As I continue to break down our “suspects” from the original post in more detail, we will look at the most popular theory on the identity of Bigfoots. Suspect #2 is Undiscovered Primates.
The other articles in the series are here:
The Likely Suspects for Sasquatch
Sasquatch Suspect #3: Relict Humans
Sasquatch Suspect #4: Human Hoaxes
There are references to “Ape Men” in North America at least as far back as 1924 when the Ape Canyon Incident happened. The overwhelming majority of sightings describe Sasquatches as distinctly ape-like, and purported video evidence such as the Patterson-Gimlin Film and the Freeman Footage certainly have a primate look. So let’s see how Bigfoot reports compare to known primates – specifically great apes in the key categories.
Habitat
Most Sasquatch encounters occur in wooded areas. The Pacific Northwest is where the majority of sightings are, but there are a lot of encounters in other areas as well. The PNW is mostly temperate rainforest, but also consists of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Mountain ranges are also hotspots, including the Ozarks and the Appalachians. Ohio has a great number of reports in their forests, and Florida, Texas, and Louisiana reports tend to be in forested swamp areas.
All but one species of great apes are found in Africa. Aside from a few chimpanzee groups in savannahs they all live in forested regions. Chimpanzees have the greatest habitat diversity, living in multiple types of forest. Gorillas mostly live in lowland forest with the exception of the Eastern Mountain Gorilla. Bonobos live in humid forests, and Orangutans live in the tropical forests of Indonesia. No known great apes live in cold-weather climates, or even temperate climates.
However, there are cold weather primate species. The most famous is the Japanese Macaque also called “Snow Monkeys.” They have managed to thrive in areas that are snow-covered for extended periods of time.
PARTIAL MATCH
Diet
Sasquatch diet is a difficult thing to determine, as so few reports are of them eating. Still there are enough reports with feeding, foraging, or hunting behavior to say that they are probably omnivorous. They have been said to hunt deer, elk, and also abscond with small livestock. They have also been reported around patches of ripe berries, presumably there for food.
Great Apes are also omnivorous. Their diets vary depending on habitat and mobility. Chimps, Bonobos, and Orangutans eat a good bit of fruit, as they spend a lot of time in trees. Gorillas, on the other hand, stay on the ground. They eat mostly ground vegetation and are the most herbivorous of the apes.
As for large game, chimps are known to form hunting parties and take down larger game for food. They usually stick to small monkeys and other smaller meat sources, though. While the largest of the known apes is mostly a vegetarian this may be due availability. Most reported Sasquatch habitats have little in the way of edible ground vegetation when it comes to sustaining a 500 plus pound animal.
CLOSE MATCH
Behavior
Another tricky topic, as the most observed behavior of Bigfoots is leaving the area. But they are reported to howl, grunt, scream, tree-knock, and “speak” in some cases. Most sightings are of a solitary creature, but some researchers think they stay in family groups. Given the reported vocalizations they would seem to be social animals, so this isn’t a stretch. The most reported behavior is also the most distinctive: they walk bipedally.
All of the great apes vocalize and for a lot of different purposes. Their vocalizations can be described in the same words – howls, grunts, and screams. Chimps are also known to do tree knocks. In fact a recent study shows that Chimpanzee drumming patterns on tree roots may be unique to the individual and used for keeping tabs on the location of group members. All of the apes do live in groups, although young males may venture on their own to establish their own group.
Apes do not “speak” in the gibberish manner attributed to some Sasquatch recordings. To my knowledge though, there hasn’t been any direct observation of a Bigfoot making these noises. The noises are heard and then attributed to Sasquatch. You can correct me if I am mistaken in the comments.
Apes can and sometimes do walk bipedally. But none for very long. Their bodies are designed to get around on all fours, and except for Gorillas to climb into trees. They do not move with much speed when on their legs only, however their upper limbs are more similar to human arms than to another set of legs.
CLOSE MATCH
Appearance
Sasquatch reports vary on appearance but not by a lot. They are typically described as a large, bipedal hair covered animal. Their heads are often described as being conical in shape and their noses described as flatter than a human.
The hair is usually reported in a color range of reddish-brown to black and is said to be longer in some parts of the body.
The thing that always seems to stand out in Sasquatch sightings is height. They are almost always described as seven feet tall or greater.
The apes we are comparing share a lot of the same features. They are most definitely hair covered, and the color range varies in the same range, but more according to species. Their heads have a conical look to them, especially in gorillas. Their noses are also flat-looking.
None of the apes match the heights described, but size varies among ape species so it is not out of the question to think an unknown ape species could grow to seven plus feet.
MATCH
Conclusion
There is a close match in all of our categories. It’s not a surprise that this is the leading theory among Bigfoot researchers. There is also fossil evidence in the form of Gigantopithecus for an extremely large possibly bipedal primate.
Gorillas weren’t scientifically described until 1847. Some animals with small populations can escape all but sparse notice, even large primates. An undiscovered primate species is a definite possibility for the identity of the legend of Sasquatch.
