Vera: Mysterious Bigfoot

Vera, May 24, 2009

Mysterious Bigfoot

Curiosity is such an amazing thing that it always driven people to dig out new things. Once find some unusual things, they will focus on this subjects closely for very long time. This discovery process helped to improve the human’s society greatly, and has become one of the most important characteristics of the human progress. Also, this process is pretty attractive as with the exploration can always bring people exciting new discoveries and better understanding of things even without so many great breakthroughs. It is the process itself and the desire of know better about the world driven people to get close to the world they living and approaching.
From different kinds of historical records, human have been changed a lot since they existed especially physical structure in the long process of development. Although there are many different kinds of fossils of the ancestors of human, people are still very “confused” about their old appearances and life. Scientists and researches have made many experiments to try to find more information on the “cousins” of human—like apes, chimpanzee and some other “quadrumana”. “Human ancestors were believed to have hunted the giant ape species Gigantopithecus Blacki to extinction 500,000 years ago. Present day villagers in the rugged, rain-soaked mountains of Hubei Province report occasional encounters with large animals fitting the description of this species. Gigantopithecus, an ancient cousin of the orangutan, is known to science by the fossilized teeth and jawbones that have been found in this part of China, and in other parts of Asia. Americans and Canadians report observations of similar animals, which are referred to as "Bigfoots" in the U.S., and "sasquatches" in Canada.”(Hubei)
Experiments with the relationship between human and other primates have offered many valuable information and breakthrough in science. According to some historical records and some witness as well as some other materials in different forms, a kind of special creature stepped in to people’ horizon for a long time. This special creature is usually lived in some very secret places and looks very strange, and they are the mysterious Bigfoot. Stories about these mysterious are known by more and more people. Do they really exist? How and why they are can still live in the Earth? Are they special creatures or some crazy people? Why people believe or not their existence.
Like many of curious people, have heard and read some of the stories about these special creatures since I was a child. But I still cannot state whether they existed or not affirmatively, for the information I get is not so strong and reliable which are mostly only witness without academic proofs, even the professional science workers cannot find very remarkable evidence. Some times I think they are truly existed, but sometimes I cannot, because of the unreliable evidence. Even though, the discovery process of collecting Bigfoot information itself is an interesting thing.
The historical records may have some not very true, and many of them cannot be check any longer, but they still offered many hints and examples about Bigfoot. Since the later times of last century, more and more witness have appeared, but there are till not some very reliable specific material, but this kind of small discoveries has attracted people’s attention quite a lot.
China used to be “forbidden” to talk about this topic for some unknown reasons, as I concerned, but the research work of Yeren is never stopped. “Guided tours on the periphery of Shennongjia Nature Reserve, believed home to the "Bigfoot," will be provided in the fall, said Wang Zhenyou, mayor of Yichang City where the Three Gorges Project is under construction.”They will be able to visit the roads where local residents have reportedly seen 'Bigfoot,' but tourists will not be allowed to go further into the Nature Reserve,” Wang said. Researchers and reporters have discovered 40-cm-long footprints, brown hair and chewed corn cobs in Shennongjia last October. The possibility that it was a bear has been ruled out by Yuan Zhenxin, a well-known pale anthropologist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)”(Zan)
Different kinds of reports and predictions had appeared in different kinds of media. These mysterious creatures have left so many “miracles” and images to people, especially to the researchers. In the hometown of Chinese Bigfoot (Yeren)—Shennongjia, a nice place in the central Hubei Province, many groups of researchers had stepped in to this holy land of Yeren. Many scientists find some samples, such as the hair. They found that “the hairs are from an animal similar to humans, but as yet not discovered, it would be a major scientific breakthrough” (Zan) “Sighting incidents have been reported in 1976, 1993 and 2003 respectively, all in the Shennongjia area. Although scientists failed to physically see any Yeren, they did collect lots of hair and excrement suspected of belonging to a certain kind of Yeren, and spoke to many witnesses. The findings of authoritative institutions prove that the hair found is not from humans or apes,’ said anthropologist Wang Shan.”(Zan) The reports of Bigfoot have existed in the past years. As one Article titled Bigfoot a myth, China declares published in Independent (a famous English publisher) in 1998,” Searches go back to 1959, mostly concentrating on Shennongjia but also in Tebit, a possible home for Yeti, an ape-man said to inhabit the high Himalayas. According to Xinhua there have been 114”sightings” of Bigfoot in the 70 years in the region. Unfortunately, no one managed to produce any compelling evidence, such as a photo.”(Poole)
With different kinds of explorations and observations, scientists are in different positions.” Zhou Guoxing, a researcher at Beijing Museum of Natural History, who has over 40 years of experience in anthropological study, said that he had researched almost all the sites where so-called yeren had been reportedly sighted, and the results concluded that most of those examinable were bears or monkeys.” (Zan) At the same time another very interesting and special idea from, Yuan Zhenxin, a very famous researcher, compared Yeren and panda. He pointed out that” ‘"If expeditioners had not been to forests in Sichuan and Shanxi provinces, we would not have found the offspring of ancient pandas. It took humankind a decade to discover pandas," Yuan said. It is because of an increase in environmental awareness that more space is now available for these creatures to multiply and survive, said Yuan. He is confident that the mystery of yeren will be unveiled sooner or later.” (Zan) Also, some scientists had changed their ideas with the deeper exploration. Guo Jianwei thinks that “the Shennongjia forest area covers over 3,000 square km, with a complex natural environment and ideal climatic conditions for animals.” It is very possible for unknown species to live in the dense forest or remote caves there"(Zan)
Not only China had found such kind of strange creatures, but also many other parts of the world had found the similar ones. This kind of reports also appeared in many other overseas media, ““Bigfoot” was “born,” at least as a cultural phenomenon, in Humboldt County. On October 5th, 1958, the Humboldt Times ran with a story of giant footprints having been found and cast by a forest road-building crew along the northern border of Humboldt County, up on Bluff Creek” (Bigfoot) “Our stories about Bigfoot, an alleged hominid believers say roams the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the effects of the full moon on the behavior of animals and criminals alike, held commanding leads until late in the game. The search for extraterrestrial life using radio transmissions from space also made the list.” (Sharks) This kind of “Bigfoot culture” is pretty interesting, from one of the Bigfoot’s scholar’s blog I find some very interesting ideas that he analyses the guessing reasons of Bigfoot, which includes the Native Americans and Cold War. With the continuing heat of Bigfoot, many of the historical reports attracted people again. “ in 1929 anthropologist J.W.Burns, working with Northwest an Canadian Native tribes, was the first to put forth the anglicized term,' sasquatch', derived from the myriad names nearly every tribe from Alaska to California had for the creature.[...] date back to 1840s, many remarkably consistent with reports of today. The legends of back to the dawn of human presence on the North American continent, and were being recorded by European Americans as early a 986A.D. story of Leif Erickson coming to New World and being met and attach aced by a band of stone-throwing hairy giant man-like beasts” (Streufert) this kind of reports also existed in many other media which had fulfilled people’s curiosity but not enough for them still, and most people are still looking for more “true” stories but not only stories and witness.
Although there are many reports about them, and scientists have offered some examples like some big footprints to prove the possibility of Bigfoot’s existence., but the current high-tech checking ways are very limited to ensure the whether these samples are form some strange animals or the Bigfoot. Some people think that they are the combinations of human and some other creatures, like the “wolf girl" in Russia, the “snowman" in the mountainous areas in Southeast Asia and so on. But how and why do human and other creatures be together and make the next generation? If it is not, are they the “relatives” of some huge animals? How to prove this point as people cannot get their information for such a long time with many advanced ways? How to explain such kind of questions?
I think it is still not the right time to state the existence for there is sill lack of the evidence to support this kind of discovery. To made people believe in the theory of Bigfoot’s existence, I do think that there still need more scientific examples. As far, the examples are not strong enough to convince me. I really appreciate the courage and efforts people have put into the untiring discovery, many of the scientists stepped into the Bigfoot’s living areas and undertake many misunderstanding of their crazy actions, but they sill kept on finding the truth. With this kind of efforts, we will get to the truth closer and have better understanding of these special creatures. I wish to get more information about them, and I always imagine that maybe human and some Bigfoots can become friends as they have similar characteristics but living in different environments.

Works Cited

“Hubei Province, China”17Apr2009http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ASIA/CHINA/as_ch001.htm
Steven Streufert “Bigfoot in Humboldt County—Fifty years or 50, 000?” Bigfoot’sBlog29 Dec 2008 17Apr 2009 http://bigfootbooksblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/bigfoot-in-humboldt-county-fifty-years_29.html
Zan Jifang “Hubei Bigfoot-Fact or Fiction?” Beijing review Beijing review 17 Dec 2007 17 Apr 2009http://www.bjreview.com.cn/culture/txt/2007-12/17/content_90919.htm
Ryan Mitchell “Sharks, Bigfoot Lead Our Top News Stories of 2003” National Geographic31Dce 2003 17 Apr, 17 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1215_031215_toptenstories2003.html
Stefan Lovgren “Forensic Expert Says Bigfoot Is Real” National Geographic 10 Oct 2008 17Apr 2009http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1023_031023_bigfoot.html
Teresa Poole “ Bigfoot a myth, China declares” 16 Dec 1998, 25 Apr 2009 http: //
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bigfoot-%20a-%20myth-china-declares-1191729. html

Vera, Biography:

I am a student from Humboldt College，XISU. HSU is the university where I am going to finish my second degree in the next 2 or 3 years, and I am going to major in international studies, globalization concentration. My Chinese name is Mu Xueyun, which is originally from a beautiful poem (but is pretty hard to pronounce for many English speakers), and my English name is Vera. Chinese, history, philosophy, geography, literature are several of my favorite subjects. I really enjoy reading, for I can have access to the mysterious explorations. Music and photography are also very important things in my life. I really like to introduce Chinese culture to everyone. Every time I know more about my country I feel more proud of her. Also, I am sure you will enjoy Chinese culture.
I have gotten different kinds of information about mysterious creatures since I was young. My personal ideas about them are that they exist because of the process of biology, evolution and the strange phenomena of the environment. However, there are still not so many strong and scientific examples to convince us. Like many of the researchers in the US, China also has many fantastic scientists in this field. The hometown of Chinese Bigfoot ( Yeren), Shengnongjia, is not only a great place for travel, but also a very good place to get some exciting information about Yeren, for much of the information on Yeren is from this mysterious land.
I will be happy to answer your questions, and this is my email address: tianyulove718@yahoo.cn.