Bigfoot

Bigfoot

Frame 352 from 1967 Patterson–Gimlin film; some claim it shows a Bigfoot, and others a man in a gorilla suit.
Grouping	Cryptids, Folklore of the United States, Kwakwaka'wakw mythology, Salishan oral narratives
Similar creatures	Skunk Ape, Yeren, Yowie, Mande Barung, Orang Pendek, Yeti, Barmanou
Other name(s)	Sasquatch
Country	United States, Canada
Region	Pacific Northwest
Habitat	Mountains, forest

In American folklore, Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch) is a simian-like creature that is said to inhabit forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. The term sasquatch is an Anglicized derivative of the Halkomelem word sásq'ets.

Scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider it to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a living animal. This conclusion is due to many reasons, including the lack of physical evidence after centuries of investigation despite the large numbers of creatures that would have to exist to maintain a breeding population. Occasional new reports of sightings sustain a small group of self-described investigators. Many reports of sightings are attributed to being various animals, particularly black bears.

Individuals claiming to have seen Bigfoot describe it as a large, hairy, muscular, bipedal ape-like creature, roughly 2–3 metres (6 ft 7 in–9 ft 10 in) covered in hair described as black, dark brown, or dark reddish. Some descriptions include details such as large eyes, a pronounced brow ridge, and a large, low-set forehead. The top of the head has been described as rounded and crested, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla, with a strong, unpleasant smell.

The enormous footprints for which the creature is named are claimed to be as large as 24 inches (60 cm) long and 8 inches (20 cm) wide. Some footprint casts have also contained claw marks, making it likely that they came from known animals, such as bears, which have five toes and claws.

Proponents of Bigfoot's existence claim that the creature is omnivorous and mainly nocturnal.

Wild men stories are found among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Anthropologist and cryptozoologist Grover Krantz has written that stories of the indigenous population which can be confidently related to the Sasquatch, correspond to the areas where white Americans have reported similar sightings. According to David Daegling, the legends existed before there was a single name for the creature; and that they differed in their details both regionally and between families in the same community; and that similar stories of wild men are found on every continent except Antarctica. Ecologist Robert Pyle argues that most cultures have human-like giants in their folk history, expressing a need for "some larger-than-life creature." Each language had its own name for the creature featured in the local version of such legends. Many names meant something along the lines of "wild man" or "hairy man", although other names described common actions it was said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees. A story told to Charles Hill-Tout by Chief Mischelle of the Nlaka'pamux at Lytton, British Columbia in 1898 gives another Salishan variant of the name, meaning "the benign-faced-one".