The legend of Bigfoot has existed for generations. All around the world, tales of a hairy, humanoid creature lurking in the woods have sprouted, some even offering video evidence. However, scientists believe Bigfoot’s existence could have a very simple explanation. According to researchers, we can probably attribute these mysterious sightings to rare occasions of bears walking on their hind legs.
American black bears usually tend to walk on all four legs. However, they will stand on their hind legs to get a clearer view of the area, catch a whiff of something interesting, and even reach foods higher up than they are. Now, a data analyst believes they may be able to prove that most Bigfoot sightings are really just sightings of black bears walking on their hind legs.
Floe Foxon, a data analyst at Pinney Associates, has put together an intriguing piece of research looking at multiple sightings of the famous cryptid. However, according to the paper, which is still yet to be peer-reviewed, many of the sightings of Bigfoot could easily be explained away thanks to black bear populations in those areas.
Foxon isn’t the first to see a possible explanation for Bigfoot coming from animals, either. In 2005, another scientist compared projected black bear populations to Bigfoot sightings and found that perhaps another animal might be responsible for those misinterpreted sightings. Then, a paper in 2009 looked at the connection between Bigfoot and black bears once more. It showed a high degree of overlap between the two.
But, what’s really interesting is that Foxon’s rigorous data model shows that in many of the areas where black bears are very common and populous, sightings of the Bigfoot cryptid are more likely to happen. This could very well point towards the explanation for this mysterious creature coming down to misidentification.
But, there are still some Bigfoot sightings that can’t be explained away by simply waving your hand and saying it’s bears standing on two feet, as sightings have popped up in both Texas and Florida, where black bears are not known to breed or populate those areas. The explanation here, then, could be that we’re simply misidentifying multiple animals as mysterious and unknown species that don’t truly exist.
As such, Foxon believes that Bigfoot is really just humans misidentifying a bunch of different bears. Previously scientists have looked for explanations about other mysterious creatures, even testing Yeti DNA. Some even say it’s possible that the Loch Ness monster is real, based on fossils found by scientists.
