Preston: A Mystery Covered by the Forests

Preston, May 21, 2009

A Mystery Covered by the Forests

One night, a special guest paid a visit to Steve when most of the people were sleeping soundly. As a result, the majority of people didn’t know what happened. Luckily, Steve felt it. “It was not a deer or bear and it left with depressions and big footprints.” (Streufert) What would you think it was? Personally, I would like to believe that guest must be Bigfoot because every now and then I can see news on Bigfoot appears in the media like the newspaper, TVs, websites and so on.
Bigfoot is mysterious to the people and “there has been great national interest in search for bigfoot since late 1960s and early 70s when films and newspapers began to show the Bigfoot.” (Bynum 354) People are born curious about those things and they have the desire to know how it really is. Whether Bigfoot exists or not is always a contentious problem that people are trying to solve, especially those researchers who are enthusiastic with it. Since then the research has never stopped no matter in the USA or in China.
Most of the people believe the existence of Bigfoot because of the big footprints near the forests and the vague photos taken by those witnesses. Scientists are always looking for evidence of the Bigfoot. “Some Chinese scientists began a yearlong hunt for bigfoot in 1995 with the purpose of investigating reports of a 7-foot Bigfoot.” (Oregonian) As a part of the world, this action of the Chinese scientists reflects the attitudes of people all over the world toward the Bigfoot. From this, we don’t fail to find that people would like to believe in the Bigfoot. Scientists in other countries like India, America, Russia where exists the possibility of Bigfoot spend quite a lot time and money on the research for Bigfoot as well. Some even just live in the forests and look for the evidence of Bigfoot day and night. The Snow mountains and the forests have been the home of some scientist. Chinese scientists who have interests in Bigfoot just live in Shennongjia with the hope to find Bigfoot.
Owing to the efforts of those scientists, we, more or less, get some information about the Bigfoot and people begin to know more about it. However, as Streufert says “it (the Bigfoot) is incredibly sly.” (Streufert) It leaves little evidence for scientists to follow and those big footprints often make scientists happy. Following the footprints, the scientists get nothing but confusion because the Bigfoot didn’t leave other evidence. Despite of the difficulty, the scientists made progress. Everything cannot be done in one time. We need to follow the steps. “Wang—the leader of the group of Chinese scientists in Shennongjia—said progress toward unraveling the myth of the wild man would of great scientific significance and it needn’t jump to swift conclusions.”(San Jose Mercury News) Their team does this job gradually and concludes that “the Bigfoot is human-like with about 440 pounds and 37 centimeters footprints—the biggest ones in Shennongjia in 1997” (San Jose Mercury News) The step by step efforts make the myth of Bigfoot covered by forests clear to the whole world.
Although we have known more about the information of the Bigfoot, people especially those scientists would never be satisfied these results. The determination to have a clear look of the Bigfoot drives them to continue the research. Luckily, in 1999, the Chinese scientists made breakthrough. “The scientists found 40-cm footprints, brown hair and chewed corn cobs at the spot where the hunter said he saw the beast, and concluded they were not left by a bear.” (China tracks red-haired corn-eating Big Foot) Although they did not see the creature, the evidence, which is believed to be left by Bigfoot, would make the existence of Bigfoot more believable.
Not only the scientists but also other common people find great evidence for us to believe the fact that there exists Bigfoot. Some people see the Bigfoot out of the forests or mountains by accidents. Even though they don’t see the Bigfoot clearly, that’s the best evidence to support the existence of Bigfoot. People especially those travel around the virgin forests would run into the situation where the Bigfoot has appeared every now and then. Just as Shang Zhenmin’s case, “he together with other five people saw a grey colored ape-like animal with shoulder-length black hair moving along a road through the reserve at high speed.” (Bigfoot spotted in China) One person said that we might doubt while we cannot deny that the six people were all wrong. The Bigfoot’s existence is a fact. This discovery in a sense encourages the scientists to work on the research. It is just saying there is a great chance to find the Bigfoot as long as we don’t give up looking for it.
More and more tourists have reflected that they see the Bigfoot in Shennongjia. Scientists would follow the directions and try to figure out the facts. Through the process, “although scientists failed to physically see any Bigfoot, they did collect lots of hair and excrement suspected of belonging to a certain kind of Bigfoot, and spoke to many witnesses.” (Zan) There is no doubt that the witnesses’ presentation and the results found by scientists support the existence of bigfoot, which make more and more people to believe that the bigfoot does live somewhere in the world.
Not only the Chinese but also people from other countries say to see the Bigfoot. This proves that the Bigfoot is not unique in China. The Bigfoot just as we human beings lives around the world. Tom Biscardi was the one to see the Bigfoot in snow. According to his description, “things came that when he heard a rustling in brush and he was surprised to see a blurry blackness rising from a squatting position. The creature was walking upright like a man, which was also denied as a bear.”(Breitler) To this situation, the scientists explained that “it is legitimate enough for the existence of bigfoot.” (Breitler) Biscardi’s meet with the Bigfoot seems a little stranger. Maybe it is because of Biscardi’s getting close to the Bigfoot and it wants to keep away with people. As a result, the Bigfoot wants to do something to drive away the stranger. This, in the eyes of the biologists, is acceptable. They see this as the nature of creatures, which makes sense to people. Since the little knowledge of Bigfoot we have and the mysterious places Bigfoot lives, the appearance or the things left by Bigfoot can be strange but accepted by people.
As is known, the world is larger than we think and absolutely there exists something animals or plants we don’t know like the Bigfoot. We cannot know everything in the world but we can try to know more. Taking the Bigfoot as an example, we don’t have the enough information about it but we are spending time and money on exploring it. That’s why we are here. We are here with the responsibility to solve the myth and turn the unknown to known.
Bigfoot—the myth of the nature, which is believed by most of the people, will be solved by the passional scientists who work on it. What we need to do is believing in ourselves and the existence of Bigfoot and keeping trying. Just as Greenwell says “If you start off by saying it’s impossible, then what you’re doing is you’re taking the short-cut.” (Locke) The optimistic attitude towards the Bigfoot is necessary to solve the myth.
With people’s optimistic attitude and never-stopping efforts, great breakthroughs are making all the time. The big footprints, and the presentation of the witnesses are all the evidence to make sure the existence of Bigfoot. According to what we have collected, we can make prediction of Bigfoot about its weight, height and other characteristics.

Work Cited

Streufert, Steven. Bigfoot in Humboldt County—Fifty Years or 50,000? Bigfoot’s Blog 29, Dec. 2008. You Tube. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/bigfoot-in-humboldt-county-fifty-years_29.html>
Bynum, Juyce. Bigfoot--a contemporary belief legend. Folklore: Maps & Territories 49.3 1992：352-357 17, Apr. 2009 <http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.humboldt.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=3&sid=23299c57-392e-42cb-a608-7f112a5b994b%40SRCSM1>
Chinese Scientists will begin a yearlong hunting for Bigfoot Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 25, May. 1995. Oregonian. 17, Apr. 2009
Chinese Team hunting a Red-Headed “Bigfoot” Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 25, June. 1997. San Jose Mercury News. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ASIA/CHINA/as_ch001.htm%20>
China tracks red-haired corn-eating Big Foot Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from China 6, Dec. 1999. 17, Apr. 2009 <http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ASIA/CHINA/as_ch001.htm%20>
Bigfoot spotted in China BBC News Asia-Pacific 30, June. 2003. BBC 17, Apr. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3033316.stm>
Zan Jifang Hubei Bigfoot-Fact or Fiction? Beijing Review 20, Dec. 2007. 17, Apr. 2009.
Breitler, Alex. "Bigfoot sighting leaves lasting imprint" 16, April 2005. bigfootencounters 17, Apr.2009
locke, Michelle. "Big hopes riding on Bigfoot exhibit Willow Creek, California " 15, June. 2000. bigfootencounters 17, Apr.2009

PRESTON BIOGRAPHY:

My name’s Zhu Wei. You can also call me Preston. I am a 20-year-old Chinese boy. I come from Shangyu, Zhejiang province. I am now studying in Xi’an International Studies University. I am the monitor of Humboldt College. We will go to Humboldt State University to study. I like to play volleyball in my free time. I also like travel and see different people, enjoying the beautiful scenery.