Post by Joanna on Sept 18, 2014 19:02:38 GMT -5
70 Scientists from around the world focus on Bigfoot research
Seventy scientists from around the world, defying widespread skepticism, have been involved for the past four decades in the search for "Bigfoot," the large and hairy beast allegedly seen in remote areas of the United States, Rhettman Mullis, founder and chair of the Western Bigfoot Society, said. "We are different from other Bigfoot researchers in the sense that we start with the certainty that Bigfoot exists, so we focus our studies on its behavior and classification within the animal kingdom.”
The Pacific Northwest, where the Bigfoot Society is based, are the areas with the largest number of Bigfoot sightings in dense forests and mountains. "It is impossible to estimate how many of these creatures live in the world, but I would say that just in North America there may be about 100,000 of them," Mullis, a professional psychologist, said.
Mullis said he has been fascinated by Bigfoot since childhood, when he saw one of the creatures for the first time. "I saw one with my own eyes," Mullis said. "It was 1977 and it happened in Puget Sound (in Washington state). That changed my life forever."
Team Bigfoot, the society's 70-member field operation, has collected what Mullis described as "extensive evidence" of Bigfoot's presence, like footprints and hair, that has helped researchers to figure out the creature's features.
A main goal of the team, which includes experts in genetics, primates, zoology and biology from the United States, Canada, Britain, Russia and Australia, is to classify Bigfoot among animal species. According to Mullis: "Bigfoots are related to both humans and apes. Their hair is similar to that of humans and they walk like humans, but they have long arms and short legs like apes." Although the name "Bigfoot" has been used since the late 1950s, Mullis said there have been documented sightings and encounters with the beasts all around the world for more than 1,000 years.
Source: FoxNews, September 15, 2014.