January 5, 2013

Today in Bigfoot History | 2003 | 5 Primatologists Advocate Bigfoot

5 prominent primatologists that advocate Bigfoot (left to right: Jane Goodall, George Shaller, Russell Mittermeier, Daris Swindler, Estaban Sarmiento)

On this day in 2003 Theo Stein, environmental writer for the Denver Post writes an article entitled BigFoot Believers. It is an encouraging article showcasing the pendulum of public opinion swinging towards the scientific consideration of Bigfoot. He goes into great detail describing each of the five prominent primaotologists’ advocacy for Bigfoot as a scientific endeavor. Read the complete article below. There is even an interesting epilogue to all of this that you can read about after the article.

Each primatologist were showcased in the article:

THE SCIENTISTS:

JANE GOODALL 
A world-famous primate researcher and author, she revealed, in studies of chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe National Park, surprising behaviors in humanity’s closest living relative. Goodall has won numerous international awards for her contributions to conservation, anthropology and animal welfare. Currently affiliated with Cornell University, she serves as the National Geographic Society’s explorer-in-residence.

GEORGE SCHALLER
International science director for the Wildlife Conservation Society. His pioneering field studies of mountain gorillas set the research standard later adopted by Goodall and gorilla researcher Dianne Fosse. Schaller’s 1963 book, “The Year of the Gorilla,” debunked popular perceptions of the great ape and he introduced “King Kong” as a shy, social vegetarian.
Schaller’s studies of tigers, lions, snow leopards and pandas also advanced the knowledge of those endangered mammals.
In 1973, he won the National Book Award for “The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations,” and in 1980 was awarded the World Wildlife Fund Gold Medal for his contributions to the understanding and conservation of endangered species.During the past decade, he has focused on the little-known wildlife of Mongolia, Laos and the Tibetan Plateau.

RUSSELL MITTERMEIER
A trained primatologist, herpetologist and biological anthropologist, he has discovered five new species of monkey,including two last year. Mittermeier has conducted fieldwork in more than 20 countries around the tropical world, with special emphasis on Brazil, Guyana and Madagascar.
Since 1989, Mittermeier has served as president of Conservation International, which has become one of the most aggressive and effective conservation organizations in the world during the last decade. His publications include 10 books and more than 300 scientific papers and popular articles.

DARIS SWINDLER
Emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Washington, Swindler is a leading expert on living and fossil primate teeth and one of the top primate anatomists in general.His book, “An Atlas of Primate Gross Anatomy,” has become a standard reference in the field. A forensic anthropologist, Swindler worked on the Ted Bundy and Green River murder cases along with hundreds of others.

ESTEBAN SARMIENTO
A functional anatomist affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History, Sarmiento focuses on the skeletons of hominids.In 2001, he participated with George Schaller in a search for Congo’s Bili ape, a possible species super-chimp reported by natives but unknown to Western science. Sarmiento has also studied the Cross River gorilla, a critically endangered subspecies on the Nigeria-Cameroon border whose population is thought to be numbered in the hundreds. He has taught in the U.S., South Africa and Uganda.

You can read the full article along with an interesting epilogue to the article at Bigfoot Lunch Club.

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