Researching Bigfoot is certainly not an easy task. After all, there is no body to study or any creature in captivity to observe. This means it is incredibly difficult to devise a research strategy that is specific to the creature. Much is left to speculation and conjecture. However, there is also a great deal of work performed by others that has been performed for well over 40 years. From the steps people have taken previously, it becomes possible to devise new concepts that might very well deliver positive results. In order to understand this overall process, it is important to look at a number of the main points associated with well-established methods of conducting research.
The first key to conducting Bigfoot research is to examine the animals we do know about that are similar to the descriptions of these elusive creatures. Clearly, the animal that is closest to a Bigfoot would be an ape. From this, the Bigfoot researchers can reasonably assume notions such as this is a vegetarian animal that probably gathers its food. Another creature that one can examine in order to gain a reasonable understanding of Bigfoot is the long extinct Gigantopithicus. This being was, essentially, a caveman that fits the description of the modern Bigfoot. Through anthropological studies, one can make assumptions about Bigfoot based on the way these extinct being behaved. This can help with making predictions regarding the behavior of the creature.
Speaking of the creature’s behavior, the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Film is considered possibly the only authentic footage of a Bigfoot creature captured on film. Researchers will often study the behavior of the creature in the film as a means of gaining insight into the creature. However, the authenticity of the film is doubted by some and, as a result, dismissed as a research subject.
Eyewitness accounts are also brought into the research realm since their accounts can often offer unique insights into the creature. For example, many eyewitness accounts occur at nighttime. From this, many researchers have inferred that the creature is nocturnal. Hence, the numbers of people that spot it are rather limited since they would not be in dense forests at night.
In addition, a number of sittings in a particular area will often drop off into zero over time. This can lead one to assume that the creature is migratory in nature. That means that one would need to anticipate where a Bigfoot will be next as opposed to searching areas where is was discovered. While Bluff Creek remains the location of the most famous Bigfoot film ever recorded, there have been virtually no other sightings of the creature in this area since the original recording of the 1967 film.
Once again, researching Bigfoot is certainly not easy but it can be done effectively provided the researcher is thorough and deliberate. Thankfully, many researchers have followed this model and they have yielded some results thanks to their efforts. Will their efforts yield the long elusive proof as to Bigfoot’s existence? Only time will tell.