New Track Photograph
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 14th, 2006
Malaysia Star
Monday August 14, 2006
Bigfoot prints out
By Marsha Tan
CONCRETE PROOF?: The JWPA has released this photo, which it claimed showed the authentic footprints of Bigfoot, to The Star recently.
JOHOR BARU: The Johor Wildlife Protection Association (JWPA) has released photos of what it claims to be footprints of Bigfoot to clarify its involvement in the recent “photo” fiasco.
On Aug 4, local Bigfoot discussion website www.johorhominid.org had released a photo of what it claimed was the actual photo of a female Bigfoot’s eyes, adding that it had obtained JWPA’s permission to use it.
The website claimed that the photo of a creature with bulging bloodshot eyes “is a big breakthrough”, but when a visitor posted a link to the full-head shot of the creature, the website closed an hour later, with a notice stating that it was down for maintenance.
The next day, its founders Vincent Chow and Sean Ang said the website had been closed permanently and announced that they had exposed the photograph as a hoax through their website.
It was revealed that the photo was from L’Odyssee de l’espece (A Species Odyssey), which is the companion book for the television documentary of the same name, first released in French in 2001.
“The photo was given to us by a man named Michael Yap. He is currently in Australia and voluntarily gave us the photo before he left.
“He did not say where he got it or what it was but it did look very similar to our sightings. The authenticity of the photo was never confirmed,” said Wee Pao Chin, a committee member of the JWPA.
On Thursday, Wee said the association was currently in the midst of trying to get in touch with Yap to find out how he obtained the photograph.
Wee said the association had real photographs of Bigfoot – taken by its members – and which would be released in a book to be published soon.
Wee then released what he claimed were the “real photographs stamped and acknowledged by the association” to The Star.
The photos, which he claimed showed the authentic footprints of Bigfoot, were taken by a person named Kong Oi Peng.
Wee said the footprints were spotted near Sungai Lenggo at the foot of Gunung Sumalayang in Kahang, Kluang.
+++++
To me, the footprints resemble what might be expected from sunbear tracks as opposed to anything remotely like Bigfoot. – Loren
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.
“Concrete proof” indeed. These could be bear, they could be human, or anything.
I think nothing short of a body will do from these guys now.
Sounds and looks like more damage control for the entire hoax. I wonder just how much Tourist $$$ the whole thing or I mean hoax has cost this place. I think until something of evidence comes up they will never be taken as anything but a hoax and for that it is a shame because there could just be the Big Guy there. And now we may never know.
These footprints dont prove much and i just cant see this being proof that these things exist obviously, they already commited a hoax so therefore their research is shaky
It looks like a photo of a photo. look at the bluish glare on the bottom right, and the screen like texture everywhere else. It’s sort of their M.O. at this point isn’t it?
The print in the center looks like a bears anyway…
Yeah, if those aren’t bear tracks. . .
How could he not know what bear tracks look like?
lol
Wow incredibly weak.
First the source is highly suspect because involvement in a prior hoax.
Now we are offered a poor quality photo of tracks that look like bear prints.
I have made…er…found better tracks in my backyard in Chicago. I’m calling it the “Downtown Hominid”. Its either the most mind shattering, blah, blah, blah or just the Chicago Bears football teams new defensive tackle.
That is how silly this has all become.
guess the hominids have aquired track mimicry of the sunbear and become quadrapedal to avoid scientific scrutiny. Smart. Very smart indeed!
desperate times call for desperate measures…
Footprints and drawings get tiresome after a while. They mean nothing.
My first thought was bear, also, and that the photo has a glare to it as if it were taken in front of a window or something.
That is so oviously taken thru glass! You can see glare and reflexion on the photo. I agree those as bear tracks. They pull the site once the hoax was blown and they still expect to sell a book! Well I guess they could write a book about how to do a bad hoax! They are just sad now. Due to their hoax we may never know if there really is a homonid there.
They are bear tracks. Who are these people trying to fool?! I’ve seen giant bipedal footprints in the Lukachukai Mountains of NE Arizona,of the Navajo Rez. These don’t even come close. Not fake, but wrong identifcation.
What bigfoot? Oh, no. Not from them again. Obviously another attempt to mislead us. The tracks are no more than some paw prints of sun bear or honey bear. A common sight in Malaysian jungles. Those guys need to brush up their reading on fauna of Malaysia. Pitiful bunch of ignorant Wildlife Protection Unit. Unless of course they have something more certain to share with us. Sorry folks, not this time we are not fooled.
These also look nothing like the casts of supposed tracks shown previously (By Chow, I think). You remember, the ones with the thumb-like big toes?
You know, if any of this is even remotely true, I half-expect this Yap guy to come back from Australia and go, “What the …? I photocopied those pics for you because I thought they looked a lot like what was being reported. I never told you they were REAL!” Poor sap, that Yap…
Mnynames is right. Vincent’s earlier photos of BF are more acceptable and supposedly to be that of BF of Johor! The day of reckoning may come sooner or later and it is good there is no let-down by Vincent and his small band of of BF enthusiasts to continue their hunt for reality, perhaps, in the Johor wilderness. Let’s hope the truth will be unveiled soon.
So, here we are, waiting for something real, alive and kicking. Vincent’s passion for all things nature may reveal the mystery of the Johor BF soon.
First impression…bear tracks.
Where are the negatives? The photographer please come forward. The photographer should speak (the truth). Any Tom, Dick and Harry can fake footprints. Fresh/Photo evidences without concrete scientific proofs from a recognised scientist are as similar as fakes.
I just compared the photo with some paw prints of the Malayan Sun Bear, Helarctos malayanus and the comparison strengthen our intuition that the JWPA’s shot merely feflectes prints of Sun Bear walking on their hind legs. Come on, JWPA if you are serious about your findings do us all a favour by being more professional, scientific and honest with your disclosures. JWPA needs to enlist some available expert help, I am sure many will be more than happy to lend a helping hand, if they have some acceptable proof rather a few poor shots of animal foot prints. Or else please stop all these attempts at cheap publicity. They should be aware that today’s general public and BF enthusiasts are smarter, well read, better informed and obviously not easily taken for a ride on this field of interest.
I agree with jayman, a bear. Notice that there are actually 2 different types of prints, 1 set looks human-like, but the other looks typical for bear’s front paws. Hey, is that bones I see around the footprints? Looking at it again, I see only one for sure human-like print, the rest are bear and/or really bad prints.
I have some questions:
1. Is the Malaysian government officially backing the search for ‘Bigfoot’or is it being done by individuals?
2. If there were doubts on Ang and Chow’s abilities by other gov. bodies then why were they allowed to be ‘spokesmen’ in the main media for so long?
3. How serious is Malaysia/Johor in finding the creature?