New KY GameCam Pic: Is It Bigfoot?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 8th, 2009
Jefferson County, Kentucky, is the site of a new Bigfoot photo taken by Kenny Mahoney, was was born and raised in Fairdale.
Elizabeth Donatelli, reporting from WAVE, notes, in part:
His hunting camera, which is operated by a motion detector, normally picks up rabbits, deer and turkeys, but on September 1 around 2:15 p.m. it picked up a strange image that looks like some sort of large black creature, one Mahoney estimates taller than he.
“It looked like it had the outline of a head, and like gorilla type shoulders, and then the arms crossed is what it looks like to me,” said Mahoney.
Mahoney said it would be very hard for him to believe Big Foot is living in his backyard, but is stumped as to what else it could be.
“One of the explanations my brother-in-law said it may be a garbage bag blowed up in there, but all the smashed over vegetation in there-I really don’t know,” said Mahoney. “I have no idea what it is.”
Mahoney’s wife Margaret sent the photo to a wildlife expert who specializes in black bears. She said it looks like it is fur and not a trash bag, but still cannot confirm it is a bear.
Bill Smith pulled these images:
In an examination of the image for Cryptomundo, Bill Dranginis of Virginia Bigfoot Research submits his initial analysis: “Examined the pictures. It appears to be a blackbird or crow in take-off mode. Illusion is that it’s a Bigfoot farther back. Arms of creature are actually wings. Note the separation on the creature’s long fingers; they are feathers.”
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
If he really wants to catch a photo of a Kentucky bigfoot he needs to stock his bait station with pancakes 🙂 .
Okay…definitely blobsquatch…but black bird? I understand the wing analogy, but the “head” is not bird, and whatever it is, is farther back from the camera–at the edge of the garden…looking at the lower portion, whatever it is is “in” the foliage…especially with teh shadowing…nope I do not buy a bird flying in front of the foliage…even in take off mode.
Trash bag? I can see the impression, and there appear to be shiny portions, sun glinting off of the IT, but there also appears to be a texture to the fore limb parts…something that does not suggest trash bag…and there are too many weill defined shapes, like the ‘head’ and the ‘arms’ to make me give the trash bag theory much credit–and again, from where I sit, the IT looks like it is nested in the foliage…and if it was a trash bag, it would not have the weight to get into the foliage like that, and the way IT is nested in there, I would guess a trash bag would get snagged or stuck on something…and then why aren’t there more pictures of the trash bag…so in case you’re wondering, I’m a no on the trash bag theory too.
As for a bear, it could be the arms of a bear, but the head does not look tapered like a bear unless it is looking straight at the camera…the ‘arms’ appear to be grasping something, which makes me think it is an animal of some kind.
As for BF…at the 50-55 yard range, it would be big enough (so would a bear), but the ‘head’ is the anomalous part, because it looks odd for a primate too…very rounded…again, unless it is looking down and so distorting or hiding features.
Interesting photo though…from the info, I doubt it is the Georgia boys back for another hoax, but it’s not definitive by any means…I just hope Mahoney keeps his camera in place and gets some more pictures…
I think it’s some kind of black bird, possibly a crow, in flight and what appears to be the arms are in fact the wings. The subject is probably much closer to the camera than it appears and the motion explains the blurryness and lack of detail.
So these game cameras now have a sensor range of 50 yards?
I’m assuming for the moment he set it up to be triggered by motion, given the other images he captured.
Definitely looks like a bird to me. Compare it to this. Even tho the angle is different, the hunched “shoulders” are remarkably similar.
It reminds me of a Gorilla sitting which i suppose there is a chance a bigfoot sitting could resemble. As for its head being to round for a primate, BF is an unknown and the head could be different to known primates. Plus Orangutans heads look rounded with there cheek pouchs and thick hair.
Oh and the fingers/feather tips to me look like shaggy draping hair. But now you mention the bird thing it does stand out from the grass.
Tis a shame the trail cam cannot be set for rapid fire with a motion detector attchement of some sort . Otherwise we would all be seeing a great set of photos and more new evidence for what we all seem to be seeking . Congrats to you Kenny and keep hunting! Also , bring along the those two lovely ladies as they seems to be good luck!
My opinion- Crow approaching the camera to land, feathers on neck are ruffled upwards, giving the appearance of shoulders. Too bad the pic isn’t in focus, then it would be CLEAR…
I’m glad you posted this Loren. It was interesting, even if it is a blobsquatch. I’m interested in how the foliage was affected around it. I think the blackbird explanation is a excellent suggestion. I can see it, but it doesn’t explain how the environment was effected by it. A bear could, but I’m no photo-analysis expert, and the fact that there would be tracks for something that big in the soft earth of a garden makes a large animal unlikely.
Thanks for posting it.
i agree. It’s obviously a bird close to the camera in take off flight. just an illusion it’s farther back.
My opinion is that it’s a trashbag blowing in the wind. The camera definitely has low resolution and it’s pointless to speculate on every little pixel because the image is distorted. I guess some people might not like me saying that, but it’s just my opinion. I also do not think there’s any way there’s a bigfoot in Fairdale (Louisville). We also are not *supposed* to have black bears here. I hope the people in the area can capture something else to add some evidence to what this could be. (For the record, I am a bigfoot believer and wish he would just stroll right down Main Street.) 🙂
Definitely Blobsquatch. But still interesting.
Could be a Crow-absolutely. Enhancement should bring that out.
I do not think of this as a hoax, though.
Unfortunately, the clarity issue will always lump this picture in the ‘blobsquatch’ category, but I’ll add my 2 cents worth.
No matter what the picture says about the image it has captured, let’s remember what the witness said. The area behind the foliage was all pushed down. Now, an image is one thing, but a witness and an image is something else. The fact that the foliage was pushed down at the approximate place where the figure was standing, must rule out any crow too close to the lens.
This means that the person making that statement needs to be checked out to see if he is in the habit of telling tall tales or what have you. From all accounts, he’s just a good old boy telling everything about what his camera captured in his garden. One would almost have to concoct a story like this, and then hope for a helpful crow to trip their camera in the exact way this one supposedly did.
Take a look at the head on the blob, it just isn’t very crow like. In fact, it doesn’t look birdlike at all. It doesn’t much look bear-like either, but it’s still a blob, so the nature of what type of head this is will always be open to debate.
No matter what, it is still a blobsquatch, but an interesting blobsquatch at that. I’d rather leave it in that category with an open mind, instead of calling it a crow, swamp gas or a blowing plastic bag, and hopefully, his cam will catch the next raid on his garden and provide us with better pictures.
See that is what always frustrates me that there is never a follow up, because if i was this guy i’d have that camera on night and day and even put some more in, maybe closer to the spot. Because whatever it is likely lives with the area and may come back.
A flying Grackle or Crow was my first thought when I saw the photo. A quick search of the internet gave me a pic with a crow ascending in a VERY similar posture.
It is the bird on the far left on the 2nd photo down.
Now Imagine that bird is flying directly toward you. I think it would be almost a perfect match.
Not to mention in one of the gamecam’s previous photos a group of Crows or Grackles were seen feeding on the ground at the site. 1+1= 2
The real give-away are the visible flight feathers outstretched on the wingtips in the original photo. If you see enough birds up close they stand out pretty well.
My two cents.
Easy and obvious. This quite obviously is a mountain gorilla in a sitting position and as a matter of fact anyone observant enough will see that he’s hunting as well, as its perfectly clear in the pic that he’s also holding a rifle; probably waiting for the human to come out and get the camera.
Sorry it’s not a Sasquatch, as I thought it might be upon first glance, but it might be something as enigmatic. It looked like the figure was behind the large yellow flower but appears to be in front and to the left of it. I agree it is a bird but what kind??
The head is far too round and large to be the head of a crow although there were many in a photo from the same property. I don’t believe a crow’s head feathers are long enough to make the head this large even if its feathers were puffed out. A crow would also have a beak extended if it was taking off. In landing they do look down to zone in on where they are landing and might not reveal a beak, but again the head is far too round and large.
The only bird it resembles, IMHO, is an owl but I do not know of any black or extremely dark owls in North America. Owls don’t often fly in the daylight, unless feeding young or if prey is scarce, or they are migrating. Actually the picture gives me the creeps for some reason!
Thanks to CNN for covering a story of a potential bigfoot though. Of interest they did show a large bare footprint on the property that wasn’t really discussed at all.
I can see how it looks like a bird but after looking at it again i have two more questions, where is it tail looking at it proportions i think at least some tails feathers should be visible and why in the sharpened picture does it look like it has muscular shoulders and arms which a bird doesn’t have?
Hello all. I live 20 minutes from where this was taken and I wanted to offer some geographical info. Fairdale is on the south end of Louisville. A small suburb, if you will. To the south of Fairdale is very wooded and rural. So I know there is alot of wildlife in this area. If you keep going south, you will run into Fort Knox, which is very wooded and hilly and posted as “No trespassing”. As a matter of fact, some very large trophy white-tail deer have been taken in this area. I am not saying the photo is Bigfoot, pretty cool if it turned out to be though, but I wanted to clarify that this area is not heavily populated and is abundant with wildlife with many places large wildlife could exist. Never heard of any bear in this area though.
It is entirely possible that what people are interpreting as the “feathering” of the “wings” on the image is caused by the figure posed behind a stalk of what appears to be a patch of wildflowers of some type.
I am intrigued by the fact that the owner of the game cam refers to areas of flattened grass; however, I’m also somewhat resigned to the fact that — like so moany other stories — there will be absolutely no follow-up.
It’s a Birdsquatch…
I have to say: the crow hypothesis looks like a distinct possibility to me. Although I should add that it’s not distinct enough to postulate species (the crow getting the nod only because it’s the only relatively large black bird I would expect – key word there – to see).
If a sasquatch, it appears to be taking pinking shears to a hedge. I’m thinking not.
Thanks, Shill. Until I hit your link I was going with mountain gorilla. It’s obviously a bird.
Maybe a gorilla?