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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

America's Wilderness

Photo credit - E. Winick - ewinickphotos.instaproofs.com
       "If there was such a thing as bigfoot we would have found it by now." "How could such a large animal remain hidden in such an urban country?" These and other similar lines often make up the core of bigfoot skeptics' arguments. And, they have a point. It does seem highly unlikely that an animal predicted to stand seven to ten feet tall and weight upwards of five hundred pounds could exist. However, it seems to me that many people underestimate just much wilderness remains in America.

    Based on data collected by the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service, the current amount of land deemed "wilderness" within America stands at a whopping one hundred and nine million, four hundred and seventy-eight thousand, nine hundred and thirty-nine acres. Or, simplified: 109,478,939 acres. In total, this amount of land covers more area than the state of California. Now, I don't know about you, but to me that is a huge amount of wilderness. Given, the total land mass of America is around 2.3billion acres, one can conclude wilderness makes up twenty-one percent of all American land. Some estimates range as high as twenty-six percent, however. In all that unexplored, untamed land, I feel it is possible that a large animal could remain undetected. Especially if said animal did not want to be found and was intelligent enough to evade attempts at capture.

    Imagine, a wilderness the size of the state of California. Now place within that a small population of forest-savvy, intelligent bipedal hominins that do not wish to be found. Release into this wilderness an even smaller group of bigfoot researchers. How greatly are the odds stacked against them? Consider, as well, that these researchers are busy dealing with all the problems, appointments, and stresses of everyday life, such that their time spent exploring this area is severely hampered. Needless to say, my bet is on the bigfoots remaining hidden.

American Wilderness - Wilderness.net/NWPS/static
    Of course, there is the added factor of hunters. As they routinely travel into the backwoods of America, hunters comprise a large population of boots on the ground when it comes to searching for the big guy. The problem remains, however, that hunters are not searching for bigfoot. They are hunting game animals. The methods used in locating game animals are drastically different than those used by bigfoot researchers. Nonetheless, bigfoot sightings by hunters are relatively common and, in fact, a large portion of bigfoot sightings come from hunters (The BFRO sighting database is an excellent source for reading up on these sightings).

Another factor to consider is the shared U.S. - Canadian border. Where America's percent of wilderness is approximately twenty-one to twenty-six percent of it's total landmass, Canada boast much more vast tracts of wild land. Exact numbers are hard to find, but the general consensus seems to hover between forty-five to fifty-five percent. Along nearly all of the border American wilderness intersects Canadian wilderness. With very few geographical landmarks separating this land, animals could easily pass between the two. Thus, Canadian wilderness must also be considered when thinking about the amount of wilderness in North America.

    With such large amounts of land, it is quite naive to think all of it has been searched, or even thoroughly explored. In this vast area, I feel it is entirely feasible for a large, intelligent, biped to remain undetected. Do not be deterred, however, bigfoot researchers. Eventually, the discovery will be made. Just keep your eyes open and cameras ready.

    Thanks for reading!

 - A.Z.

4 comments:

  1. I agree about the massive tracks of land in Canada, Northwestern USA, and other various spots in the U.S.A. There are however areas that are not nearly as large where many sightings are reported. Such as Ohio, parts of central and southern Wi., Michigan. With as many reports in these states and other metro areas (towns & small cities)I find it harder to believe that there hasn't been a body produced. Either shot by a hunter, hit by a truck, or found dead by natural causes. I truly believe they exist, but it's getting harder to hold the belief.

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  2. I don't disagree with you. The lack of a body is one of the more perplexing complications with this mystery. I don't pretend to understand it and can only hope we find one soon! Thanks for the input!

    - A.Z.

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  3. Maybe they bury their dead as we do. And organic matter decays quickly, especially in a thickly wooded area.
    In Michigan there are large areas where the thick layer of branches and leaf debries make it impossible to walk more than a foot or so into the thick Forrest. If a stick breaks you can fall through up to your waist.
    The deer in Michigan use these tracts of wooded areas to migrate in the spring and fall, and larger preditor animals follow the small herds as they migrate through often crossing more populated areas. Possibly this is when Bigfoot is being sighted in more populated areas. As they follow their food as it migrates.

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