Johor Bigfoot: Reverse Evolved Homo erectus?

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Bigfoot could be a Homo erectus that had undergone “reverse evolution”.

Homo erectus (“upright man”) is a hominid species that is believed to be an ancestor of modern humans. It is a large-brained species which lived from approximately two million to around 400,000 years ago.

Sean Ang, a scientist from Kuala Lumpur who had analysed the prehistoric Perak Man excavated by Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1994, said based on evidence compiled about the creature by biodiversity researcher Vincent Chow, he thought the creature might have been in existence for more than 65,000 years.

“I concur with Chow’s findings that this could be an unknown species that went through reverse evolution to end up as a less intelligent creature than Peking Man, who could use fire and tools. Reverse evolution can take place when there is an abundance of food and the species group is small and totally isolated, as in the case of the Johor Bigfoot,” said Ang, who holds a masters degree in palaeoanthropology from Sheffield University in England.

Ang was invited by Chow to discuss evidence that the latter had compiled, including clear photographs of footprints.

Acknowledging that the evidence was “believable”, Ang said scientists were excited about the Johor Bigfoot as they would have a chance to come face-to-face with a living species of prehistoric man.

Ang, who used to work at the National Museum, said he had decided to team up with Chow to write a research paper on the Johor Bigfoot, for publication in a scientific journal for the benefit of other researchers.

“At present there is a lot of confusion among Bigfoot researchers all over the world as there are new hypotheses every other day. There is also no clear photograph or evidence to guide researchers.”

Meanwhile, Chow said the involvement of Ang, who had studied fossil collections of prehistoric man in England and Japan, would enable a pro-scientific approach in their probe into the existence of the Johor Bigfoot. He said it was time that the Johor Bigfoot phenomenon, which had so far been based on stories of sightings by villagers and Orang Asli, was viewed through the eyes of specialists.

JOHOR BAHARU, June 30 (Bernama) — Malaysians may be in for the biggest scientific discovery in human history if the theory of the biodiversity expert Vincent Chow on the origin of the creature called “big-foot” is proven true.

For those who are still unfamiliar with Vincent Chow’s name, he is the man who revealed to Bernama the possible existence of the creature in the jungles of Johor, attracting the attention of the world media and scientists.

And now, after undertaking studies on the evidence that he found, he is ready to expound the theory that such creature really existed in the state.

According to the theory, the Johor Bigfoot is probably a pre-historic human, namely the Homo-Erectus, who lived between two million and 400,000 years ago.

“It (Johor Bigfoot) is probably the remnants of Homo-Erectus. If my theory on the connection between the Johor Big-Foot and Homo-Erectus proves to be correct, it would be the biggest discovery in present times. It is the biggest present by Malaysia to the world,” he said to Bernama here, Friday.

The first fossil find of Homo Erectus was made in the late 19th century and early 20th century in parts of Indonesia and China. Later, similar finds were made in Africa.

Two celebrated discovery of Homo-Erectus fossils in Asia were the “Java Man” by Dutch researcher Eugene Dubois, at Trinil, Java, in 1891 and the “Peking Man” between 1923 and 1927 at Zhoukoudian in China.

According to Chow, the theory that Homo-Erectus moved from place to place might mean that they moved into Malaysia before proceeding to Indonesia and China.

“My theory is that the Homo-Erectus who stopped in Malaysia were attracted to the pleasant surroundings including plentiful food,” he said.

“They are the remnants of Homo-Erectus whom we call Bigfoot, and the environment in which they lived could have caused some changes to them compared to the other Homo-Erectus,” creating what is called “regional differences,” he said.

He said the evidence found showed that the Johor Bigfoot had similar traits with Homo-Erectus.

Chow said his theory would be explained in detail in his research paper which he is working on with a local paleonthologist.

He urged the state government to regard seriously the possibility of this discovery and to maintain the creature’s habitat.

He also urged the government to allow foreign experts to conduct research on Bigfoot.

Ang clarified what he meant by the reverse revolution:
“Corrections from the Press
Written by seanang on 2006-06-30 12:08:24
——————————————————————————–
It appears to me there is some errors in this press release. First of all, I am currently working in Mimos as an IT specialist. The press might have mistaken my statement that I have done research in National Science Museum of Tokyo. The “reverse evolution” is not a theory, but just a many statements that I have made.

We are still looking for evidences on “Bigfoot” intelligence. Unless such evidences appears, nothing much can be inferred on their intelligence level.”

Loren Coleman 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.

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