May 27, 2006

Bigfoot Research: Persistence

As Loren alluded to in his comment here on Cryptomundo, and one of the points that Rick Noll made and I was trying to reinforce here on Cryptomundo, is that it takes patience and persistence. Hopefully, this post will give folks something to think about over the Memorial Day Weekend.

This piece was authored by William York who passed away on November 12, 2003. This courtesy of Loren Coleman.

"Persistence is the Most Important Attribute to a Bigfoot Researcher" by William York, Doctor of Science in Wildlife Biology

Those who search for Bigfoot are certain to experience much disappointment and frustration. Starting with high excitement and enthusiasm, most casual searchers soon become frustrated by the lack of actual sight or sound of the creatures. Despite, perhaps, an abundance of evidence, a failure to have more tangible contact causes a reduction in enthusiasm and many people give up after only a few trips into Bigfoot country.

I have just returned from a weekend trip (September 9th and 10th) with Dr. Matthew Johnson, psychologist, who actually saw a Bigfoot while hiking with his family on July 1, 2000. Several of Dr. Johnson’s friends were also of the party. We discovered a good deal of evidence indicative of the recent presence of Bigfoot in the area of search (i.e., snapped trees, bedding area, large foot impressions, etc.). We even had a nocturnal visitation by a very large animal on Saturday evening, but no actual confirmed sighting of Bigfoot. Although very sporting in their comments, I did note disappointment and believe that some of the party will not continue to search for Bigfoot in the future.

Being a neophyte in the Bigfoot field, I held low expectations. Matter of fact, I began our research expedition as a skeptic and stated as such at the end of our time together. I was, however, thrilled by the indisputable evidence we gathered over the weekend. The lack of tangible evidence (i.e., not being able to see Bigfoot) reminded me of my early years as a professional hunter in Africa.

There is a very large (up to 850 lbs) antelope inhabiting the mountain forests of Kenya, called Bongo – Boocercus Eurycerous. It is very secretive and shy and rarely seen. Being a very prized trophy, it was, in past years, hunted by sportsmen, guided by professionals, on many scores of safaris. There are professionals who have conducted a dozen hunts for Bongo and never even seen one.

My experience could have been the same. I conducted six safaris, each about fourteen days long, without seeing a single Bongo. It was deeply frustrating, not to say humiliating, to hunt a known animal, finding abundant sign of its presence, and yet not catching a sight of it. I almost gave up hunting Bongo. On my seventh hunt, however, things changed. Probably because of the past failures, I had acquired a good deal of knowledge and understanding of Bongo. Much of it, no doubt, unconsciously. On this seventh hunt, we were successful in obtaining a fine trophy. Subsequent hunts were equally successful; showing that in fact Bongo were quite numerous, showing that earlier failure was due to the lack of knowledge of Bongo.

From similar experiences with other rare animals, I have concluded that persistence is the most important attribute to a Bigfoot researcher. I fully intend to be persistent, in the complete confidence that I shall eventually have repeated encounters with this elusive and very real creature.

Filed under Bigfoot, Bigfoot Report, Cryptozoology, Expedition Reports, Sasquatch