Bigfoot has captured America’s attention, seeping into the cultural veins of our society. Over the years, the creature has morphed into a phenomenon because he is many things at once: a vulnerable animal, a supernatural wonder, a paranormal entity, a monster, a toy, a superhero, an intriguing creation.

      He is a cultural icon.

      But what is he really?

      Is Bigfoot an animal, having originated in the same way as other animals, driven by an instinctual need for survival? A warm-blooded creature who perhaps migrated across the Bering Strait and then across North America? Or is Bigfoot a supernatural force, created with abilities far superior to humans’? Perhaps he exists as a paranormal entity, sent from another place by means that humans haven’t fully come to understand.

      Maybe the beast is a figment in our minds, a monster born out of a fear living deep within our psyches—a product of our imaginations we hold onto for various reasons.

      As we explore each possibility with an open mind and a sense of wonder, our goal is not to prove or disprove Bigfoot’s existence or to discredit one belief or another. Instead, we aim to enjoy the experience as we examine evidence and apply critical thinking, allowing every reader to ask questions and draw conclusions. Everything that is not a fact is an interpretation grounded in biased opinion. And that’s okay, too, as long as we understand our biases and the purpose they serve.

      We’ll be referring to Bigfoot as “he” throughout the text. Except where obvious, the pronoun is not meant to imply certain characteristics or traits exclusive to that gender. Frankly, no one knows the distinctions between a male and female Bigfoot.

      BIGFOOT AS AN ANIMAL

      There is a certain amount of documentation—yet no definitive proof—suggesting Bigfoot is a bipedal primate that lives in the remote areas across North America and other parts of the world. Some call this the undiscovered ape theory.

      But people also confuse him with bears and other wildlife. Most of the observational evidence belongs to footprints and other cast body parts. Hair and scat samples that have been tested point to a creature that has not been scientifically identified. Do these belong to a Bigfoot? No one knows, but we can speculate.

      While referring to Bigfoot as an animal, we’ll keep in mind the major differences between humans and other animals.

      Humans are capable of complex reasoning with a limitless variety of thoughts and words used in language. We can solve difficult problems using abstract thought, and we have the ability to self-reflect and analyze data that helps in decision-making.

      If Bigfoot is an animal, we can assume he has some characteristics and behavioral patterns possessed by all other animals.

       Animals Serve a Purpose within the Ecosystem

      Animals depend on an ecosystem to survive. Since we find reports of Bigfoot all over the world, like humans, he would possess the ability to adapt within different biomes or habitats. The most prominent would be the boreal forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest and the temperate forest and grasslands of the Northeast, the Midwest, Southern Appalachia, and the Deep South, since these are the locations one might most likely see a Bigfoot in North America.

      With no available data defining Bigfoot’s behavioral patterns within a habitat, we can only speculate at his role in the ecological community based on scattered evidence. If scat (feces) found by researchers belongs to a Bigfoot and not some other animal or human, then evidence suggests he eats plants and berries. Other detailed encounters show that Bigfoot eats fish and livestock (see the Ruby Creek incident in chapter 4). Based on these and other findings, we can assume that like a grizzly bear or cougar, Bigfoot is an apex predator who helps control the population of deer, elk, and other small mammals while also helping to propagate nature by dropping seeds in his scat and embedding them in the ground with his large feet.

       Animals Act on Instinct

      Animal instinct is a fixed, unlearned pattern of behavior that occurs in response to a stimulus or motivational need. If Bigfoot is an animal possessing instinct, then his fight-or-flight intuition might account for his adeptness at hiding and running from potential danger.

      Instinct also drives communication. Animals use four methods to communicate: visual, auditory, chemical, and physical contact.¹

      Visual pertains to an animal’s physical appearance. The dilation of a cat’s eyes, the quirky dance of flamingos, and the grand display of antlers on a moose all send messages to those nearby. While no one has seen a Bigfoot dance, he offers a larger-than-life appearance to those who have seen him.

      Some researchers feel the stick structures and ground glyphs found within the regions of Bigfoot sightings represent a form of communication. These structures are an arrangement of trees and sticks that nature could not have produced. Common structures include broken trees, twist ed until they expose wood fibers on the inside; asterisks made up of multiple sticks of equal size or length arranged in a pattern; arches and loops of all sizes; and walking sticks where several sticks are strategically placed or propped against a tree. The scientists also believe ground glyphs—sticks made into symbols—could be intended to impress a mate or offer clues to their location, a territorial marker.