The truth is out there.
With thousands of sightings,
theories
and believers,
the creature known as Bigfoot
has become the stuff of legend.
What if this fabled cryptid
was doing more than lurking
in our imaginations?
What if Bigfoot was actually real?
When Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin
shot a few seconds of film,
possibly showing the legendary beast
in Humboldt County, California,
it sparked the imagination of thousands.
But Bigfoot lurked in the minds of the curious
long before the Patterson-Gimlin footage.
Variations around the world include
the Sasquatch,
yeti,
skunk ape,
yowie
and wild man.
But what was it, really?
While "Bigfoot" sure is a catchy name,
the creature would need some better
identification than that.
A popular theory suggests that Bigfoot
is closely related to the long-extinct
Gigantopithecus,
a distant-cousin of the orangutan
that lived throughout Southeast Asia.
Gigantopithecus stood over 3 m tall (10 ft)
and weighed up to 270 kg (595 lbs).
Little is known about this mysterious giant,
which only adds to the Bigfoot myth.
Researchers have, however, managed to find
sets of teeth and partial jaws.
Studies of these chompers have given us
some insight into the Gigantopithecus’ lifestyle.
It’s believed that prior to its extinction,
the Gigantopithecus lived on a diet of
fruits,
leaves
and roots,
all things it could find in its native homeland.
But is it possible the giant ape
could have migrated,
maybe to avoid a predator
or because of climate change?
What if the strange sightings of Bigfoot
were a result of this creature crossing
the ice bridge to North America,
with its descendants evolving
into a separate species?
Or maybe Bigfoot has a little more in common
with something else.
You!
You, even with all your
sophisticated human traits,
come from the same family tree as animals.
This line of thinking leads to the idea that
in order for us to have broken off
from our primate roots,
there must have been a middleman,
or more appropriately,
a missing link.
In the 1990s,
the concept of a molecular clock
was developed.
This technology proves that molecules
are constantly shifting and changing.
The older the split
between different species is,
the more molecular differences
there are going to be.
Using this molecular clock idea,
blood from humans and gorillas
was sampled,
and it was found that we shared
a common ancestor
about 11 million years ago.
Could Bigfoot be what researchers call
our last common ancestor?
Well, the search for our missing link still exists,
and the search doesn’t look like
it's going to be that easy.
Many people worry
that if the last common ancestor
actually is found,
we won’t even be able to recognize it.
So, is it possible
Bigfoot could be lurking out there?
While it’s easy to dismiss Bigfoot sightings
as a hoax,
there were 71 new species discovered
in 2019 alone.
So, it isn’t unreasonable to state
that we don't know about everything
that lives on Earth.
In fact, many well-known species
like the giant panda,
the Komodo dragon
and the mountain gorilla
were all discovered
because of their connection to folklore.
While Bigfoot may continue
to be the all-time greatest
hide and seek champion,
the search for it could lead to discoveries
of new species or new insights
into our own evolution.
We're discovering new creatures every year,
so we shouldn’t give up our hunt for Bigfoot.
The whole purpose of science
is to be continuously on the lookout
for something new that we didn’t know before.
Our advice to you?
Don’t stop believin’.
If Bigfoot is ever found though,
it would open up a Pandora’s box.
What other mythological creatures
could be out there?
What if, in the deeps of the ocean,
the Kraken was prowling?