Posted on 06/28/2014 6:48:43 AM PDT by Colofornian
PROVO -- On Sunday night, two people were driving on the Alpine Loop above Provo Canyon when suddenly they spotted a large object by the side of the road. They quickly did a U-turn and started recording their search.
When they got their video uploaded to a computer, what they saw astounded them. It's not extremely clear, but it looks like a large, dark, figure.
Bigfoot? Or something else?
The Daily Herald made contact with one of the individuals involved in the recording. He refused to be identified, but said he and his cousin were going to a spot near Sundance to watch the sunset.
"It got dark so we headed back," he said. "We thought we saw something pretty big standing there. We made a U-turn and turned the camera on.
"We are not sure if that is exactly where it was when we first saw it. We weren't sure we got anything until we saw it on the big screen."
"It was at least seven and a half to nine feet tall," the man said. He made that estimation based on the creature's size compared to posts by the side of the road which are usually around four feet tall, he said.
By the time they got back to where they thought they saw it, it was gone. He and his cousin estimated it was around 15 to 20 minutes uphill from Sundance.
Since the video went live on YouTube last week, it's been viewed nearly 75,000 times.
The two who produced the recording said they were not aware of any unusual sounds or smells.
A different video posted on YouTube in late 2012 went viral and has garnering more than 7 million views.
The video's description states that it was made by campers near Squaw Peak. The campers claim to have run into the creature while trying to get closer to some deer.
"On our way up, we thought we saw a bear," the description states, "until the monster stood up and looked right at us. We ran straight to the car after that, leaving our tent and everything behind. It's probably all still up there."
When that video first appeared, Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University and Bigfoot researcher, said the video appears to show an upright creature with a distinct arm, the image could be created by foliage obscuring part of the body of a bear.
"On first glance I really can't differentiate it from a black bear," he said.
In a Daily Herald report from late 2012, Meldrum recalled one story from 1902 during which kids in the LDS settlement of Chesterfield, Idaho, were ice skating on a frozen canal.
"Suddenly out from the tree line burst this wild man with a stick," Meldrum said, adding that Bigfoot figures were often described as "wild men."
Men from the community responded and found 16-inch footprints but were unable to locate the creature.
According to Meldrum, there have been additional sightings farther south in Utah and people living on the Ute Indian reservation have insisted that some sort of creature resembling Bigfoot exists. Meldrum further compared Sasquatch to wolverines, which are also elusive and almost never seen in the wild.
"It's not that surprising that we have little or no fossil record of them or their predecessors," Meldrum said. "The point is you don't just walk out in the woods and see these creatures, if in fact they exist."
Are there any more sunset drives in store for the duo who posted the most recent video?
"It was kind of weird, but it won't stop us from going anywhere," he said. "I think we will go back, but maybe not right away."
They should be safe, according to Loyal Clark, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
"We have had some reports of sightings of a Bigfoot-like creature, but those have been in the Logan, Ogden and Weber Canyon areas," she said. "We haven't had any reports in Provo or American Fork Canyons."
What the Forest Service has heard about, however, is sightings of bears.
"We have heard about them moving around, crossing the road," she said. "Sometimes they stand up on their hind legs. If the bear is curious it will stand up on its hind legs.
"That is the strongest possibility," she said.
Sometimes people who are not familiar with wildlife may not understand what they are seeing. A couple of years ago, there was a report of a sighting at Cascade Springs. A woman thought she saw a large Doberman in the water, but it turned out to be a baby moose.
In Provo and American Fork Canyons, there have historically been reports of bears, she said.
"We work closely with the Division of Wildlife Resources every spring," she said. "We give cautions and advise -- if you sight bears, we encourage you to call DWR and let them know. We also strongly encourage visitors to follow certain guidelines, like keeping their campsite clean and removing food."
"Make sure if you do sight a female bear with cubs, place as much distance from her as possible," she said. "Back up, move away slowly. If you suddenly see a bear and you are both startled, make a lot of noise -- scream, shout, whistle or sing."
A pamphlet called "Bear Country" is available at the Pleasant Grove Ranger district office, 390 E. 100 North, or can be found online at the Division of Wildlife Services.
Whether the sighting was a large bear or something much more rare has yet to be seen. But the anonymous videographer is not the only person claiming to have seen an odd creature in Provo Canyon.
A man from out of state who has been working at Frazier Park reported Friday that he had seen a large creature near Bridal Veil Falls around 2 a.m. Friday. He said the creature looked similar to the statue at Frazier Park, a half mile south of Vivian Park in Provo Canyon.
"Around 2 a.m. I was hiking and stepped off the trail," he said in a phone interview. "I saw a big creature in the brush. It was just like the statue of the creature we have up here."
“Is Bigfoot traveling through Provo Canyon?”
Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure he (she?) stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
The first YouTube comment was “dude in a suit”. But the view was too brief and lacked enough definition to call it either way.
The best to date is the Paterson film from the 60s. It has been analyzed umpteen times but not debunked to my satisfaction. Those were pre-Velcro days yet no seams or zipper lines could be seen. You oud deect the movement of muscle under the hairy skin. Proportions of arms, legs and torso don’t fit ant typical modern human (even Bobo!). The stride length could not be duplicated by a human, even one seven feet tall and weighing 600-700 pounds. And it...er...she was a female. Even the breasts moved in a natural manner.
If the Paterson film was a fake it was one of the best ever!
You oud deect = you could detect
Perhaps the others are fakes of such low quality that Paterson stands out.
LOL
I watched one episode of that show, for curiosity's sake. The claim was made that there are a few thousand Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) roaming the U.S. Yet with people actively searching for them for, what, 40 years or so, not one has ever been found. Not even a dead one.
My 11yr old son and I watched some episodes (also River Monsters), after 4 or so episodes he caught on and asked me why they never find anything. Thus the joke “Not Finding Bigfoot” was born - still gets a chuckle.
What I hate about the show is the way they get to a hot area and get responses to their howls. They beat on a tree and something beats back. They leave out donuts and something takes them. Then they say, Well, this is a great area and we are sure they are here, but we have to hit the road to check out a report in Central Park. Why can’t they spend a whole season in one specific area gathering evidence?
Oh yeah, because they aren’t there.
“Bigfeet” - thanks for the laugh!, just caught that.
Almost cost me a keyboard...
Would it be wrong to shoot Bigfoot?
Imagine the cash you could get for that pelt?
LOL ;)
Since I don’t believe in missing links, I would say no. But imagine the tortured screeching from all the Bigfootphiles!
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