"Bigfoot", finally indisputably documented, in Ohio!

If you've followed this blog very much, you've probably seen some of the remarkable videography that I've shared, courtesy of Dave and Laura Hughes. Their knowledge of animal behavior, and access to a remote region filled with wildlife, has enabled them to use high-tech trail cams to achieve amazing results. Examples of their work include footage of Beaver, Bobcat, and Coyote (click on any of those animal names to see the video).

Well, once I and many others saw the results of the Hughes' sophisticated videography and their incredible footage of animals which are normally nearly impossible to observe, our thoughts quickly turned to one of the most enigmatic and unresolved mysteries in the natural sciences. Bigfoot.

This is "Frame 352" from the now legendary video shot by Robert Gimlin and Roger Patterson in 1967 in California. The pair claims to have briefly encountered a "cryptid", or unknown animal, and managed to get a brief film that includes the screen capture above. Their video has been subject to intense scrutiny, and no one has ever been able to prove or disprove its validity. And that's saying a lot, as many of science's best and brightest minds have long pursued the mystery of Bigfoot, as well as its various closely related "species" such as Sasquatch, Grass Ape, Yeti, etc. Indeed, professional organizations have sprung up that are dedicated to researching - and locating - the creatures that many scientists are, for now, labeling Homorilla erectus. A growing camp of scientists and biologists believe that these creatures clearly represent a missing link between apes in the genus Gorilla, and humans - genus Homo.

The Hughes have been surveilling and filming intensely for several years in Monroe County, near the Ohio River. Not far from their sites lies Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County, which is in the upper lefthand corner of this map. This sparsely populated region of dense forests and rugged terrain probably produces more sightings and encounters with large bipedal cryptids than any other place on earth; certainly in North America. Such has been the spate of encounters in this area that Salt Fork State Park is the venue for the annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference, which takes place on April 13. It is the biggest and best organized of its kind.

Given the remarkable advances in remotely operated camera and video technology, many authorities believed it would only be a matter of time before solid evidence regarding the existence of Homorilla erectus was brought to light. I figured that, given their incredible success in documenting well known but incredibly secretive mammals in Monroe County, it might well be the Hughes that produced evidence of H. erectus.

The Hughes check their camera rigs frequently, and remain alert for any new animal signs. For some time, they have noticed evidence of unidentified large animals - large broken branches, saplings that have been bulled over, and big but always obscure and unrecognizable footprints. Finally, early last winter one of their motion-activated photo cams picked up this fuzzy image. It appears to be a biped, walking upright that appears humanlike. The photo is just not good enough to state with certainty what this creature is, however.

However, now a site with suspicious activity was clearly identified, and the Hughes ramped up surveillance in the area. Their work led to this video, a few weeks after the previous still photo was captured. This video is intriguing, as it clearly shows an upright humanlike figure, but is also frustrating as the cryptid passes through at the periphery of the camera's reach, and does not allow for detailed study.

Recently and not far from where the above video was made, a still camera was tripped and obtained this image. It appears that the creature is moving fast, and details are blurry. But there seems to be little doubt that a nonhuman biped is involved, and by using the known size of surrounding vegetation, the Hughes gauged its height to be around 6'10".

In spite of diligently maintaining their camera rigs and recording nearly every night since these stills and video were made, the Hughes have yet to obtain any other footage. The cryptid in their films is almost certainly not a human, however. Given that the video and stills were made in a region where literally dozens of sightings of Bigfootlike creatures have been made, we must assume that it is likely the animal that, for now, is being dubbed Homorilla erectus.

The photo above was made on March 27. In only two weeks, several hundred biologists and amateur cryptid hunters will descend on nearby Salt Fork State Park for the Ohio Bigfoot Conference. With all of those trained eyes, we can only hope that they will turn up this creature, or another like it.