Pursuing the Strange & Weird: A Naturalist's Viewpoint

The above book should be ready to order online this coming Friday.  I'll post when it is!

Bigfoot Files: Almasty

The final programme and in the series and I have to say that the results of the DNA tests/theory were interesting as I've written about this sort of thing in the past -I am NOT giving the conclusions as I think people should wait to watch it themselves.

It was interesting that when Bourtsev questioned "the results" -in fact it was clear that his concern was that there might have been a mix-up in the samples he had sent- he didn't get much time. In fact, to have such a distinguished group of hominologists gathered together and suggest they were almost silent in shame at the results was very wrong.

Again, this was a travelogue but if anyone ever saw the amount of field work/papers and the material they contain on almasty habits/habitats and so on they might ask WHY everything seemed dismissed because the DNA tests were negative?

It is because this series was intended to refute the possibility of there being any mystery primate anywhere and because of the rather dubious provenance of the samples the results fitted perfectly.

Overall, this series has been a disappointment (the yeti/bear results were interesting) as we saw very little of Sykes and the series was built on his work and reputation.

People -including journalists I've spoken to on other matters- are already declaring that it has been proven the yeti and Bigfoot are myths coming from the minds of nutcases and fools. Tonight add the Almasty to the list of creatures 'proven' not to exist.

Attenborough: "I believe the Abominable Snowman may be real"

David Attenborough has in the past, Life On Earth, stated that there might well be gigantic squid and other undiscovered creatures in our Oceans and seas.  This statement of his belief that the Yeti might be a real primate-type should be considered very relavent:

Attenborough: "I believe the Abominable Snowman may be real"

By Ben Dowell | RadioTimes

The respected naturalist and broadcaster thinks the legendary Yeti could really exist and be living in the Himalayan Mountains

David Attenborough believes that the Yeti – or Abominable Snowman – may be real.

The world-renowned naturalist and broadcaster says he thinks the creature of Himalayan legend – which has a North American cousin known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch – could be much more than a myth.

“I believe the Abominable Snowman may be real. I think there may be something in that," said Attenborough, speaking today at a showcase of upcoming programmes on UKTV.

“There are footprints that stretch for hundreds of miles and we know that in the 1930’s a German fossil was found with these huge molars that were four or five times the size of human molars.

“They had to be the molars of a large ape, one that was huge, about 10 or 12 feet tall. It was immense. And it is not impossible that it might exist. If you have walked the Himalayas there are these immense rhododrendron forests that go on for hundreds of square miles which could hold the Yeti."

Attenborough, who was addressing an audience at the Saatchi Gallery to promote a second series of Natural Curiosities on the Eden channel, explained why the existence of the beast had not been proven up until now: “If there are some still alive and you walked near their habitat you can bet that these creatures may be aware of you, but you wouldn’t be aware of them.”

[...]

Read the full article at: radiotimes.com

Bigfootology

To get extra info and find out what has been going on re. the Sykes DNA tests check out Bigfootology:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bigfootology/169864543051503

Up-date of Strange & Weird -A Naturalists Viewpoint

I have spent most of the day up-dating my book Strange & Weird -A Naturalists Viewpoint, to look at and respond to the Sykes DNA testing issue.

It is very poor science since all it has proven so far is that there might/possibly could be a hybrid bear in the Himalayas but who knows?  And that some hair samples with very poor provenance have proven they are not from a Sasquatch.

That the programme makers -even Sykes- had already concluded they were dealing with myths was not a good sign.

As I have allready written, decades of research by zoologists and others -such as Jeff Meldrum's work on footprint casts- was not even dismissed. It just was not even considered because the Great God DNA had decided some dubious (at best) hair samples were NOT from Yeti or Sasquatch.  Which is like having four blonde human hairs for DNA testing and concluding their is no such thing as a red haired, black, grey or brown haired person.

I am awaiting the Almasty programme but so far, with no major Bigfoot research community fight-back with evidence and facts, the uninformed public now believes that only sad little loonies see or believe in yeti/bigfoot BECAUSE DNA has proven they don't exist. Even the case for the yeti being a bear is flawed because it only proves the hairs are from a bear.

So let's see what this coming Sunday has to offer.

STILL No Bigfoot Researchers Responding to the Sykes Bigfoot DNA Results???

If anyone knows of any serious Bigfoot/Sasquatch research groups who have made a statement regarding the Sykes DNA testing 'proving Bigfoot is a myth' -could you let me know?

No responses to my messages or any statements I can find. Hiding your head in the sand UNTIL the media start calling saying "Yeah, but you said DNA would PROVE Bigfoot exists but its proved it doesnt!" is not going to help.

I give up.

Channel 4 Bigfoot Files

Well, as it seems the entire Bigfoot/Sasquatch investigation community are huddled in a corner crying and refusing to break their silence over Prof. Syke's DNA test results of "Bigfoot" hairs last night, I thought I'd do some checking with my TV chums.

 According to 'Dave' - a friend so of course I'm not giving out his full name, he has a family to support--  in Channel 4 production, next week's Bigfoot Files "proves Almasty do not exist"....

I can't believe Prof. Sykes set out to just kill the subject. I had a lot of respect for him and previous work. I'm hoping its just Channel 4 doing an hatchet-job. Bad editing. Anything. 'Dave' offered to have an informal chat with someone in production who had worked on the programmes.

'Dave' casually mentioned "that 1960s Bigfoot film" (Patty) and that he had seen the Monster Quest "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" and that had experts from a number of fields who had studied tracks and so on.  He said he thought that might have been looked at?  He was told: "No, we used Professor Sykes before" (I  looking at "unidentified" Yeti hair from the programme To The Ends Of The Earth, I think). "DNA will say yes or no. That's science. Not much else matters."

The guide for the third episode reads:

The 'Almasty' is Russia's very own Bigfoot. It has been written about for over 300 years, and Russia's Almasty hunters claim there have been over 10,000 encounters over the years.

The big theory in Russia is that it's a surviving hominid, possibly even a Neanderthal.

Mark Evans travels to Russia and investigates one of the highest profile Bigfoot stories in the world: the tale of Zana, the so-called Wildwoman: a living Almasty said to have been found in the remote Caucasus in the 1870s.

She was alleged to have had four children by her captors over the years. Almasty hunters have tracked down her descendants and Bryan Sykes uses cutting edge tests to analyse their DNA and test the Neanderthal theory about Zana.

Mark also meets a giant among Almasty hunters, seven foot tall former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Nikolai Valuev, who is now Duma Deputy (the equivalent of an MP) for Kemerovo in Siberia.
Mark joins him as he checks out the latest hot Almasty sighting and meets the three kids who claim to have captured one on camera near a frozen lake.

Finally, in Moscow, Professor Sykes reveals the results of his DNA tests on Zana's relatives. The results are unequivocal, extraordinary and totally unexpected.

Will this overturn the supposedly proven myth Zana case genuine?
 I doubt it as they used that last line on the Yeti summary!

For more background info check here:
http://alamas.ru/eng/publicat/Almasty_e.htm