The Amazon is a huge, richly biodiverse ecosystem and I am also certain that we are not done with seeing all of its surprises yet. I think it is a prime location for new species discoveries simply because of its vastness and scarcely penetrable jungle, as well as plentiful resources and numerous biological niches. It is simply teeming with life and I think it is not far fetched at all to think that a large animal could be out there awaiting discovery. I think along with Africa, South America in general is a potential treasure trove of new animal discoveries, and I keep an eye on any news coming out of the region in regards this. It must be exciting for you to have been down there, regardless of whether you saw any cryptids or not!

I completely agree with your view on the creature being sighted by the riverside and think that this would make sense as being an area where it would be more probably seen. A fisherman would be a prime candidate for someone to see one, although as you said, cameras are probably not an option for a native. This lack of cameras is one reason why I think the native stories and oral traditions play such a big part here. So I feel what is basically going to have to happen is that one of the alleged creatures is going to have to make an appearance in the open, out of the dense foliage, to a foreigner with a camera. Wonder what the chances are of that happening?

I also find myself speculating on what it could be. I am totally with you in that it is not necessarily a hominid of any sort, but rather could be a large sloth. This makes a lot of sense in this area, and a sloth could easily be seen to be humanoid in appearance, especially if seen through the eyes of superstition. Look at the other thread about pygmy hippos and you’ll see that the natives were describing them as “black pigs”. The native accounts may not be totally accurate, but they still describe a large creature that could very well be a giant sloth of some sort. It could be a regular sloth too, but this hypothesis is entirely feasible, and even if it is not a Bigfoot, a new type of giant sloth would still be a fascinating find. I also think that if it is a Bigfoot, it makes sense that it may be smaller in order to be better adapted at moving through dense foliage. This is one of the theories why the Japanese wolf was so small.

I’m still on the fence as to whether there actually is any Amazonian Bigfoot out there, but I will say that the habitat could definitely support them and the native stories are intriguing. Very interesting to speculate about and I am hoping that some interesting things will come out of the Amazon in the future. Keep that camera handy!

Yes, the japanese wolf is the real deal and an amazing story. I remember your input on that thread a while back. Fascinating stuff there. I always appreciate first hand accounts from people I am acquainted with as well. I am glad you enjoyed my first hand account of the stories I shared from my experiences there.

I definitely think there are going to be several new species of animals found in the amazon, most definitely. I also think it is more probable than possible that there is a Brazilian sasquatch, but I think it is going to be smaller in size than the north American bf, more like the skunk ape of Florida. I think in this particular instance, it is more of cultural stories intertwined with a real animal of the past.

I say this because the jungle is so dense in the amazon. Seriously, you need a machete to just go a couple of feet in most parts of the jungle. It’s brutal. If the locals were out hunting, it would be in the jungle and probably not near the riverbank. The only creatures you will find near the riverbank are amazonian caimens and the amazonian black crocodile. The native people consider them, the boto, and the anaconda, all sacred animals. So the only exception to thick jungle is along the river and it’s tributaries. So if a Brazilian bf was in the jungle, it could easily hide with no problem. It would here the hunters coming and hide a long time before they got there. If it were seen, it would be along the river where they typically do not hunt. So if the story involved a fisherman seeing one, it would hold more credence for me. I believe that is where anyone would have the best chance of seeing one without alerting it. I know I had my camera by my side the entire time. I always have it handy, just in case. One never knows when they can photograph a cryptid creature. You have to be a believer. A skeptic would not bring a camera. lol

But I am with you 100 percent. The stories can not be discounted in general. generally speaking, there is some truth behind the stories. I just think in this particular case, the realistic part of the story pertains to a sloth and not a amazonian bf.

If I heard a story of a smaller ape like creature near the river banks in the amazon, witnessed by local tribesmen that were fishing–i would say that we have ourselves an amazonian bf sighting.

I am holding out hope that one of the fishing parties that visits the amazon during the dry season will capture an image of a cryptid or new species. I don’t mean new plant or insect species but those of the reptilian or mammal variety. The mean income for the Brazilian people living outside a city, is at or below poverty level. A camera is just not an option for them. Any photos coming out of the amazon will be by foreigners with cameras or perhaps federal officials patrolling the remote regions. That’s the best chance.

Keep an eye out for the Japanese wolf and I will keep an eye out for the Brazilian bf or to other rain forest creatures outside of Brazil. I had no luck in the ‘el yunque’ rain forest in Puerto Rico either.

What really fascinates me is the question of where the myth ends and fact begins, something I do not think is always so easy. I can accept that local myths have exaggerated certain creatures above and beyond what they are really capable of, but that still does not mean there is not a creature there. The Japanese wolf , for example, was (is? One can hope.) a real creature. Yet if you were to hear all of the powers and legends associated with it, you would be inclined to think that is was pure myth when in fact it is a very real animal. Many Japanese animals would sound like folklore if you were to listen to just the old stories. I am sure the gorilla was the same way before it was discovered and indeed it does still have legends attributed to it. The same can be said for a lot of indigenous people’s accounts of known animals throughout the world and the same thing applies to the Amozonians, I feel. A lot of ethno known animals have been proven to be real even if all of the powers associated with them weren’t. Fantastic stories do not mean that nothing is there.

For this reason, I am generally careful not to discount tales by natives too much because it is likely that a real animal lies behind the stories. In the story about the guide’s sunglasses scaring the locals, their magical reasons for being scared do not change the fact that the sunglasses themselves were real. So when I hear these mysterious stories coming out of the Amazon, while I do appreciate there is an addition of folkloric elements, I still want to find out what is behind the stories to begin with. Who knows, maybe it isn’t invulnerable, or have any supernatural powers, but maybe this things exists? Something to think about.

It would seem that if the modern sloth had a strong odor, it would lend some continuity to the story.

I do remember there was a documentary on cable some time ago that explained that natives of the area not only were familiar with the giant sloth at one time but may have even kept them in a corral in a cave in the area of Patagonia.

Also, there was a giant sloth that was about 12 ft. tall and another that was close to 20 ft. tall.

It is said that the native arrows could not penetrate the tough hair and skin.

If you have ever visited the remote areas of the Brazilian Amazon, one would soon discover that their are many creatures found there that can not be found anywhere else in the world. The living conditions are brutal. And the rain forest covers thousands of square miles. You can fly over it for hundreds of miles and never see a road or even one home. There are some descendents of tribal people and head hunting tribes that live in the Amazon. However, one would have to take their first hand accounts as eyewitnesses with a grain of salt.

From my interaction with these native people, I can give you a few examples of what I mean. I fish quite a bit and do it all over the world. Some of these fishing trips take me to remote regions of the world. One of the most remote regions on the face of the earth is the Brazilian Amazon. I have been to the city mentioned above, Manaus, and it is not what we would consider a modern city. I’ll give you an example, the big fishmarket in Manaus, is near where the Amazon meets the Black River. The fish were laid out without ice and flies hovering and landing about the fish. You could smell the fish before you saw the market. Most reading this would consider Manaus a bit remote and antiquated but when compared to other areas of Brazil, it is a bustling city.

Now a couple of examples on the native people living in the jungles of Brazil. One of my fishing trips was cancelled there one year because a group of fishermen on the week preceding my trip had been taken hostage by a headhunting tribe that originally gave permission for the fisherman to fish a tribal area. The chief changed his mind. But since their are no phones in the jungle and he probably signed the contract and government permit with an “X”, it would be difficult to maintain that the chief even understood the written word of the paper he “signed”. Eventually the fisherman were released or rescued. But translaters had to be called in since the tribal language is much different than Brazilian Portugese. These tribal people live off the land. Their history is verbal. And we have all played that childhood game of whispering a story to the person next to you. By the time it makes the circle in ten minutes, the entire story is different than the original. Imagine doing this for generations.

When I was there, the fisherman would trade fishhooks for blow darts and spears. Our camps would sometimes be raided and the only thing that was missing were the pull tabs from soda cans. Upon trading with the natives the next day, they were wearing necklaces made of crocodile teeth and soda can pull tabs. Metal was a foreign entity to them and apparently, highly prized. I did a few magic tricks for the children who were intrigued but it actually scared the adults. I had to reveal the trick because they were that so scared by it, they thought I was not a human being but perhaps a spiritual being. My fishing partner went to trade one day with the tribal people. Upon coming out of the jungle to trade, they saw him and went running back in to hide. Odd, because they had traded with him the day before. What was different this time? They thought his sunglasses which he did not wear the day before, were actually the eyes on this white godlike creature who was probably a demon. At least that is what our guide explained to us. Upon removing the sunglasses, the tribal people eventually returned from the jungle. Parts of Peru are like this too.

What I am trying to relate to the readers by my first hand account here, is that the perceptions of the native people are not always the reality we live in. I am sure that if a hunter returned from a bad hunt, he might blame it on Brazilian bigfoot. But I also think that there is some truth to the tribal stories. If you read the account above, it mentions matted fur. Sloths have matted fur don’t they? And they do smell because they are so slow moving that plant life actually grows on them. So that would explain the odor. And things can get quite big in the Amazon such as the giant river otters. I am sure the first reports of them by even credible people who encountered them were not believed or chalked up to stories or an active imagination.

I think what is happening here is exactly as this post by Craig states. I believe it is a little reality, from the point of view or perception of the native people, weaved in with a few “stories” passed down for generations. Sometimes the distant past meshes with the current day as far as these tribal stories are concerned.

But who knows? The jungle is so big and vast, that it is definitely possible for a creature such as the Brazilian BF to exist. There are many undiscovered species living in the jungle. And the uniqueness of those creatures creates the distinct possibility that some creature like this may exist today in the Brazilian rain forest. If the North American BF exists, certainly, the isolated and vast amount of jungle in Brazil could certainly hold a Brazilian BF population. And the food sources are abundant. They could live off the land without a problem. During their rainy season or winters, a BF population would have to move away from the river and it’s tributaries because the water level could rise over 50 feet. But this is just a minor inconvenience if BF populations are migratory to begin with.

In my opinion, the possibility exists. However, in all probability, these are just stories mixed with a little fact. But one can be hopeful, can’t he? Giant river otters, boto, howler monkies, and about 30 other species of monkey live in the Amazon along with many other unique animals found only there.

The good news is, we probably won’t have any photos of blobsquatches coming soon from the Amazon or Brazil.