Does it Really Exist? Bigfoot, also commonly known as Sasquatch, has existed in folklore and myth in many countries around the world for hundreds of years: “… Abominable Snowmen or Yetis in the Himalayas, Yeren in China, Sasquatch or Bigfoot in North America, Forestmen in Indochina, and Yahoos, Yowies or Hairymen in Australia” (Loofs-Wissowa). Even though the descriptions of Bigfoot vary slightly between each country, the common factor in each involves the depiction of a very tall, large ape-like creature that is covered with thick dark hair all over its body and walks on two feet.

Bigfoot’s existence became well known and apart of popular debate starting in North America. Bigfoot was first brought about in the early part of the nineteenth century. “The first sighting of a Sasquatch by a white man apparently came in 1811 near what now is the town of Jasper, Alberta Canada. A trader named David Thompson found some strange footprints, fourteen inches long and eight inches wide, with four toes, in the snow” (Hunter). Most of the early proof of Bigfoot’s existence came from stories of people who had encounters with the creature. Bigfoot started to gain national attention when hard evidence started to come about. In 1958, enormous footprints were found in northern California and plaster casts were made. These footprints were believed to have been left by Bigfoot himself. The most infamous proof of Bigfoot came in 1967 when Roger Patterson claimed he caught Bigfoot on film. This film has never been conclusively proven real, but there has been no evidence that it was a fake either. The film shows what appears to be a female ape-like creature walking through the forest on two feet. Scientists throughout the years have studied this film. They have noted the structure, the stride, and the prominence of muscles on the creature’s body. This film was the beginning of the enduring mystery of Bigfoot’s existence in this world and what has now become a question of reality or of imagination.