Search results
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a large and hairy human-like mythical creature alleged by some to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.
- Sasquatch, Other names
- Overview
- The FBI Analyzes Bigfoot Hairs
- The FBI Offers No Confirmation of Bigfoot's Existence
- HISTORY Vault: Ancient Mysteries
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
In 2019, the FBI released its four-decade-old file on Bigfoot including an analysis conducted on hair that allegedly belonged to the sasquatch. The results? Deer hair.
Legends of large, ape-like beasts can be found all over the world. Since the 1950s, the U.S. version has been “Bigfoot,” a tall, hairy humanlike creature believed by some people to dwell in forests of the American Northwest. Sightings and even pictures have emerged, prompting research and raising questions about whether the creature, also known as Sasquatch, was real.
Hair samples sent into the FBI for testing, believed to be from Bigfoot.
That year, Director Peter Byrne of the Bigfoot Information Center and Exhibition in The Dalles, Oregon, sent the FBI “about 15 hairs attached to a tiny piece of skin.” Byrne wrote that his organization couldn’t identify what kind of animal it came from, and was hoping the FBI might analyze it. He also wanted to know if the FBI had analyzed suspected Bigfoot hair before; and if so, what the bureau’s conclusion was.
At the time, “Byrne was one of the more prominent Bigfoot researchers,” says Benjamin Radford, deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. “In 2019, a lot of people think of Bigfoot as being sort of silly and a joke, or whatever else. But in the 1970s, Bigfoot was really, really popular. That was when The Six Million Dollar Man had a cameo by Bigfoot.”
This was also after Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin released their famous video footage in 1967 supposedly showing Bigfoot in Northern California. It’s worth noting that the original “evidence” that launched the Bigfoot craze—a trail of oversized footprints discovered in the same region in 1958—was revealed to be a prank by logger Ray L. Wallace in 2002. Many people believe the “Bigfoot” creature in the Patterson-Gimlin film was a costumed prankster as well. Byrne has always believed the footage is real.
Jay Cochran, Jr., assistant director of the FBI’s scientific and technical services division, wrote back to Byrne that he couldn’t find any evidence of the FBI analyzing suspected Bigfoot hair, and that the FBI usually only examined physical evidence related to criminal investigations. Still, it sometimes made exceptions “in the interest of research and scientific inquiry,” and Cochran said he’d make such an exception for Byrne.
Unsurprisingly, Cochran found that the hair didn’t belong to Bigfoot. In early 1977, he sent the hair back to Byrne along with his scientific conclusion: “The hairs are of deer family origin.” Four decades later, the bureau declassified its “Bigfoot file” about this analysis.
To be clear, this is not evidence that the FBI endorsed the existence of Bigfoot, any more than the U.S. military’s decades-long investigation of unexplained aerial phenomena, popularly known as UFOs, is an endorsement of the existence of aliens.
“All it means is the FBI did a favor to a Bigfoot researcher,” Radford says. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for de facto government endorsement of the reality of Bigfoot.”
Even so, Bigfoot believers may be tempted to spin it that way. “They love the idea that there’s a smoking gun in the FBI files—‘See, look, Bigfoot must be real, otherwise the FBI wouldn’t have taken it seriously,’” he continues. “Well, the FBI didn’t send out a team of investigators to look for Bigfoot, they agreed to run an analysis of 15 hairs."
To add more layers to what is already an unusual case, 93-year-old Byrne doesn’t seem to remember receiving the FBI’s response that the “Bigfoot hair” was actually deer hair.
From the Lost Ark to the quest for the Holy Grail, explore videos about ancient mysteries.
WATCH NOW
In 1976, a Bigfoot researcher sent the FBI some hair samples for testing. The FBI concluded that the hair was of deer family origin and declassified its file in 2019.
- Becky Little
- 6 min
Nov 16, 2022 · By Patrick Pester, Benjamin Radford. published 16 November 2022. Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is a large ape-like creature some people believe inhabits North America but there's no hard evidence it...
Apr 23, 2024 · Sasquatch, a large, hairy, humanlike creature believed by some people to exist in the northwestern United States and western Canada. It seems to represent the North American counterpart of the Himalayan region’s mythical monster, the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What is Sasquatch?Sasquatch is a large hairy humanoid that some believe to live in the northwestern United States and western Canada. The name comes from Salish se’s...
- Where is Sasquatch said to live?Sasquatch is said to live in the northwestern United States and western Canada. Sightings have been claimed in forested areas.
- How is Sasquatch usually described?Sasquatch is normally described as a bipedal primate that is anywhere from 6 to 15 feet (2 to 4.5 metres) tall. It is often said to give off a foul...
- Who was the first person to claim a Sasquatch sighting?Some people credit the British explorer David Thompson with the first discovery of Sasquatch footprints, in 1811. Since then, several photographers...
- Is Sasquatch real?Since the first alleged finding of Sasquatch footprints, in 1811, several people have claimed to have found such footprints or to have seen Sasquat...
- The first Bigfoot discovery is often credited to British explorer David Thompson in 1811. British explorer and fur trader David Thompson traveled more than 60,000 miles by canoe, horse, and foot during his travels of the western part of North America.
- Bigfoot might speak a primitive language. For decades, recordings of howls, growls, whooping noises, and screams heard deep in the woods and attributed to Bigfoot have intrigued researchers.
- Bigfoots communicate through tree knocks. Some Bigfoot investigators believe the creatures communicate with each other — and even with humans — by knocking on wood with their fists or possibly with a club or stick.
- Jane Goodall is entirely open to Bigfoot's existence. In 2019, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall said she's entirely open to Bigfoot's existence. "Too many people from all over the world have reported these encounters for there to be nothing afoot."
- DictionaryBig·foot/ˈbiɡˌfo͝ot/
noun
- 1. a large, hairy, ape-like creature resembling a yeti, supposedly found in northwestern America.
- 2. a prominent or well-known journalist: informal US "the media bigfeet who mock him"
verb
- 1. dominate or upstage: informal US "she was never tempted to bigfoot the project"
Dec 27, 2022 · By Patrick Pester. published 27 December 2022. Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is one of North America's most enduring legends, with thousands of people claiming to have seen the giant ape-like creature....
Oct 18, 2023 · 74. Maybe it’s a man in a Bigfoot suit. Maybe it’s Bigfoot. Shannon Parker. By Claire Moses. Oct. 18, 2023. Stetson Parker and his wife, Shannon, recently took a trip through Colorado to...
