. But all that’s another story.
The point is bears are totally unpredictable. Their also cunning, highly intelligent, thoughtful, vicious predators capable of running in excess of 35 miles per hour.

Surprisingly more people are severely injured , killed and eaten by black bears than brown or grizzly bears. There are reasons for this and the field expedition member should understand the entire topic of bear attack before going into the woods, (especially overnight)

While the scope of this post is well beyond the brevity of what I can write here: there are ways to minimize risks inherent to sharing the woods with these magnificent creatures; such as: Each field researcher should always carry a large can of bear spray such as UDAP’s 13.4 oz. product. Practice cans with inert product are available as practice is paramount to using it effectively in an emergency. There are many other easy, cost effective precautionary measures regarding bear safety. There is a wealth of information available to anyone so interested, and good, factual information is the best defense available.

All field researchers should read Steve Herrero’s well researched book; Bear Attacks: their Causes and Avoidance. The book is still considered to be the best available text regarding the subject."

I do carry a can of Bear Spray. It is a great piece of advice that I forgot to mention.

Thanks for the comment.

Bigfoot Encounter: Arkansas

The following was entered into the comments of a previous post I made here: Trailcam Photo From Arkansas. I believe that this photo was investigated on one of the episodes of MonsterQuest, and they concluded that it was a bird.

The following is cut and pasted from Comments. I don't want to alter what the witness had posted.

Anonymous said...

"i live near mulberry arkansas and a couple of years back me and my sister were at the house and we heard banging all around the house so me being curious or stupid one of the two went to the window and watched it for a while we seen something running like a man but covered in hair a brown and black colored hair we seen it run by different windows about three or four times then everything got quiet and within five minutes had something hit the front door hard enough to knock every picture off the north wall of our house ,then we started hearing banging sounds towards the south of our house they got farther and farther away until we couldnt hear them anymore , needless to say i hid behind the couch with a 20 gauge pointing at the front door waiting for watever it was to hit the door again , i told a few neighbors about it and theyve told me similiar stories just wanted to know if anyone else had any similiar stories and any possible explanations"

If any witnesses would like to discuss sightings, or strange encounters, I'd me very happy to listen, and offer any thoughts. I know that sometimes, you may feel traumatized or bewildered by what you have experienced. I hold strict policy to keep all in strict confidence. I only publish witness accounts with approval from the witness. This encounter was copy and pasted from Comments, so it has already been posted to the public by the witness.

Feel free to contact me at stbigfoot@gmail.com

Sasquatch"ing" Tips: Safety First

Since writing about it in the last posting I made, I figured I'd repost these tips that I included in something I wrote a few months ago. Use common sense and be safe! Please!

Squatching Tips: Just remember, that if you do go out there, to please be respectful of the squatch and their habitat. No camp fires, unless it is survival situation! Make noise to keep the bears away. Being quiet isn't going to trick the squatch, they know you're there... trust me. Let friends or family know where you are going to be, and when you expect to return. Print them out a copy from google maps to point out the area you expect to be in, and try not to stray too far from your plans. Also make sure you practice safe outdoor survival techniques and be prepared for an emergency if it arises. Have fun and take care!

Send questions to stbigfoot@gmail.com or post comments below. Tweet

The Rise of Bigfoot, TV, And Those Who Squatch

I've been looking at the recent search engine tags that have directed people here to SierraTahoeBigfoot.com. My hits are way up, and I'm sure it has to do with the popularity of the new show, Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet. All of us who have the bigfoot bug, squatchfluenza, love to watch any and all squatch TV. Now, I think what the show has done, is bring a lot of bigfooty people out of the closet. Last year, I wrote about the stigma that goes along with being a "believer." Funny enough, it was when I was writing about Cliff Barackman, getting robbed of first place in a contest he participated in. (click to read more) Now look at him! For the noobs to my site, Cliff's blog was the inspiration for mine. I think I wrote about it at one point, and I know I did talk about it on my interview with Nite Callers Radio.

Yada, yada, yada...My point is? There are a lot more of you squatchy people out there than I thought there was!

This brings me to my next observation. By looking at some of the other tag words bringing people to this website, it seems as though there is a boom in those wanting to start their own quest to see a sasquatch. The main reason I do it is because I want to see one for myself. I've been interested in them since I was a kid in the 70s. Since I've been actively blogging, most of the folks I've talked to, that have seen a squatch tell me, "Be careful what you wish for." One guy I know of actually had a form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after he had an encounter last year. It involved pine cones being thrown into camp, and then waking up to one looking down on him through the ventilation screen, in the roof of his tent. He hasn't wanted to share more than that. End of story. It wasn't a violent encounter, but sometimes we react differently than we think we will. I'm sure most of us would be a little shook up after seeing the "boogeyman" for the first time. What I'd hate is for this type of unforseen reaction, to have a bad outcome. Either someone could wind up with PTSD, or worse yet, shoot one out of fear, or have a run in with a squatch that has been hurt by humans, and then decides to protect itself.

I'm not trying to deter anyone from going out on their own little sasquatch adventure. After all, most sightings are accidental, on the squatches part. They just wander into the path of an oncoming human, and get seen. With each encounter having varying degrees of reaction. Just remember, they are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. Those of us that beat the bushes, dawning our GPS devices and cameras, have very little success in actually seeing one. I know I've been close to them, I know they were around me, but I've yet to see one. I can tell you after what experiences I've had, no one can tell me they are not real. I know there is some other species of bipedal hominid out there.

Ok, so I'm missing being out in the Sierras pounding the pine needles, enjoying the squatch's domain, so herein lies the motivation for my little rant. I know the popularity of the subject is taking many of you out there for the first time. I just want you to think things through. Imagine different scenarios, if you were to have an encounter and what you would do. Please be safe, but please also be respectful of them. They have been here much longer than we have.


Carson Pass Sierra Nevada Mountains