Georgia Gorilla, Skeptically Yours

Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 13th, 2008

gagorilla-orig.jpg

Well, wow, that was a wild ride, wasn’t it? And it feels like the roller coaster is just in the bottom of the dip, ready to rocket upward a bit again.

Of course, we all will see this unfold or unravel some more on Fox TV News at 10:45 am/7:45 am this Wednesday morning, August 13, 2008. And then on Friday, if it gets that far. I will continue to update Cryptomundo with new postings or any visuals obtained. It is 8:13 am in the East, and Fox News has just made a teaser announcement about the Friday news conference and the forthcoming DNA results. No body photo was shared yet, and the tone of the hosts was not intellectually skeptical or even interested, but childishly cynical. Stay tuned.

If Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. does have the body fully in their possession, out of Georgia, then this should keep progressing, with all the skeptics and scientists getting to see the body. If they do not have a real body, but a constructed model, as some of the early photographic analysis indicates, that will be slowly revealed as soon as people begin using x-rays, CAT-Scan, and other autopsy instruments on the carcass or fake carcass.

If I was a member of the group of people who have invested something in the alleged range of 30 million dollars on this, or the investors/documentary company (mentioned in their press release) that put up supposedly something like $11 million for the autopsy film rights, I’d want to see that body today!

I am not in that internal circle, have no money on this dog, as they say, and I am certain my overt skepticism now will get me booted from getting the phone calls and being sent any further photographs. But, if this is the real deal, I shall be pleasantly surprised if Mr. Biscardi comes through with more proofs, and follows through on his promises for me to see the body.

If skeptics are going to be given the opportunity to examine the body, shoulder to shoulder with the members of the ownership group, then this story will continue with new proofs.

Unfortunately, for those more intelligent readers here, you must understand why I say many thing I did here. Obviously, we were all being watched here, and what you have witnessed happening at Cryptomundo in the last few days was necessary to get to this stage of the photograph being released. As a member of the media, Cryptomundo being a window for you to examine them has served a necessary purpose in being objective.

The photographs were allegedly mistakenly placed on their website early, along with the press release Mr. Barrows released to sixty plus wire services. That error caused the early release of the watermarked photos on several websites and forums. After attempts to contact some of the early re-posters and tell them they would be sued, I called Biscardi to inform him that it was his site that was leaking the photographs. No one was hacking them. The swift movement all came from their side. And the embargo had to come off last night at 10:00 PM Eastern because the photo was all over the internet.

That is the short story of how this burst so early, yesterday.

Cryptomundo crashed last night, several times, and there is still trouble with uploading other tidbits I wanted to put up this morning. I apologize because we got 3 million hits a minute.

I can now come out firmly in the extremely skeptical camp on this one, based merely on the “evidence” that has been shared so far. Several questions must be answered before myself and most of the scientific, skeptical, and Bigfoot communities will swallow this one.

For example, regarding the DNA analysis being done for Friday: What proof exists that the tissue sample was actually removed from the alleged Georgia body? I hate to bring up the OJ trial or CSI, but everyone in America understands the necessary realities of maintaining a secure record of the “chain of evidence.” The credibility of the gentlemen in Georgia and Mr. Biscardi will be called into question, and the ball is back in their camp on this question…and many other ones.

As I essentially said on Coast to Coast AM last night, there is no reason that exactly the opposite kind of people that everyone wished would find Bigfoot have tripped across one in the woods. That doesn’t bother me, and these two men will be celebrated if the body is real. I congratulated Tom Biscardi for moving this from the craziness of YouTube video assaults to the secret safe house and the millionaire investors. But there’s some notorious history here that will be hard for everyone to overlook until there is undeniable proof that some grand con game is not being played on all of us again.

I see nothing that tells me that there is a real body of Bigfoot coming out of this scenario, yet, but like I mentioned yesterday, only a fool would not look open-mindedly, if someone wants to show me the body. I skeptically occupy that same position.

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.


31 Responses to “Georgia Gorilla, Skeptically Yours”

  1. loyalfromlondon responds:

    Down the rabbit hole.

  2. PDNate responds:

    Well, theres a day and a half that we will never get back. the Chupacabras video out of Texas is kind of neat though.

  3. thinkinginvain responds:

    Darn. Not that I got my hopes up *too* much, but still.

    (BTW – love this site. Between the articles and the commenters I’ve learned tons since I became a regular reader.)

  4. Andrew Minnesota responds:

    well I am very glad that you were able to get all this information to us and to tell us what your thoughts on this. I am very glad that things are moving now, I just saw the newscast on Fox this morning (my dad gave m the heads up and I caught it just in time) and Biscardi actually invited Fox News to come down and see the body in the near future.

    For anyone who missed it he also said that he touched the body and it seemed very real, he said that the darkening around the face was a result of Georgia fellows trying to fill a no frost freezer with water in attempts to put the body in a block of ice (causing the freezer to short out) he said the guys stumbled across the body (no talk anymore of the illegal hunting and shooting from a parolee). Biscardi said that the body is being taken to a secure and undisclosed location (this is where Fox will be able to view the body). Biscardi also referred to injured police officer as an “ex-law enforcement officer”

    If it is a hoax they are digging a mighty deep hole, but now that things are moving forward, I am hopeful again.

  5. proriter responds:

    Obvious fake from the word go with an amateurish, patently phony build-up only a simpleton could believe. A perfect example of the difference between science and pseudoscience.

  6. Redrose999 responds:

    Amen, my thoughts exactly, Loren.

    Truth is, I want to see real scientists examine the body. People unassociated with the bigfoot community. And even so, why didn’t they draw in the handful of scientists involved with it now? I would have. Why all the cloak and dagger? I understand the legalities, but they seem to be more interested in pulling a PT Barnum sideshow, rather than prove a species of primate exists. It’s about money, not science to me.

    But, we will see. I want to be hopeful, but I honestly believe this is just one big hoax.

  7. YourPTR! responds:

    Wise words indeed Loren and very well said. You are certainly right to err on the side of extreme caution. I hope we will all be pleastantly surprised in a couple of days as the mystery over Bigfoot’s existance is hopefully finally laid to rest (along with that increasingly decomposing corpse).

  8. YourPTR! responds:

    Wise words indeed Loren and very well said. You are certainly right to err on the side of caution. I hope we will all be pleastantly surprised in a couple of days as the mystery over Bigfoot’s existance is hopefully finally laid to rest (along with that increasingly decomposing corpse).

  9. Dougal Longfoot responds:

    I’m sorry Loren, but whichever way you look at it, you’ve damaged your professional reputation through your involvement with this hoax. Your rationalisation that you acted the way you did to maintain the flow of information does you no credit. No journalist should publish information they know or believe to be untrue, simply to stay on the good side of a source, especially a source known to be as dubious as Tom Biscardi. Or you’ve been completely sucked in by them and you’re now back pedalling at tremendous speed with false rationalisations. Either way, I believe you’ve made massive errors in this case.

  10. YourPTR! responds:

    Woops! Sorry about the double post, could you remove the first one please? I had trouble submitting as the server is playing up(!)

  11. swnoel responds:

    I understand why everyone feels this way… but my gut tells me if this animal exists then this just maybe the real deal.

    I wouldn’t want to be any of the ones purpertrating a hoax, if it is determined to be one.

    There are some that believe Loren has damaged his reputation delivering this message… I DON’T THINK SO!

    If you’ve been duped by them, your not alone, welcome to the club.

    Loren, thanks for keeping us informed.

  12. kidquid responds:

    Dougal, I think you are overreacting a bit. I can understand what you are saying but in the context of this story Loren did as he always does: puts posts up that are of crypto-interest and then allows the readers to debate it. I for one do not think he is damaging his rep or backpedaling because he has changed his stance.

    Although I too have thought this was a hoax from the start, who knows? Cautiously open-minded.

    Keep up the good work, Loren!

  13. bill green responds:

    very interesting update article about ga gorilla ie sasquatch body. even if this is a real possible sasquatch body it wont solve the mystery it will just deepen it with more questions than answers but i guess we will out more about on friday or mondey . i guess we have be patient. thanks bill green 🙂

  14. Shelley responds:

    I don’t think that Loren has damaged his reputation. He has kept an open mind, but has weighed all the evidence as it appears.

    Tried to post this several times before: Does anyone realize that there is a gorilla sanctuary in northern Georgia, near where the body was found? Somehow I suspect that some of the “DNA” evidence may have something to do with this.

    In any case I am not convinced from any of the pictorial evidence seen. The whole thing is suspicious.

  15. Lyndon responds:

    Mark this down as another learning curve. Along with the Johor nonsense, all this screaming and shouting with wild claims that goes on and on ad nauseam before producing anything of note never ever amounts to anything in the end. In contrast, Roger Patterson produced within days of his claim.

    This is why I never bought into this Georgia nonsense in the first place. The next time somebody brags and boasts they have such and such, just ignore it until we see what they have for us.

    Cheers.

  16. Ouroborus Jay responds:

    Wait. What happenend in the last 24 hours that suddenly made this more unbelievalbe than it was before?

  17. DontCryBigfoot responds:

    Glad to see the server is back up again.

    First off I think anyone criticizing Loren for “furthering” a possible hoax needs to back off, he’s simply posting the news as it comes in, and I for one am grateful, he stated his opinion that he believed this might be the real thing…. and he made it VERY clear that it was only his OPINION at that particular point, and made it VERY clear that we’ll just have to wait and see.

    Secondly, I feel the need to clarify, the recent photos of a “creature” we’ve been seeing from the Biscardi boys are NOT the same photos, nor of the same creature that I recieved through email on August 3rd…. there are some simularities, but there are also a few notable differences, in the photos I recieved the nose and general facial features of the creature appeared much more human-like than ape-like, and the “corpse” appeared to be in much more “pristine” condition…. again unfortunatly I agreed not to share them, and to delete them immediatly after viewing….which leaves me unable to prove that I’ve even seen anything…. I can accept that.

    Thirdly, while I’m pretty sure this whole thing has been a hoax, I have to admit, it has been fun and extremely entertaining being a part of the debunking process and just generally having a good laugh, and I for one find the RICMATT moniker fairly comical, I think a few too many people are approaching this far too angrily, and taking things way too seriously, I think maybe we should all just probably back off a bit and sit back and enjoy the show

  18. c_streed responds:

    Hey Loren,

    Glad to see that the site is back up. I really appreciate your coverage of this discovery/hoax. I think this is bogus but hold out hope. Biscardi seemed believable on Fox but I can’t get over the similarity of this “specimen” with a known costume. If this prove’s to be a hoax, I plan to go out into the woods and get me a real one. You and Jeff Meldrum will be the first I contact. I’m going to ask Megan Kelly to marry me, by the way. After she get’s a divorce, of course.

  19. mwalker responds:

    Yes, I’m glad to see the site up as well. I haven’t seen any additional information surface after Tom Biscardi’s appearance today on Fox News. I’m eager to see how this unfolds. Thanks for keeping us informed Loren.

  20. davidk responds:

    Nice to see you back out from under the server barage,
    Loren. I take it you “updraded” the server again. 🙂

    +1 kidquid. Loren’s done nothing wrong here. I find it amazing how some folks can be, justified or not, cynical of one conspiracy theory (Georgia) and then create their own new one related to somebody else.

  21. Demian66 responds:

    Dear Cryptofolks,

    I mean, what is your problem??? Some of you just seem to participate here because they hate those rednecks from Georgia. Some weeks ago Loren wrote, if you have a body, if you have something to show then go to CNN or Fox.

    Now, just a couple of weeks later they DO EXACTLY this. And some you folks still theorize about that this could be a hoax!!!!

    Yes, it is a shame that exactly these guys “solve”the perhaps greatest mystery in cryptozoology. But wake-up people, it’s the reality!!!

    Enjoy the last 24 hours of your “skepticism”, and have a nice day.

  22. Christoph responds:

    Look at the picture… it’s just laughable…

    Bigfoot is real, the Patterson creature was real, the Minnesota Iceman was real, but this is fake!

  23. carlo.m.c. responds:

    I don’t know how to feel about this anymore. At first I thought it was legit but now…..not so much. Something just doesn’t seem right here. Mainly with the way there going about all this. All this secretiveness is rousing suspicion personally. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong!

  24. sasquatch responds:

    I saw the Fox segment this morning, First of all; they promo’ed it with a still of “Patty” and the comentator said “this photograpgh is regarded as a fake”, I thought and said out loud; “BY WHO!?” Not me!… When they finally got Biscardie on to talk about HIS photo….Ms. Kelley says right up front that it looked like a monkey mask! First time I’ve ever agreed with her on anything bigfoot related! She usually just giggles like a moron (which she clearly is not). So Tom B.; He seemed nervous and tired to me, also seemed to defer everything about the press conference Friday to a more vague statement about getting a DNA report “Friday or Saturday” (Saturday would be convenient-after the press conference!) Then he seemed to put eveything off to “Next week sometime” I thought this sounded odd. But then he invited her to come and check out the “body” herself…I thought that seemed pretty bold but anyway; he’s always been bold…He called her dear or something as they wrapped up the segment- he always calls people endearing names in a seemingly patronizing manner that almost comes off as; “hey I’m a good guy, can’t we be friends?” type thing that almost seemed like he wanted to hide under her protective blouse this time. Reading people is a fascination of mine as I’m a salesman too. I could be off here but that’s just the way it came off; nervous and unsure…The fact that no particulars were given about the press conference locale also seemed strange to me when it was already all over this site the day before! Wierd…But then again, I remember saying to myself that I’d never trust T.B. again after the captured bigfoot/pay per view expedition fiasco a couple yrs. ago…So I’m not suprised.
    I don’t know if he’s just getting taken in by these type of bozos ’cause he really believes in B.F. and I should feel sorry for him, or if he’s irresistably drawn to the flame of publicity even if the source is shaky at best and he deserves what he gets? This is sad really and I guess the fact that Biscardie seems to denegrate the most amazingly enduring, truely scientifically scrutinized piece of evidence we have -The Patterson/Gimlin “Patty” film, and has championed the phoney Ivan films speaks volumes for his inability to discern truth from error. The sideshow barker is not a thing of the past. He just has a new carnival venue…Sad, SAD!

  25. mythusmage responds:

    I see now what’s going on here. It’s a phenomenon that occurs on forums and blog threads when an announcement is made of a new product, discovery, or invention. We’ll call this “anticipatory disappointment”. Anticipatory disappointment is when a person expresses the opinion that the announced product, discovery, or invention is or is going to be crap. A hoax, worthless, junk. An assessment most often made by those who are cynical, burnt by previous experience, or too good for this worthless veil of tears. Anticipatory disappointment is expressed so one can avoid getting caught by yet another bad experience.

  26. davidk responds:

    “your presumed to have been a party to it”

    This kind of thing really gets my goat. I’m reading it all over the last 24 hours and one thought keeps hitting me – there are medications available to treat delusions. Perhaps some of those making these statements should investigate a possible need for taking them?

  27. loyalfromlondon responds:

    Tom in his Puma track suit, 70’s hair, winking at the Fox host, did nothing to add credibility to the story.

    And to DontCryBigfoot, this is a cryptzoology website. OF COURSE people are going to take this serious, hoax or not.

    I for one have been a huge supporter of Loren for years but the sudden about face concerns me. There was no new info given between the new very skeptical posting of your and the one that stated “I feel, in all honesty, this, indeed, may be the real deal, and I say this carefully after reviewing information that has been shared privately with me. I cannot say more yet. But people will be very surprised.”

    Same photos, same press release. So what changed?

  28. fmurphy1970 responds:

    A short while ago, I picked up a detail in this story that I had missed. Don’t know if anyone else picked up on this or not.

    It was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that Tom Biscardi said that a video filmed by the two men the day they found the body showed at least “three others walking upright like a man”.

    Hopefully if this whole thing even get to the press conference tomorrow morning, they will release the video for examination too. The chances of filming one bigfoot is pretty remote, but to get three on film at the same time? Hmm!?

  29. Phoenix xPx responds:

    Fake.

    I can imagine a creature with various blends of simian and sapien features, but not a thoroughly simian-like face with thoroughly sapien-like dentures.

    It does extremely resemble that mask with some fudgy make-over, tossed onto a buffalo robe. The teeth are a clueless blend, the intestines are “real guts” that only work for photos. It isn’t red-ish. Pretty thick hair for the summer there, eh Squatchy?

    Never mind their progress, their behavior has been utterly dissonant with their claim; their story changes, the details stink, I don’t buy the ammature handling of such a specimen for an instant, many other points have been mentioned.

    Just switch the story around from “well maybe… “, and look at it as “OMG I know I have a real Bigfoot specimen!!!” and see if they match that. They act more like they hyuck-hyuck bagged a pretty good hog and wait’ll granny sees this one. They are faking a Big Deal on the cheap.

    Hypothesis:
    Why make such a dedicated run with a hoax? How to back out at the end?

    There’s all that animosity stuff, remember (what was that over)?
    Perhaps that goading wasn’t accidental. It was aimed bait, and caution-dulling.
    Perhaps this “photo release” wasn’t accidental. It’s right here… reachy-reachy!

    They could call this a practical joke to sucker Big Mister Crypto-Expert-Flakes into getting egg on their faces for being taken in, as compared to “the real Bigfoot Hunter, Tom Biscardi”.

    -And please people, remember some Netiquette?
    Posting the same five points for the 200th time simply renders the page unusable.

  30. Redrose999 responds:

    The entire thing smells of PT Barnum to me. I mean I want to hope it is real, but everything I’ve been seeing and reading just puts my hackles up.

    Well, it’s a matter of time. I’m skeptical, but there is a part of me that hopes still.

  31. proriter responds:

    Obvious hoax though it is, we can’t blame Loren for reporting this story — after all, that’s the purpose of this site. We should keep in mind that Loren’s initial low-key “endorsement” (if that’s even the word) of this mess was made before the absurdity of the whole thing became apparent. This story is like a mackerel left on a jetty: the longer it’s out there, the stinkier it gets.

    The problem here is not Loren Coleman; it’s the legions of people who have totally forsaken their critical thinking abilities, if they ever had any, to embrace this nonsense. At least Loren is backing away from this idiocy. He will survive this. Whether cryptozoology will, well, that’s another story. . . .

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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