I truly admire Jane Goodall and the late Dian Fossey for their work. They documented how such methods of research should occur. Goodall didn’t begin her studies with a PhD either, so like any major discovery, we should not necessarily think we must rely on some scientist with credentials in this field to make the ultimate discovery. (Besides, bigfoot was already discovered by Native Americans long ago!) This does not mean everyone can be an automatic scientist either. There are professional techniques and protocols that must be developed and adhered to, and most lay-persons do not have this ability. It will take a special person to bridge the gap between species in this field.

I suspect that Dr. Goodall has reached a stage in her life where she has recognized that a new breed of researcher (male and female) are appropriate to carry the torch and make their own history in the field of sasquatch research. If she felt otherwise, she would have invested her time here long ago. Obviously she is very intrigued by the existence of such creatures, and rightfully so. She has probably even gone out on a few private expeditions to experience their presence.

In respect to her mentor Louis Leakey, and the subtitle of the book referenced above “The Woman Who Redefined Man’, I’d like to envision a couple of different meanings to that. I realize it appropriately refers to when she documented chimpanzees fabricating and using tools, and Louis Leakey stated: “Now we must define tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” This is only a faint memory to me, but luckily it is on Jane Goodall’s website. (Yeah, I cheated on that one, but I remembered it after I read it. ) The point I am getting to is, this dilemma of redefining man, may once again become a factor when sasquatch is once and for all classified and better understood. Based on my personal experiences, they aren’t some mere giant ape. Sasquatch’s place in the evolutionary tree will likely rock this world in ways we can not presently imagine. Leakey’s statement may be more profound at this time in the future then anyone could ever imagine. Sasquatch has human traits but they also have their wild ape-like traits, so this is all still up in the air. If as I believe from my personal observations, sasquatch turns out to be something in between, or something with early human origins, yeah, we may well be redefining what humans are. It is unfortunate that the cliche in the field do not allow those who have theorized in this area to have their say before being criticized, but that’s the way all great discoveries tend to go. The establishment generally rejects the challenger to the status quo comfort zone, and yet time and time again, outlandish new ideas end up being substantiated. Mainstream science at the time did not believe that chimps were capable of fabricating tools and look how that turned out. One thing we humans must remember that I will often repeat, we have more hairs on our bodies then chimpanzees do. (Well, except for those who do the hot wax thing anyhow). The hairs are very tiny but they are there.

Our sasquatch subject may have a far higher intellect then we can imagine, clearly they have been outsmarting us at every turn. But they may fear us because more often then not, because the ‘yahoos’ of our species fire upon them first. And since/if they don’t have the same speech capabilities we have, then they would only experience frustration through any attempts at befriending us, especially when we react in fear or confrontation at first glance. There has been decades/centuries of aggressive conditioning that has taken place with both our species towards one another. We are afraid of them. They are afraid of us. We shoot at them. They can do whatever they please with us in their environment. Today there is a wide bridge that must be gapped between our two species and it won’t come easy.

Also look at the response some researchers have received when they stated bf was of human origin. This field is not very tolerant and really does not allow an airing of claims before passing judgement. Some of the forums really are immature in this respect. Even the subject of ESP, which may be so natural to animals, and a field that our own government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in, is met with sheer closed-mindedness by many within this field. Any researcher worth their weight has experienced the hair raise on the back of their neck feeling like you were being watched. That my friends is ESP in its rawest form. I suspect even Jane Goodall has recognized similar traits present in her subjects. I did not see it, but apparently there is an ‘Animal Planet’ episode that demonstrates Jane Goodall is aware of telepathy existing in animals. Why is it so difficult for so many here? In fact, there was a successful experiment elsewhere where the reactions of monkeys across a water body were monitored in response to a stimulus with some distant members. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name or details of it, but maybe someone here can post it. When everyone stops thinking of ESP as something with strictly a paranormal stigma, and objectively looks at it as with any scientific pursuit, just as many universities have done, then the bigfoot field will mature one step forward. It may be sasquatch has one significant advantage over us, and until we recognize these attributes shared by many species in the animal kingdom, we’ll continue being two steps back. But that is for another thread. However Jane Goodall is one scientist who has an open mind, and I would hope that everyone else would be a little more tolerant in this respect. I will always be open minded in this area as well.

Oh, the other ‘Redefining Man’ part, I meant other ‘guys’ like myself, who watched Goodall and Fossey on TV as youngsters, and wanted to grow up and do something similarly as important as they did. Those who were affected in this way and who instilled within themselves ‘empathy’ for other living things, may ultimately be the ones who make history in this field. The legacy left here is available to either male or female as far as that goes. Ms. Goodall and the Late Ms. Fossey gave something to us all.

David Rodriguez
Springfield, Oregon

Sexism and sex is a power game of political interpersonal relationships My wife is very attractive but on a professional level she makes her money the old fashioned way, she earns it.

My kudos to this awesome human force.

-MultipleEncounters

Jane Goodall has stated that she’s heard stories from peoples she’s met all over the world speaking of local hominids unknown to western science with a matter of fact attitude.

According to Heuvelmans book in french upon the subject, there’s certainly a lot of hominid activity down there.

At least…this is how I recall things. If I’m incorrect, please let me know.

Excellent article Mr. Coleman.

While Dr. Goodall promoted herself through photographs, how many people remembered that? I’m willing to bet not many. You can promote yourself, and make the delivery of that information secondary to the person you are and the work you’re doing.

It’s all in the delivery.