Living with Bigfoot

The thing that strikes me when I think about the overall, big picture in Bigfoot research is, how will we think of Bigfoot in five, ten and twenty years in the future.  This wonderful cryptid creature is unlikely to go away, seeing as how reports go back to the time of the first humans who occupied these land masses, so it seems certain that there will be more reports, encounters and interactions in the future, providing humans do not completely drive Sasquatches into extinction.

This is not an idle threat.  Us naked apes seem to have a penchant for killing off other lifeforms, from the Dodo Bird, the Great Auk and the Moa to Tortoises, Lemurs and certain species of Hipopottamus, human habitation is basically bad for other most other species. Researching this online, I found the following (in paraphrase):
'In fact, it is supposed by scientists that in the Americas, large animal extinctions reached 80% by the time of human occupation. Based on other studies done by The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), human induced extinctions are not necessarily a new phenomena.  However, extinction by humans today is becoming much more rapid.

Overharvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, introduction of new predators and food competitors, overhunting, and other influences. Explosive, unsustainable human population growth is an essential cause of the extinction crisis. According to the IUCN, 784 extinctions have been recorded since the year 1500 (to the year 2004), the arbitrary date selected to define "modern" extinctions, with many more likely to have gone unnoticed (several species have also been listed as extinct since the 2004 date).
The rapid loss of species today is estimated by some experts to be between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate, while others estimate rates as high as 1,000-11,000 times higher.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the Western Black Rhino officially extinct this year. The Northern White Rhino, also from Africa, may be on its way out as well, and the last Javan Rhino in Vietnam may be gone for good.

Rhinos are not carnivores, but in addition to being valued for their horns, they are large and can be dangerous if they are frightened or challenged. Thus, it stands to reason that if humans primarily cause the current extinctions of megafauna, then they may have caused past extinctions as well. That could help explain the plethora of legends, found in all cultures, of heroes killing dragons, which, ostensibly were dinosaurs in many cases.
Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? One very likely factor—among others, such as climate changes after the Flood—is the same reason the black rhinoceros and so many other megafauna have died out: People moved in and eliminated them.'
It is sad to contemplate that humans might drive Bigfoot into extinction before we ever really know them. So I like to imagine that we could coexist with our hairy, wild cousins in the same way we coexist with other protected species.

Bighorn Sheep, Right Whales and Wolverines are among the fully protected wildlife species, but in terms of primates, Great apes, six of the Hominidae species of great apes, all are endangered. The only animal in the Homonidae family that isn't an endangered species is humans. More research reveals:
'Asia's two species of great ape are orangutans. The Sumatran orangutan, numbering around 6,600 individuals, is the most endangered ape in the world.

The Cross River Gorilla subspecies began a sharp decline 200 years ago when hunters acquired guns. Some bushmeat hunting still continues, endangering the group's survival. Rapid cutting of the remaining forest for agriculture also poses a major threat.

In Africa, lowland gorillas are critically endangered, particularly Cross River gorillas, one of two subspecies of lowland gorillas. As well, populations of Africa's other three ape species – chimpanzee, eastern or mountain gorilla, and bonobo or gracile chimpanzee – are all endangered and declining.

As "Flagship Species" and our closest living relatives, nonhuman primates are important to the health of their surrounding ecosystems. Through the dispersal of seeds and other interactions with their environments, primates help support a wide range of plant and animal life that make up the Earth's forests.
The 2004-2006 list focuses on the severity of the overall threat rather than mere numbers. Some on the list, such as the Sumatran orangutan, still number in the low thousands but are disappearing at a faster rate than other primates. '

The concept of providing Endangered Species protections for a species of wildlife that has not been conclusively proven to exist is too rife with slipperyness for me at this point. My hope for the future assumes that this will be achieved however, so I will conclude this post with the following report I found today on the BFRO site. The end of the story of Bigfoot/Human coexistence has yet to be written, but the end of the story below sounds good to me:
'I saw Bigfoot from the chest up just below my house, it was in a wooded ravine below my house. This was on June 4th, 2011. It arrived there with a great deal of crashing and breaking down of trees. I was looking to see what was coming when it stood up and looked at me. It had greyish brown long hair, particularly over the face, wide set eyes, ears on the sides of the head, and a huge chest and shoulders. It looked at me for maybe 1 minute, then went back down into the ravine. Later that day it was making lots of sounds, like low grunts, my friend heard this as well.

After that, it stayed in the Cuyahoga Valley area all summer, and I would often hear it calling, smashing rocks together, knocking on trees, and one day it sneezed a lot.

Another day in September my cousin was using my large tractor to mow under the trees behind my house, and as I walked to my car from behind my house, I heard a terrific crash to my right, and there it was again, it had knocked over a tree and then I saw it run back into the ravine.

I did not see any tracks, because since I knew it was down in the ravine most of the time I left it alone.'

Displaced Bigfoot

The following anonymous comment was posted  28 Dec 2011 10:25 AM PST on the website Bigfoot Evidence, at this link:
 Bigfoot versus Aliens versus Ghosts:

This is the first time I have shared this story to anyone but my close friends and wanted to do it here.

I grew up on a large ranch in a very rural area. My father was a very successful - we had money - his true passion was the outdoors and he wanted to pass this love onto me.

The area was beautiful but also incredibly wild. I learned to use a gun at a young age because I may need to use it if all other precautions fail. It was like teaching a child to call 911. Only in this case.

We moved in when I was two and by age four or five I considered Sasquatch a part of life and no different than racoons. They are around but meant and did not mean any harm.

I would see one most often when looking out my bedroom window from age 5 on. My mother loved my father and dealt with the area because of that she hated the area and grew up in the city she had one option to avoid boredom that being learning to garden. I remember watching as one would come to the garden and take her crops. She was funny because she did not care and the idea was to pass time not harvest the crops.

I enjoyed fishing and from 8 on would fish from 3 6 or 7 at night depending on the time of year. I also looked for Indian relics I still have. I had a small area where I found arrow heads. I say small because it bordered a ridge that I just never crossed and neither did my dad. He told me - look at all that's in front of us if we go there we will miss something here. From 10 years old on I could tell something was watching me fish. I think before that I just thought it was my mom. I knew it was not a bear because they wont watch they will either become aggressive, run away, or go about their business knowing you are there. We also had a caretaker my father hired just to keep tabs on bear and mountain lion. (lion were very rare back then I saw one in my life and that was his tail and hind legs taking off, they stayed in the high elevations and were never an issue) He lived in the guest house and his job was literally to just hike and drive a 4 x 4 looking for animal signs. I was not afraid as if they wanted to harm me they could have long ago. I never released what I caught and would throw fish toward the woods or leave the pile on a large rock near my favorite spot. They did get used to my gifts and I did start to feel like I had to bring something every time I fished - often it was some garlic or corn on the cob.

I went away to college and the time at school before my first trip home was the longest I spent away from the ranch. It was October and I missed fishing so that is what I wanted to do first. I grabbed a few ears of corn and canned peaches and left them on the rock. I caught three fish and left them all in the general area. I did the same thing the next day and on the third day something I will never forget happened. I was fishing lower down the river by a small inlet.

A Sasquatch appeared and just kept looking at me. There was also one up to my left and I became scared and wondered if I crossed some line I should not have. I did not know what to do but eventually it became clear they wanted something. I was scared out of my mind finally they moved and I felt I had to leave. As I did they started to move making me follow a certain path home. It was on this path where the amazing thing happened.

I was very scared as I thought they were all around me and my mind was thinking - they want me out of here they never did this before - could a Grizzly or wolf be stalking me and this is their way of saying go. As I came around one bend there was a very old Sasquatch that appeared to be waiting. I was very scared and it garbled friend who speak white man and tried to smile. It motioned me to an area where there were three arrow heads and a spear head. This put me at ease and he slowly approached only after he knew I calmed down. He patted me gently on the shoulder. I sat down at this point and he showed me a very large wound on his leg that healed. He said in a very drawn out way that my gifts of food helped when he was injured and he was unable to easily get food on his own and I never bothered them or tried to disrupt the peace of the area. He also told me that his people were of an ancient race - he could speak some of our language because he heard it so much over the years. He was the kind who would follow and listen to men as he was interested in their ways after stories of trading with man were told to him many years ago. He can make sound in this way but not many others because now all learn they must only make sound like the animals around them. He said that his people live with nature and believe in "not fighting or harming other life" and that because of their size ancient people in the past wanted to control them and use them to fight other people over the land. I could not understand another portion where he talked about them fearing man and they were controlled by man's ability to control fire. He said when I left he was worried something happened to me but now he knew I started "my travels" to learn about the rest of the world. He then said he and his people now must leave this area. A town was growing in an area where for years there had only been our ranch. They had to hide far too often now because of more people and this did not allow them enough time to secure food. He said they could taste in the water the area could no longer be shared.

I asked him his name and he said "Tumack". His eyes were what I remember as they were very kind and light gray - I don't speak this way but the only description I can use is of "an old soul". They were almost hypnotic and this was the only time I felt anything but peace as he explained to me this comes from my sensing he knows much of the natural world and while man desires this knowledge he can't comprehend it and this leads to a clouded mind. This did not disturb me - what did was the fact he said this was important. Not all like him are of a peaceful nature those with "red eyes" he said "those with eyes like blood" are not peaceful and man must be very wary. They will remain in the deep wild parts of areas while those like him populate an area but with them gone these others would soon enter the area and not want peace with others. He said his people were smarter than those he described and because of that they feared them and did not bother them. He said to now be wary of the woods as I while I might think nothing has changed, the others would not consider me a friend as this is not their way. I asked where they would go and he said to a place with much water as this allows them to know when anyone comes to the area with enough warning so as to hide.

This seemed like 10 minutes but when I looked up is was almost dusk. He sensed this as well and said the mind takes much longer to understand the old world and this is why time seems to disappear - the mind is so overwhelmed and preoccupied to notice other things on a subconscious level. I asked him if I could offer anything more and he pointed to the fishing line in my tackle case and the other pieces of string and twine that were a part of my pack. I offered the whole pack and he seemed very grateful. I also offered my Swiss army knife which was declined because he said it was too small for them to make use of. I then offered my belt knife and he was at first very leery of taking it believing it was too important and something I would need for protection when in these woods. I told him this was not true as I had many and he accepted it.

He thanked me and left saying we were brothers always bound by our love for nature and maintaining its peacefulness.

The following summer my recently retired father said he needed to speak with me. Our chicken coup was ransacked and my mom did not care what did it. She said she had enough of the ranch and could accept it while it was what is was supposed to be and what he wanted. A haven in the wilderness, an oasis for her to avoid it and my fathers way of having the wild at his finger tips. Now it was the biggest house in a rural boring area becoming dominated by new developments and cul de sacs. She was not going to deal with the construction of a new Walmart pushing displaced bears and cougar toward the house. She indulged me on Sasquatch but never embraced the idea openly in front of us.

She wanted him to sell and it was not what he wanted anymore. He wanted my blessing to sell my childhood home. I gave it as it allowed them to go the beach house and log cabin route making both happy.

The ranch where I grew up is still there. A condition of the sale was our caretaker get the guest house and a piece of land and the right to guide hunting trips through the area which has been set aside and will be preserved. We still talk and he says they are all pretty much gone. He said you get a glimpse of one and then could sit in the same spot for a year and not get another. They are not in the area for a reason and when they are it is for a reason and they get in and out quick. He and I did not dwell on it when i was young because he told me we know all we need to know about them - they mean no harm. He stressed teaching looking for signs of dangerous animals, if they may be injured and avoiding snakes.

There are still sightings in the area but only every few months.