“I think when you get beyond the typical 7-8 foot sasquatch and start getting into 12-15 foot range you are leaving the realm of possibility.”

Hah! Sorry, Bigfoot believers talking about “leaving the realm of possibility” just cracks me up. Oh well, I’m one myself, however I would not be so quick to discount a 12-15 foot tall Bigfoot. In Heuvelman’s “On The Track Of Unknown Animals”, Part Two, Section Six, “The Not So Abominable Snowman” he relates:

“This opinion was confirmed in 1957 by a Tibetan lama called Punyabayra, who said that the Tibetan mountain peole knew three kinds of snowmen: the nyalmo, the rimi, and the rackshi bompo. The nyalmo are real giants, between 13 and 16 feet high, with enormous conical heads.”

Is it not possible that the Yeti’s North American cousins could be so divided into two or prehaps even three seperate species? Maybe the most commonly seen Bigfoot is more related to the 7-9 foot rimi, and the large one in the account is more related to the rackshi bompo. Perhaps the 13-16 foot Bigfoot is much rarer than the 7-9 foot, which would account for the rarity of its sightings, or perhaps when people say they have seen a 16 foot tall creature they are immediately declared to be exaggerating. If the Tibetan Snowmen are indeed related to the North American Bigfoot, they may share the “enormous conical heads” (sagittal crest), which seen from a side angle could look not unlike a stovepipe hat.

Note: The sagittal crest is clearly seen in the Patterson Film, but because we cannot prove it is not fake, I did not rely on it as evidence that Bigfoot does have one.

BTW, While I consider myself well-versed in Native American history, and to a somewhat lesser extent culture (Both of which I value greatly), Let me echo LeCope here by saying that these people are, ultimately, just people, prone to the same vices and faults (And virtues too, for that matter) as any of us. To stereotype them, even in a positive way, in my opinion does them a disservice, for it lessens our ability to seem them for who they truly are, in all their complexity.

A lady friend who was born and raised in SD on a farm, never heard of BF in SD. She wondered if local habitat could support such a creature anyway?

Perhaps based on Native American lore and sightings, BF just might actually roam the hills of SD and this subject needs further research. But it seems like the Pine Ridge reports are lacking in body :). What I mean is, we are not getting a very clear picture of what is going on there. To me that sort of red flag indicates that nothing much is. This might all turn out to be a case of “wishful thinking”?

The only thing better than discovering BF in my neck of the woods, would be a BF discovery at Pine Ridge. But I do not think that is going to happen anytime soon. Based on what I read here, I give these PR reports a “5″ on a scale of 1-12. They are interesting, but seemingly not too promising?

I feel BF research should be kept more on a scientific level. This is how BF will be proven eventually. In my mind BF is real. I believe I have tracked one in deep snow for several hundred yards, while hunting elk in a remote area of Washington State. It was barefoot, took 4-5 foot 2-legged and clearly left and right upright strides and stepped over downed trees, that I had to climb over, with ease. As a Washington State Advanced Hunter graduate, I know my tracks. And I am pretty certain what made those!

Silly BF reports just hinder the work of dedicated BF researchers. Especially in the eyes of the public. When it comes to Bigfoot, my father is a skeptic. There is no way I would ever tell him about “stovepipe hats and dancing around the may-pole”! He would laugh me right out of the house! And I would not blame him either. How would he be able to take anything I say about BF serious after telling him that? Especially if police are involved.

When it comes to BF researchers, all of them want to be the first to discover the Bigfoot! But of course, the first person to discover BF will become famous. Additional related discoveries will mean little thereafter. So, some BF hunters seem to discover solid proof every month! When these people play such silly games, BF research takes 2 steps backwards.

So I believe when “red flags” pop up in a BF report, not much time should be wasted in further checking them out. If nothing substancial is there, move on! In my mind a report has to be at least 60% credible.

Please prove me wrong about Pine Ridge-I’ll cheerfully eat my words. But with that many sightings there, a real Bigfoot will leave tracks, hair or scat!

Do I believe that people saw something? Yes. Could it be a bigfoot? Sure. There are just too many questions that remain unanswered, infact many remain unASKED.

It seems that we, collectively, attacked the Johor Hominid business, and it didn’t seem half this wierd to me. Now, with all this hat and dancing going on, why aren’t people more skeptical.

Oh, and Native Americans are normal human beings just like everyone else, there is no greater connection to the spirtual world or whatever…those comments are not helping anybody get to the bottom of this.

I would not doubt that 12+ ft. would be accurate, some humans are 7′. That’s just the human species human.

I also heard the officer report on audio that it appeared to be dancing. Dancing? Panicing Maybe?

I think the hump back is a baby.

btw, I really like this site. Great work and very interesting ideas from all.

The novel “Neanderthal” by John Darnton is entertaining and seems to have been based somewhat on the Alaska/Yukon tales, as the surviving Neanderthals collected human heads as ritual objects. But the location was placed in central Asia.