Episode 08: Bigfoot (with Jake M.)
/Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Yeti. Menk. This week we tackle one of the most notorious folk legends of all time with the help of special guest Jake! Learn all about famous Bigfoot sightings, the cryptozoology internet, and possible explanations for this ubiquitous legend.
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Our music is "Danger Storm" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Transcript
AM: Welcome to Spirits podcast episode eight, Bigfoot. Julia gets all the credit for our special guest this week. But I get credit for our booze selection. It's the excellent Yeti Imperial Stout that we are drinking here. So, grab a drink for yourself, settle in. Here comes Bigfoot.
Intro Music
JS: This guest is kind of my fault. For some reason, I started dating --
AM: Your credit.
JS: Yes. Credit. Fault. For some reason, I started dating, seven years ago, this guy named, Jake, who is a engineer by day and a cryptozoologist by night.
AM: A hobbyist cryptozoologist.
JS: He's going to come in and talk to us today about Bigfoot, which I don't have a lot of expertise on, which is kind of why we're passing the buck onto him.
JM: Cryptozoologist.
JS: Cryptozoologist.
JM: Very interesting title, I think.
AM: Right.
JM: Yeah. Bigfoot is going to be the topic. What is Bigfoot? Who is Bigfoot? Well, some people say Sasquatch, Yeti, Menk, The Abominable Snowman, cave monster, the, the Skunk Ape?
JS: Skunk Ape in Florida.
JM: Skunk – Florida. Hibagon, Japanese, for, for any Japanese listeners out there.
JS: Didn't know there was a Japanese --
AM: Me neither. And are these all the same kind of descriptions of a, you know? 10-foot tall, hairy --
JS: Man.
AM: Ape man.
JM: Well, it would seem that different cultures and different populations of people have different names for Bigfoot as they see fit. You know? It's – it's a very interesting thing. It's almost like it's a part of pop culture, you know?
AM: Right.
JM: To have your own version, your own image of Bigfoot. But what's interesting to me is how, although you can have different names, different places, he pops up. He/she, whatever.
JS: It.
AM: It. Right.
JM: It poops up. They all hover around --
JS: You don’t it’s [inaudible 2:03]
JM: -- some kind of common form, common appearance if you will. All right. That, that’s very interesting to me.
AM: Who knows what's there.
JS: It might be a Bigfoot. It might be some dinosaurs. Who knows.
AM: It might be some tiny tuxedoed penguins.
JM: That could be many things. But, as for the – for the purposes of this topic, I will say there could be Bigfoot. It could be.
JS: There could be Bigfoot anywhere. There could be Bigfoot in this studio.
JM: Right.
AM: Oh, no.
JM: So, anyway, before I get into the meat and potatoes here, I want to say about what scientists – yes, scientists – believe Bigfoot could be.
AM: Because sightings are all over the place, right? I mean that's one of the – I think the most common kind of non-Greek mythology legends, right? Like, everyone hears about Bigfoot.
JM: Oh, yes.
AM: Kids tell each other about it.
JM: Oh, yes.
AM: So --
JS: Everyone's got a Bigfoot story. Everybody got a Bigfoot story.
JM: That's one of the things I appreciate so much about Bigfoot is that, you know, whether you're small, you're little, you're tinier than that, or you're large, everyone knows about Bigfoot. I mean, Bigfoot, in general, has been seen to remain mysterious. Okay?
JS: Conveniently. It doesn't get too close.
JM: You know, it's almost too convenient sometimes.
AM: Right.
JM: Which, which leads people to believe why there's so many hoaxes. But Bigfoot, nevertheless, remains in the shadows. He's seen from a distance in often, you know? A blurry, foggy, less than perfect video conditions.
AM: Sure.
JM: But, nevertheless, he's there, okay, walking around, jumping around --
AM: I see.
JM: -- scaling mountains, or jumping riverbanks, or eating a piece of tree.
AM: He sounds very athletic.
JM: He/she.
JS: I doubt it.
JM: You know, scientists – cryptozoologist determined, which we'll get to, that there is no – Bigfoot, much like any species, has gender.
AM: Interesting. One would hope.
JM: Male and female. Of course. That's why they – you know, they're able to exist.
JS: How far do these sightings kind of go back to Bigfoot times?
JM: They go – well, that's why it's so interesting to me, this topic because Bigfoot sightings go back as far as – let's see here – the 60s. Okay?
JS: Well, recorded sightings. I'm sure there were like Bigfoot sightings before that.
AM: Lore or legends. Right.
JM: Exactly. You know what I mean? Because, obviously, we had – we had restrictions on our means of recording back then. But, as technology advanced, so did our, you know? Sightings and --
AM: Sighting reports. Yeah.
JM: Yeah. Records of Bigfoot sightings.
AM: So, what does Bigfoot do? What's it all about? Is it menacing? Is it – is it just living its life --
JM: Well --
AM: -- and we happen to glimpse it?
JS: Should we be scared of Bigfoot?
JM: Well, it's – that's an interesting question. Because I'd say about 90% of the people who give testimony on Bigfoot sightings say that Bigfoot is peaceful. That they're curious as much as we are of them. That they – they're very much to themselves. They've found a way of life where it doesn't need to intervene with human life in any way.
AM: So, it just wants to be left alone?
JM: Yes. Okay. They're very much in nature. They – they live off the, the fruits and the fat of the land, so to speak.
AM: Cool.
JM: And, and they don't need human intervention at all. However --
AM: It sounds like an off the gridder.
JS: Okay. So, what does Bigfoot eat then if he's living off like fruits and the fat of the land? Like, is he carnivorous? Is he like just eating berries all the time?
JM: Well – well, here's the – here's the thing.
JS: What's the deal?
JM: Well, although there has been very few to limited to none, okay, scientific discoveries of Bigfoot scat, so shall we say.
AM: Corpses. There's nothing we can really study.
JM: Yes.
JS: Yeah. Why haven't we found like a Bigfoot corpse somewhere?
JM: Well --
AM: Maybe they care for their dead.
JM: Well, that's right.
JS: Or, maybe like forever young.
JM: That's – no. That's – that's right. People – people have said that bigfoot --
JS: Forever young. I want to be forever young.
AM: Forever young.
JM: Big – forever young. Bigfoot, caring for their dead. Yes. It is believed that they cart them away. What they do with them? We'll never know, but --
AM: Conveniently leaving no corpses.
JS: Convenient.
JM: However, not so convenient, leaving behind footprints. Which is why, okay? It is the American tradition to adopt the name, Bigfoot
JS: Ahh. Because of the big foot.
JM: That's, that's right.
AM: Ohhh!
JM: Not because of the big, you know? Schlong or the big hand. It's the big foot.
AM: I can’t believe I never put that together before.
JM: We have – we, we have documented footprints within the Earth that have been cast, that have been studied --
AM: Photographed.
JM: Photographed. You name it. Okay? Whether these footprints have been placed by humanists in means of a hoax, well, maybe they have, maybe they haven't. But, nevertheless, they've been popping up all over the world. Like, as I said before, on-on every major continent, being similar in nature, in size, anatomy, you name it. It's just too close for comfort. Okay.
AM: So, is it fair to say that the footprint is the, the major, dare we say, singular piece of physical evidence we have of Bigfoot?
JM: Yes. Yes. Because there has been traces of hair found. There has been traces of flesh found, but not enough joint together from – from articles of evidence, if you will, from all over the world to determine that they're viable evidence of Bigfoot as a species.
AM: Right. One piece of hair somewhere doesn't mean it's from Bigfoot.
JM: Right. Exactly.
AM: Jake, give us a rundown of the major sightings of Bigfoot. Maybe let us know what the evidence shows us. And then, in your expert hobbyist, cryptozoological opinion --
JM: Yeah.
AM: -- about what you think the strength of the evidence is.
JM: All right. Famous sighting, I want to share, number one, the Lettuce Lake Park, Florida sighting.
AM: That's a great name.
JS: I could just picture a 10-foot eating some lettuce.
JM: Obviously, located in Lettuce Lake Park.
JS: Biolink.
AM: I'm just picturing like I said, a lily pad. Little heads of lettuce floating.
JM: Okay. A man named Matt, who had just returned from a trip of canoeing around the swamps of Lettuce Lake Park. He thought he saw a black bear in the distance making its way through the wetlands. Only after hightailing it out of the area and reviewing the footage at home, he begin – he begins to suspect the large slow-moving creature that was none other than Bigfoot. Now, I've seen this video...
AM: OK. Wait. Wait. So, he started recording this thing because he thought it was a bear. And he was like, "Oh, shit, there's a bear. I gotta go."
JM: Yes. Now, this video – let me – let me – let me weed through all the bullshit for this video here. Okay.
AM: Tell us the truth.
JM: This man was canoeing in wetlands swamp-like area. Okay?
AM: Yes. Swamps.
JM: If you – if you could picture it. Maybe he was fishing. Maybe he was doing – whatever. In the distance, I'd say about 20 to 30 feet away.
AM: So far.
JM: Not so far, but far enough if it was guarded by trees and wetlands to, you know? Mask --
AM: There's some obstruction. Sure.
JM: All right. Bigfoot's there. He's walking along through the swamp. You can hear, you know, the- the swashing of the water with each step.
JS: He's walking in the water.
JM: He's walking through the water.
JS: All right.
JM: He's walking from one area of land in the marsh to the next. And it was described as- as Bigfoot being approximately nine to 10 feet tall in height.
AM: Wow.
JS: Hmm.
JM: Very large.
AM: Big.
JM: Okay. And this person was so scared stiff he was just focused on this one area in the swamp that was the clearest, of course, that could he could possibly see Bigfoot. And there he goes walking across the swamp. However, black bears have not been known to walk on their hind legs in a human – humanoid-like fa- fashion.
AM: So, our friend, Matt sees something in the distance. His first thought is black bear. He takes some footage just to see, go back to the bar, and say, "Hey guys, guess what I was canoeing next to." However, when he returns home, you say, his opinion changes.
JS: He's like, "Hmm, Bigfoot."
JM: Well, yes, after reviewing the footage, there's no doubt that it's not a black bear. I mean, for sure, it's some kind of humanoid figure. Bigfoot? Well, I'd like to think so because it happens to mimic the appearance of the Bigfoot sightings around the world and, perhaps, he did see a Bigfoot that day in the swamps – the Russian Yeti, and which is the term, Menk.
JS: Oh, I know about this one. Jake made me watch the documentary.
JM: And – yes.
JS: They don't like whistling. That's all I remember.
JM: M-E-N-K, Menk --
JS: Menk.
JM: -- is the Russian depiction of the Sasquatch, the Bigfoot, the Yeti. And he lives in – have – oh, my god. How, how deep snow? I mean I can't believe it. In the mountains, snow caves [inaudible11:03].
JS: Like Russia mountain snow. Like --
AM: Right.
JS: Like crazy snow.
AM: Like losing World War I to --
JM: Right.
JS: Germans freezing in the snow kind of weather.
JM: That's right. And, apparently, the Russian Yeti does not like whistling.
JS: It gets aggressive when you whistle at it.
JM: So, whistling to a Russian Yeti is like saying, "Listen, I'm about to fight you."
AM: Wow.
JM: I got enough strength to take you down. So let's go at it.
JS: Fuck you, bro. Let's go.
AM: It's the big peacock feathers.
JM: That's right.
AM: It's the growling --
JS: The whistling.
AM: Interesting.
JM: So, apparently if you're in the Russian mountains in the heavily dense snow --
JS: Don't whistle as you walk.
JM: Right.
JS: Don't do it.
JM: Don't whistle or, if you're hear whistling, you better get out of there. That's, that, that's what's going on there in Russia.
AM: So, we've seen woods of North America. We've seen the mountains of Russia. Where else has the Bigfoot, Yeti, Sasquatch, Menk been sighted?
JM: Okay. How about Poland? Let's go to Poland.
JS: Pretty close to Russia.
JM: Well, you know what?
AM: Moving west, moving west?
JM: Yeah. We're on that – we're on that game right there.
JS: Europe.
JM: The Tatra Mountain Yeti sighting, this happened in 2009. Location, the Tatra Mountains in Poland. While hiking in the Tatra Mount – the Tatra Mountains in Poland, a rock climber --
JS: Piotr Kowalski.
JM: Piotr Kowalski stumbled across a Yeti.
AM: Wow.
JM: Piotr said of his surprising encounter, “I saw the huge ape-like form hiding behind the rocks. When I saw it, it was like being struck with a thunderbolt.”
AM: Wow.
JM: Regardless of the shaky camera work, the footage, which we assume was taken on a mobile device, of course, clearly shows a large human-like creature slowly maneuvering around the boulders and rocks making its way down the mountainside. Now --
JS: So, it was high, and then it like popped down, and walked away from the view?
JM: Yes. I've seen this video.
AM: That is pretty unnatural behavior for a creature. You know, you would expect the creature to turn tail and run before you could film it or to, you know --
JS: Attack.
AM: -- attack.
JM: Well --
JS: Fight or flight.
JM: Once like– once again, It seems like 90% of the – of the Bigfoot sightings have been non-violent. And they've been in – with this sort of pattern where they're sighted in the videos, they either make their way towards some other area of land and they go away out of sight, or the person gets too scared and they shut the camera off.
JS: Humans.
JM: Right, exactly. Humans. It-it-it was interesting though. You can clearly see, in this footage though, a white Yeti – a white Bigfoot.
AM: Wow.
JM: Okay. Differently --
JS: Snowy mountains?
JM: That's right. Different than what we've seen before as being brown-haired, very dark in appearance. This one’s --
AM: Blending with the forest. Right.
JM: Yes,
JS: The blond versus the brunette situation.
JM: Exactly. This one seems to have white hair.
AM: Very interesting.
JM: Okay. And that was, like I said, in 2009. Now, let's go all the way back to a sighting. This was a very interesting one I think. The Memorial Day Bigfoot footage --
AM: Has to be on a holiday.
JS: Convenient.
JM: -- of 1996 in Washington, United States.
JS: Wooh. We were like four at that time.
AM: We were – we were babes in arms.
JM: That's right.
AM: Not quite.
JS: Barely knew what a Bigfoot was.
JM: Washington, United States. Filmed on an eight-millimeter high definition camera.
JS: Because it's all they have back then.
JM: That's right. Lori Pate in Washington. The more – the Memorial Day footage, as it came to be known, is one of the most analyzed and discussed videos of Bigfoot circles. During a hike with her husband, Owen, the couple had begun hearing loud animal vocalizations echoing from the forest.
JS: Are they like Wookie noises like, "Ahh, ahh, ahh?"
JM: Well, let me tell you, after – after seeing that video, the vocalizations of Bigfoot have been whistling-type noises or some sort of call. Like, they're calling each other.
AM: Not just grunting, but some kind of communication.
JM: It's not – no. It's not ape-like and grunting. The low --
JS: Weird.
JM: -- low, you know, frequency-type grunting or banter. It's, it's high pitched. It's mid to high pitched ranged calling, prolonged whistling or calling.
AM: Sounds intentional, right?
JS: So, not a sound that you would think coming out of like a giant nine-foot ape.
JM: That's right. It's very contradictory. It's strange.
AM: Interesting. So, what did Lori and Owen see?
JM: What she saw is – well, after hearing the noises, they decided to see if they could film what they were hearing, the noises. Minutes after turning the camera on, the couple spotted a large, hairy-like creature running across a grassy area heading to the forest on the opposite side. Upon the analysis of the video, cryptozoologists claim the creature is carrying an infant on it back.
AM: Wooh! Plot twist.
JS: Baby Bigfoot!
JM: The child can be seen crawling up the larger creature's back and standing on his shoulders.
JS: Well, it's great.
AM: Wow.
JS: That's gonna have some pretty intense balance going on there.
JM: This, this is why I think this sighting is very interesting because, if you watch the video, exactly what was described here, you can see – you can see a big man – hairy eight-foot, you know?
AM: Humanoid thing.
JM: That's right.
JS: Well, wouldn't the assumption be that it's a lady Bigfoot since it’s carrying an infant around on it's back?
AM: Maybe – maybe it's the dad's day, and he's playing with the kid.
JS: Maybe it's a patriarch instead of a matriarch.
AM: That's right.
JS: But who knows?
AM: But we can – we can see similar behaviors in nature, right? Like, you've seen baby girls climbing up their- their parents backs or their aunts and uncles. It doesn't matter. They kind of (inaudible 16:39).
JM: What about kangaroos?
JS: Well...
JM: Don't kangaroos climb up the parent's – whatever – the body as they go into the pouch?
JS: No. They incubate in the pouch.
JM: Incubate?
JS: Yeah. They're marsupials.
AM: But we, humans, do that, right? We have our kids on our shoulders. That's, that's quite --
JM: We'll, you've seen the typical dad photo while his daughter or son on his shoulders, right?
JS: I have, in fact, seen that photo. Correct.
JM: Sure. Why not? Bigfoot does the same exact thing. So, the infant does --
AM: Very interesting.
JM: -- indeed run up the back, goes on the shoulders, and this Bigfoot is running. And the cryptozoologist determined that the Bigfoot is running at approximately 25 to 30 miles per hour.
JS: Damn. They're fast.
AM: Wow!
JM: Which, which --
AM: A human sprint, give or take.
JM: That's, that's – well --
JS: No. That's faster than any human sprint.
JM: Right. Humans, humans are a little slower than that. A lot slower than that.
JS: They can go like 15 - 20 for sprinting, right?
JM: Bigfoot, being that they have longer legs, maybe more developed leg muscles --
AM: Right. Cover more ground.
JM: -- traction control in their feet being that they're barefoot. They, they're able to grip --
JS: Yes.
JM: -- the Earth very well and run very fast through nature, escaping video evidence.
AM: It sounds – it sounds to me like the Bigfoot is a lot like a human. We're hearing protective behavior. We're hearing fear. We're hearing, you know, nuanced vocalizations.
JM: That's right. All in all, Bigfoot communicates with each other. Okay? And- and what's interesting to me is a few Bigfoot sightings have described Bigfoot communicating with each other by means of slapping sticks or branches across trees and creating percussion-type communication means.
AM: A signal.
JM: That's right.
AM: A warning.
JM: That's right. When you slap trees with – with branches and they echo throughout woodland, that, that is determined – well, it was determined that Bigfoot are saying to each other that they have encountered something or someone and either come to my aid or stay away based on the number and the – and the intensity of the banging.
AM: Ohhh.
JS: I would assume probably like stay away. Otherwise, we would have videos of like multiple Bigfoots like kind of hanging out and growling at people.
AM: Bigfeet.
JS: Bigfeet.
JM: Well, well, which leads me to the one sighting that I want to talk about. It's not listed here. But the one sighting that I saw on a documentary, which is very powerful, is this person who was in the US. I believe he was in California. This one powerful Bigfoot sighting encounter in California. I forget which woodland or forest he was in. This man intimidated a Bigfoot clan.
AM: Oh.
JS: Bigfoot's coming clan.
JM: You see, this man determined that Bigfoot/Sasquatch have a territory – mapped out territory in the forest. And this man intruded into that – into their territory.
AM: It seems to be a common denominator between our sightings.
JM: That's right. And --
JS: Wouldn't – I mean, knowing what I know about like animals and stuff, wouldn't that imply that Bigfeet or Bigfoots are carnivorous? Because, usually, carnivores are the ones that map out territories. Whereas, herbivores just like eat where there's plants.
JM: Well, it hasn't been determined that Bigfoot is, is, for certain, carnivorous in nature. However, the fact that they do have mapped out territories to themselves mean that they do stick together. They do have clans. They do --
AM: Some organization.
JM: That's right.
AM: Or, communication.
JM: That's right.
AM: So, what did this man see?
JM: This man came across a clan of Bigfoot. Men, women, who knows? Infant. It was dark. It was at night, but this man was surrounded. He determined that there was approximately 13 to 14 --
JS: Wooh.
AM: Ohhh.
JM: -- Bigfoot surrounding him in a circle.
JS: Bigfoot family reunion!
AM: Cool!
JM: And, and, and they attempted to scare him by doing what was not documented ever before, but grunting, growling, okay --
AM: Wow.
JM: -- in a high pitched manner if you can – if you can sort of picture that, if you could, you know, listen to that.
JS: Err-eoww! Something like that?
JM: Well --
AM: Are we 100% sure it wasn't like a Cub Scout troop?
JM: Well --
JS: It seems like a lot of Bigfeet for one area.
JM: Well, you see, this man was so frightened that he – after, after, obviously – I mean a nature instinct takes over in humans after a while.
AM: Fight or flee.
JM: And being in the woods – right.
AM: Fight or Flight.
JM: You know. And he knew that he was being challenged by this Bigfoot clan. That he --
AM: His hindbrain said run.
JM: That's right. He knew he wasn't welcome there. He knew that he was intruding and that they were making that clear to him. So --
JS: That he needs to get the fuck out.
JM: So, they started banging on trees. They started hitting the ground.
AM: Wow.
JM: They started growling at him.
AM: My palms are sweating a little bit.
JM: That's right. This, this, this, this man --
JS: [inaudible 21:30].
JM: -- was attempting to scare them off by growling himself and by shouting at them saying, "Get out of here. Leave me alone."
AM: Was this filmed or was this recounted later?
JM: He filmed it on a GoPro that was mounted on his chest.
JS: So, it must have been pretty recently because GoPros are like --
JM: That's correct. I think this was within two to three years ago.
AM: Wow.
JM: Okay. A documentary on a certain movie station – TV station that I will not name for product placement reasons. But --
AM: If the History Channel wants to get in touch, they are welcome to. They are welcome to.
JM: Right.
JS: They are also welcome to sponsor us. We do- do that.
JM: Right. Anyway, so, it was a documentary on one of these stations. And he was – he was attempting to, to at least get out of the situation he was in. And he claimed that, eventually, a Bigfoot ran up on him --
JS: Ran up on him.
JM: -- attempting to steer him away from their clan. All right. The Bigfoot did not attack him. But he got close enough to reveal himself or herself to him --
AM: Wow.
JM: -- in which he saw a large, very big brown, hairy – he said six to seven feet tall. Maybe --
JS: So --
AM: Maybe a lady.
JS: -- adolescent.
AM: Maybe a lady or an adolescent.
JM: Maybe. Okay. With his – with his or her arms up in the air, okay, growling at him to, obviously, push him back away from the – their clan's boundary, which this man of course did. He ran like the dickens. He ran away from the spot he was in. He did not trip, he said. And, and that --
JS: He did not trip.
JM: And that was the end of his Bigfoot sighting. He got out of the clan. And, just like it was when it came in, it was out.
JS: I'm just imagining him telling the story. He's like I did not trip! I was running for my life and there were Bigfoot behind me, but I did that trip.
AM: Conveniently, he's here to tell the tale.
JM: Like, I said, this man does not want his name to be revealed, but his appearance I can most certainly describe. He was a man who-who looks like a – definitely a woodsman, long beard, long hair, okay, very, very weathered.
JS: Think Duck Dynasty main cast.
JM: Sure. Why not? You know, like he’s definitely spent some time in the woods.
AM: Ron Swanson after a fishing trip.
JS: Yes.
JM: Perhaps, perhaps. But he's very acclimated to the – to the woodland nature. And, and he said he had a good time, although he was --
JS: Getting attacked.
AM: All things considered.
JM: Although he was frightened for his life in that – in those – in those – I think he said five to six minutes of --
AM: That's a pretty long time to be fighting for your life.
JM: Although he was fighting for his life in those five to six minutes of the encounter of the clan of Bigfoot, he said it was – it was the single most memorable moment of his life up until that point.
AM: Wow.
JM: And, and I think it was very [inaudible 24:17]
JS: Until this interview with, [inaudible 24:18]
JM: That's right. I wish this man would come forward and actually want to reveal his name and reveal more details on this sighting.
AM: Well, you know what? I kind of trust that though. Because the person who goes on the morning shows, right? Who wants to talk all about it, who --
JS: Wants his face all over the place.
AM: -- prints his t-shirts, right? Like, that's a little bit suspects.
JS: Yeah.
AM: But someone who seems a little bit hesitant to share their story has a little more weight for me.
JS: Yeah.
AM: So, what are your conclusions? I mean we --
JM: That's true.
AM: We've heard a lot about the Bigfoot's appearance, behavior, the distribution of these tales. It seems to me, you know? Certainly, there's some kind of common experience driving these. What are your – what are your kind of final--
JM: Okay.
JS: So, what? What's the deal?
JM: Yeah. Right.
AM: Yeah. What does it mean?
JM: What do I think about Bigfoot? I think Bigfoot exists. I think Bigfoot is an undiscovered species of man. Okay.
AM: Common ancestor.
JS: A similar kind of thing.
JM: Okay. Right. Well, you know, there's Neanderthal.
AM: Right.
JM: That's, that's, that's been --
JS: Thank you for pronouncing that correctly.
JM: Right. Of course, I'm a cryptozoologist.
JS: I forgot.
JM: You know? There's Neanderthal. I believe that somewhere along the human genome that there is a species of ape/man.
AM: Something in our evolutionary tree.
JM: Right. Okay. They're, they're obviously able to adapt to the climate changes because we've seen Bigfoot in- in different – one extreme to another type of climate.
AM: Maybe they – maybe they trim their fur.
JM: Maybe they do, maybe they don't. But we've never been that close to determine. But I think that Bigfoot exists. It is a different species that is unknown to us right now. I think they don't want to be seen. I think they don't want to be discovered. They're fully aware that we're, we're on to them.
AM: Right.
JM: That they remain hidden in these – in these isolated, desolate areas of nature because simply, one, they can live there; two, they know that we can – it's not so easy for the human --
JS: To do that.
JM: -- mankind --
JS: Right.
JM: -- to discover. Right. To live there or to let alone discover them there. And, three, I think that they are very peaceful in themselves. That they, they have a way of living that is comfortable for them, and they have no intention of changing, and they're just going to continue to live there until the world blows up. I think there's – I think they are definitely there. And it's only the human curiosity in the subject is why we keep pestering them. But they choose to remain anonymous, and I think it's in their best interest to do so because anything that the – that mankind touches eventually goes to shit. I mean, I mean come on. history has shown us that. But that's another different conversation, okay? But, if we were – if we were to interact and to know Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Menk, whatever have you. If we were to have them in our arsenal, they would eventually be no more. So, they – so, they know that. They want to be left alone, and I think we should leave them alone. However, if we happen to come across them every now and then --
AM: With a microphone and HD camera, you know?
JM: -- in a freaking blurry camera, sure, all the better. It makes for great news. It makes for great pop culture at the time. What do you guys think?
AM: So, I mean it sounds like post-apocalypse. right? If, if any of these doomsday scenarios of which we are also fond in the media come to pass, it sounds like we might have some alliance-building to do, right? They, they know how to do it.
JS: We might have to get like straight up like Ewok/human relations with the --
AM: Exactly.
JS: -- Sasquatches there because otherwise we might be screwed, and they seem to be living on the land quite good compared to us.
AM: Listen, I can respect it. I'm a big fan and hobbyist homesteader as much as I can be in my New York City apartment. But I definitely respect the- the myth of them, right? Like, the idea that there's this, you know, peaceful, well-equipped, you know? Savvy creature that wants nothing more than to live their lives and not come across random hikers.
JS: It's like everything humans wish we could be when we want to get away from human society.
AM: Right? We talked about the escape. We talked about simplicity. What, what is simpler than, you know, walking through a marsh, walking through a forest, climbing a nice mountain, sleighing with your baby.
JS: Scaring some hikers.
AM: Scaring some hikers.
JM: Or, canoer.
JS: Or, a canoer. Thanks, Mark.
JM: Or, or, a snowshoer.
JS: Mark? Matt? Thanks, Matt.
JM: All of them. That's right. Maybe they know something we don't know about nature.
AM: Maybe like Bigfoot just represents the enlightenment that most humans haven't reached yet.
JM: My God.
Outro Music
AM: The series was created by Julia Schifini and me, Amanda McLoughlin. It's edited by Eric Schneider with music by Kevin MacLeod and visual design by Allison Wakeman.
JS: Subscribe to Spirits on your preferred podcast app to make sure you never miss an episode. You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, @SpiritsPodcast.
AM: On our Patreon page, patreon.com/SpiritsPodcast, you can sign up for exclusive content like behind the scenes photos, audio, extras, director's commentary, blooper reels, and beautiful recipe cards with custom drink and snack pairings.
JS: If you like the show, please share with your friends and leave us a review on iTunes. It really does help.
AM: Thank you so much for listening, ‘til next time.
Transcriptionist:
Rachelle Bacharo
Editor:
Krizia Marrie Casil