Bigfoot Endangered
Does The Hairy Beast Risk Extinction?
By Daniel Muniz

Is Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, an endangered species? Should this legendary hairy man-like bipedal hominoid receive the same kind of federal protection that other endangered species already have? And is Bigfoot so rare that he is actually on the brink of extinction that he needs our help to ensure his survival?

Such appeals have been voiced in Washington DC before but congress has never gotten anywhere with them because hardly any congressman is about take on such a crusade.

However, the issue is a bit different in Canada.

A member of parliament, Mike Lake, has pleaded that these man-apes ought to receive the same kind of protection afforded under Canada's Species at Risk Act. Lake has even gotten a number of his constituents in Edmonton, Alberta to sign a petition calling for legislative action to protect Bigfoot.

About 90 percent of the westernmost part of Canada is isolated and uninhabited. Although Bigfoot has been sighted in every province of Canada, it is in the western section of the Rocky Mountains that he is the most prevalent. And the same also goes for the United States in that Bigfoot has been sighted in every state of the union but his notoriety is primarily in the Pacific Northwest.

Of course, the big question is whether or not Bigfoot actually exists.

There are other such legendary creatures like the Yeti in Tibet and Nepal and the Yowie in Australia where their existence is also questioned.

But the scientific method demands that we examine evidence of this animal and that is probably where all the Bigfoot enthusiasts and cryptozoologists are stymied. There are mountains of second hand reports and eyewitness accounts but there is no hard physical proof that this hairy beast even exists.

Now I don’t want to dismiss the eyewitness accounts out of hand. Granted, there are some stories that are not worthy of consideration like the sightings of Bigfoot piloting a flying saucer but there are also numerous credible eyewitnesses that do seem to have some merit.

Although testimony is great, there still has to be a way to collaborate it so where is the proof?

Furthermore, the theories and conjecture are interesting but that is not enough.

The science community needs a lot more to go on other than a speculative hypothesis that Bigfoot originated from Gigantopithecus, a huge extinct prehistoric ape in Asia. Again, the theories are fascinating that this gigantic ape migrated to North America using the Bering Strait land bridge but that is still no substitute for definitive unequivocal proof that this creature lives on as Bigfoot.

Voice recordings are tantalizing but it still doesn’t represent rock solid proof. Hair fibers and droppings are nice but that is not conclusive proof. How about a skeleton or some kind of fossil?

Even a carcass would still be all that is needed to substantiate the stories. And even better would be a live specimen.

Also, grainy off-focus photographs and videos do not in any way, shape, or form amount to convincing proof. However, a clear sharp picture is a totally different story because that would provide ample good to the science community. And that is perhaps the greatest disappointment because we now live in a high tech society where digital cameras are cheap and plentiful. So where are the multitudes of vividly sharp pictures?

And forget about the footprints. I am tired of seeing all of these plaster casts. Just like everything else, it is nice stuff but it is not the real McCoy. How about the real thing?

So in other words, there is only vague circumstantial evidence. As a result, the lack of evidence means that Bigfoot is relegated to myth and folklore.

Yes, such an assertion is an insult to the Bigfoot enthusiasts, researchers, and cryptozoologists but the scientific method will not be satisfied without any substantial factual evidence that can be examined by experts. The science community will be more than happy to change its mind once a live or dead specimen is provided, but until then, it is nothing more than a bunch of hooey.

And for any government to devote money and resources to protect an animal whose existence has yet to be proven is also such a huge waste of time and effort. Money ought to be allocated to projects that have scientific validity instead of something that is based on legend and folklore as well as on dubious evidence. Scientists will not take Bigfoot seriously until there can be solid proof to back up these kinds of assertions.

As for species at risk, resources need to be devoted to plants and animals that already have a proven existence such as the whooping crane and others. Such species are already on the brink of extinction so research and government protection can be beneficial. Anything else is just a waste of time.

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