BIG FOOT
Unconfirmed — commonly referred to as Sasquatch
INSTITUTE CLASSIFICATION: Extremely Hairy / Suspiciously Unphotogenic
OFFICIAL STATUS: 
NOT YET DETERMINED
ARCHIVE: Cryptozoology Division
CASE STATUS: Investigation Ongoing
CASE SUMMARY
For generations, reports from North America have described an enormous, hairy, human-like creature roaming remote forests.
Witnesses call it:
Bigfoot.
There have been footprints.
Eyewitness reports.
Videos.
Photographs.
Unfortunately, most photographs appear to have been taken while the photographer was running, falling over, or operating a camera through a sandwich bag.
No scientifically verified Bigfoot specimen has ever been produced.
Naturally, the Institute sent researchers immediately.
CLAIMS UNDER INVESTIGATION
CLAIM #1
A large unidentified primate lives in North American forests.
CLAIM #2
Bigfoot walks upright.
CLAIM #3
Enormous footprints provide evidence of its existence.
CLAIM #4
Bigfoot is unusually difficult to photograph.
Initial Institute Assessment:
The fourth claim appears extremely well supported.
ORIGIN & HABITAT
Modern Bigfoot reports are particularly associated with forested regions of North America,
especially the Pacific Northwest. Stories of wild or hairy human-like beings occur in many cultures,
but they should not all automatically be treated as the same tradition or creature.
RECOGNISED BY
Allegedly:
Very tall
Covered in hair
Walks upright
Enormous feet
Lives in remote forests
Immediately becomes blurry when photographed
KNOWN FOR
Leaving footprints and then disappearing before anyone can obtain convincing evidence.
Bigfoot’s greatest survival adaptation may therefore be:
Camera awareness.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
There is currently no accepted scientific evidence confirming the existence of Bigfoot.
Footprints, eyewitness accounts, photographs and videos have been presented over many years.
Some have been exposed as hoaxes.
Others remain disputed or unexplained.
But unexplained does not automatically mean:
Bigfoot.
No verified body, fossil, DNA sample or other biological evidence has established
that an unknown giant primate currently inhabits North America.
INSTITUTE FIELD NOTES
FIELD NOTE #52
Type: Tracking Expedition
Subject: Bigfoot
7:17 am
Large footprints discovered.
7:45 am
Movement heard in nearby bushes.
8:04 am
Bushes moving.
Confidence increasing.
8:06 am
Bushes identified as three rabbits.
Confidence decreasing.
11:26 am
Large hairy figure observed in distance.
Photograph attempted.
11:27 am
Photograph blurry.
Researchers note this is not helping.
IMPORTANT RESEARCH PRINCIPLE
A footprint is evidence that something made a footprint.
A noise is evidence that something made a noise.
A blurry photograph is evidence that:
We need a better photograph.
Junior Researchers should be careful not to decide what the answer is before examining the evidence.
OFFICIAL FINDING
NOT YET DETERMINED
Bigfoot remains one of the world’s most famous cryptozoological mysteries.
The Institute has found plenty of stories.
It has not found Bigfoot.
Investigation remains open.
JUNIOR RESEARCHER CHALLENGE
What evidence would scientists need before Bigfoot could be classified as a real animal?
Create your own Bigfoot Evidence Checklist.
Which evidence would be strongest?
A footprint?
A photograph?
DNA?
A living specimen?
An eyewitness?
Why?