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Jane Goodall 'fascinated' by Bigfoot


Saru

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The world's foremost expert on chimpanzees has expressed an interest in the Bigfoot phenomenon.

The scientist and activist has spent her fair share of time with apes: in the early 1960s, her research in Africa showed that chimpanzees could use tools, were not vegetarian, and had distinct personalities.

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I don't think I would translate her fascination into being the one to champion the "cause" of Bigfoot. After all, how can you champion a cause whose existence has no proof? She even says herself that there's never been a hide or hair proven to belong to a bigfoot.

This is just old news that the NYDN has dug up to make fresh again. The link in the article about the same revelation during an NPR interview is six years old.

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This is not worth the story. So someone asked her a question and she resonded. I would say her response did more to disparage the bigfoot believers than it did to add credibility.

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To be fair there are alot of unidentified hair samples. That is samples that turned out to belong to no known animal. Additionally Jeff Meldrums, Senior Proffesor of Anatomy at Idaho State University, who wrote his doctoral thesis on foot anatomy states that some of the plaster casts he has examined and also cast during his own investigations, could not have been faked and were definetly made by a living animal. Seems like the only thing missing is a corpse, may we never find one if they do exist.

Another thing to keep in mind when discussing cryptids is that the silver back gorilla was at one time a crypted. It's existence was finaly verified after 50 years of well funded research (by the British crown). Guess how it was finaly confirmed to exist? They brought back a corpse.

The fact that most people insist that without shooting or capturing one we can't confirm thier existence makes me think that if they do exist it is not predicated by our being able to confirm it so I hope they remain a 'myth'.

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Goodall echos the sentiments of most bigfoot skeptics. The idea of a new bipedal hominid is fascinating, but the lack of any real scientific evidence is disturbing. The use of the term disturbing was a kindness on her part.

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To be fair there are alot of unidentified hair samples. That is samples that turned out to belong to no known animal. Additionally Jeff Meldrums, Senior Proffesor of Anatomy at Idaho State University, who wrote his doctoral thesis on foot anatomy states that some of the plaster casts he has examined and also cast during his own investigations, could not have been faked and were definetly made by a living animal. Seems like the only thing missing is a corpse, may we never find one if they do exist.

If he really said that, then he is not to be taken seriously.

A responsible person would have said that it doesn't appear likely that they were faked. I bet I could fake footprints that he believes are real.

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Yeah, all of us here share a fascination with Bigfoot else we wouldn't be here to begin withmthat isn't an endorsement of the creature bing real, just that we have a fascination with Bigfoot.

This is simply an article ment to stir the pot more than anything else and while it's not coming right out and claiming JG is a Bigfoot believer it's designed to give you that impression. Much like political ads try to make the other guy out as being the closet thing to Hitler you've ever seen but just stopping short of actually saying it.

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If he really said that, then he is not to be taken seriously.

A responsible person would have said that it doesn't appear likely that they were faked. I bet I could fake footprints that he believes are real.

And your qualifications trump Dr. Meldrums how?

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And your qualifications trump Dr. Meldrums how?

A blanket statement is not an intelligent remark when it comes to this topic. Most people with a background of being with animals and a background in engineering can create fake footprints that could fool people. He said "could not have been faked and were definetly made by a living animal". This is a false statement.

He has been trumped.

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Naaaw, he hasn't been "Trumped" at all. You don't know the context of the conversation or the actually question he might have been responding to for his answer and words to be in their intended meaning to be clear. But feel free to freelance when ever the mood strikes you. All you know is the snippet that is attributed to him.

Dude, get over the ego thing......please. Pretty please with sugar on top?

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Did Dr. Meldrums say what differentiates "fake" Bigfoot prints from "real" Bigfoot prints? There are hoaxers who would like to do a better job and the doctor's advice would be very helpful to them.

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Naaaw, he hasn't been "Trumped" at all. You don't know the context of the conversation or the actually question he might have been responding to for his answer and words to be in their intended meaning to be clear. But feel free to freelance when ever the mood strikes you. All you know is the snippet that is attributed to him.

Dude, get over the ego thing......please. Pretty please with sugar on top?

Wait a moment there. No ego here. I said "If he really said that,". It is true that if he stated that the bigfoot tracks were "definetly made by a living animal" then he is stating false claims. That means he is saying that bigfoot exists with 100% certaincy.

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Did Dr. Meldrums say what differentiates "fake" Bigfoot prints from "real" Bigfoot prints? There are hoaxers who would like to do a better job and the doctor's advice would be very helpful to them.

LOL! If you download Linda Moultin Howes very first PODCAST (earthfiles.com) she does an extensive interview with Dr. Meldrums. He is very eloquent and reasonable. Keep in mind you are talking about a University professor who would be drummed out on his ear if he was making conspiracy claims or public statements about bigfoot that were too far out. The man did a good scientific investigation and relays his findings, that's all. I believe his exact doctoral thesis on anatomy was based on the bone structure of the feet of chimpanzees. He is probably the most renkowned and respected man in his field. Myles, if you don't know what you're talking about, and in the case of Dr.Meldrums it's fair to say you've probably never heard of him, perhaps you should look into past a 10 word statement I made about it before passing judgement.
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Wait a moment there. No ego here. I said "If he really said that,". It is true that if he stated that the bigfoot tracks were "definetly made by a living animal" then he is stating false claims. That means he is saying that bigfoot exists with 100% certaincy.

Since he is the expert, and not you, then you may be incorrect. Listen to the podcast and then decide he's full of it.
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Since he is the expert, and not you, then you may be incorrect. Listen to the podcast and then decide he's full of it.

defin

I disagree with many experts in many fields.

I don't believe bigfoot exists. Dr.Meldrum said they definitely do exist. I have a right to say I think he's wrong on the subject. Also there are many qualified experts that do not believe bigfoot exists. I'm not alone. Bigfoot believers find one qualified expert and rally around him.

It's Ok that he believes in bigfoot. I don't like his statement.

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Goodall would no doubt like to find a new primate species as primates have been her life's work, however wishing does not prove existence.

Again, I usually go back to the fact that we likely have corpses of all known animals in N. America as roadkill, including large and/or secretive ones: moose, deer, elk, black bear (and probably brown bear in Alaska), otters, skunk, bobcat, cougar, alligators, snakes and turtles of all kinds, even hawks and eagles. We know they exist AND we have bodies along the highway. If it walks, crawls or flies and doesn't understand what a highway or an automobile is, then eventually it WILL get run over. However, I suppose that if an animal is so afraid of man, lives in extremely remote areas or at high-altitude and/or is extremely rare it MIGHT escape such a fate. For example, you probably don't find any (or many) polar bears that have been run over, given their habitat. It would be ironic indeed if bigfoot's existence is proven by a "Harry and the Henderons" encounter with a car.

We may have had a near miss with the police dashboard cam "bigfoot" sighting in Georgia, unless that has proven to be a fake, I have not followed up on it.

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I Beleaved that they existed when i was a teenager and was conviced it was only a matter of time before a group was discovered somewhere. Now that im older and have read alot about them and the sighting and fakes i really do not think they do and that kinda makes me sad. :(

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defin

I disagree with many experts in many fields.

I don't believe bigfoot exists. Dr.Meldrum said they definitely do exist. I have a right to say I think he's wrong on the subject. Also there are many qualified experts that do not believe bigfoot exists. I'm not alone. Bigfoot believers find one qualified expert and rally around him.

It's Ok that he believes in bigfoot. I don't like his statement.

He did not ever state they definetly exist. I don't know why you would be so resistant to enjoying an interesting interview. I myself think it's beyond all applyable logic to believe ET's are visiting us. That doesn't keep me from watching Ancient Aliens, a pretty entertaining show.

The only reason I myself am open to the possibility of Sasquatch being an actual animal is because in 1978 I discovered prints while hiking with a friend. You could tell these were not made by static fake feet because as it would go up steeper sections you could see variations in the toes as they would bend, actually behind the toes in a joint that doesn't really corescpond with human feet, and dig in for extra traction. There were well over 100 tracks in soft mud all clear and easy to see. Didn't have plaster of paris as we were just out for a short hike in some foothills, not hunting bigffoots. You can believe they were made by a prankster but where we were walking there would be no reason to lay down fakes as we were well off of any regularly used trail, if you can call any trail around there regularly used back then.

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So she hangs out with monkeys while reading about "bigfoot"... at least she acknowledges there is no evidence. Not sure why she bothers acknowledging the possibility of "bigfoot".

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I myself think it's beyond all applyable logic to believe ET's are visiting us.

More likely than a group of bigfoots hiding out in the woods. Unless they can live for 1,000 years, they have to mate to reproduce which means there would be multiple and we can't even find one. I'll take my chances on alien life that has technology to travel here blending in over giant bigfoods being smart enough to hide and never be seen. And no, I don't think there are aliens here. Wouldn't be surprised if there was life on another planet somewhere though.

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Its always interesting when somebody who's opinion holds a bit of weight comes out with a Bigfoot related statement. I think this time round though the statement does more to highlight the problems the Chimpanzee is facing rather than bringing any substance to the Bigfoot debate, but maybe that is just what she intended...

or maybe it was just a passing comment after being questioned on the subject at a charity event.

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A blanket statement is not an intelligent remark when it comes to this topic. Most people with a background of being with animals and a background in engineering can create fake footprints that could fool people. He said "could not have been faked and were definetly made by a living animal". This is a false statement.

He has been trumped.

Nope, there's what I called your ego on, don't run to another post and claim it's continuation. It makes you look silly and a little schizo.

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On similar lines to the original post: in 2009, on Live with Jonathan Ross (BBC television), the naturalist Sir Richard Attenborough was asked about the yeti.He replied that `very, very convincing footprints have been found....Nobody goes up 19,000 feet just to make a joke`.

The clip is easy to find on Youtube to those sufficiently interested.

In case North Americans members are not acquainted with Richard Attenborough (as he never seems to get a mention on these threads) then it might help if you think of him as the Carl Sagan of environmental science. He is iconic throughout Europe and much of the English speaking world.

I do accept that nothing is demonstrated by the fact that `mainstream` scientists sometimes say these sorts of things. Dr Allen Hyneck was an astronomer and championed U.FO's; Eric Braithwaite was a respected physicist who appeared on debates supporting the existence of ghosts .Eysenck the psychologist, believed in telepathy.Etcetera. Naturally, the believers will rally round them. Scientists are not to be treated like priests, and can be right or wrong, just like the rest of us.

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I so admire Jane Goodall, she is an amazing scientist and an even more amazing person.

But, she, like most of us, are still waiting for more evidence. I think I'd like for the creatures to remain a myth for their own safety. :)

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I don't think I would translate her fascination into being the one to champion the "cause" of Bigfoot. After all, how can you champion a cause whose existence has no proof? She even says herself that there's never been a hide or hair proven to belong to a bigfoot.

This is just old news that the NYDN has dug up to make fresh again. The link in the article about the same revelation during an NPR interview is six years old.

I don't think this article was supposed to "champion the cause" of the Bigfoot phenomenon, it's more an article about the woman herself. The title " Chimp expert Jane Goodall says she is ‘fascinated’ by Bigfoot" says it all. The author does on to write more about her life and accomplishments. There's not a lot about Bigfoot in the article. And the author does mention the PBS interview was "several years ago". :)

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