Yeti – Page 2 – Museum of the Weird

Posted on February 15, 2013 by MOTW Admin

BREAKING NEWS: HAS SCIENCE PROVEN THE EXISTENCE OF BIGFOOT?

Today may go down in history as the day the legendary creature known as Bigfoot is finally scientifically proven to exist.

In the scientific journal DeNovo, Dr. Melba Ketchum has published her long-awaited peer-reviewed paper on Sasquatch DNA entitled “Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies.”

From the DeNovo website:

One hundred eleven samples of blood, tissue, hair, and other types of specimens were studied, characterized and hypothesized to be obtained from elusive hominins in North America commonly referred to as Sasquatch. DNA was extracted and purified from a subset of these samples that survived rigorous screening for wildlife species identification. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing, specific genetic loci sequencing, forensic short tandem repeat (STR) testing, whole genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) bead array analysis, and next generation whole genome sequencing were conducted on purported Sasquatch DNA samples gathered from various locations in North America. Additionally, histopathologic and electron microscopic examination were performed on a large tissue sample. vel non-human DNA.

In addition to the publication of Dr. Ketchum’S paper, DeNovo has released this brief but tantalizing video clip from the Erickson Project’s upcoming Bigfoot documentary that appears to show a sleeping Sasquatch named Matilda.

Not surprisingly, it appears some others are jumping on the “DNA Proves Sasquatch is Real” bandwagon. From Denver CBS 4 comes this report about a group of Colorado researchers who are making their own claims that they have proof of Sasquatch DNA. According to researcher Dave Paulides, “This DNA is like nothing else in the world.”

Paulides says his research group has collected hundreds of samples of DNA evidence. He focused his search in Northern California’s redwoods. He says strands of hair are from a Sasquatch, genetically tested to reveal a previously unknown species.

“This isn’t an animal. This is a subspecies of a human, and we believe they travel in groups,” Paulides said.

What does all of this mean? Are we any closer to the scientific community accepting the reality of the existence of Bigfoot?

Only time will tell…

SOURCES:

DeNovo Scientific Journal

Colorado Researchers Say DNA Proves Bigfoot Is Real

VIDEO FOOTAGE:

Clip licensed to the Sasquatch Genome Project. Any use must give proper attribution.

Posted on January 25, 2013 by MOTW Admin

SATURDAY, 1/26/13: CRYPTOMUNDO NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM!

This event is going on this weekend at the Museum of the Weird in downtown Austin. We’re going to have several famous cryptozoologists and authors as well as maybe a surprise appearance by Bigfoot himself! It’s going to be an awesome event!

UPDATE: all advance tickets are sold out, but we’ll still be selling regular admission to the Museum. Even though our advance tickets to the lectures and the movie screening are already sold out, we will still have the museum open for general admission, and you’ll still be able to meet the guests and get some signed books and swag, as well as attend dinner and drinks with the group afterwards at the Chupacabra Cantina and The Jackalope Bar next door. Hope to see you here!

Saturday, January 26th, 2013

3:00pm to 10:00pm

Museum of the Weird, in conjunction with the world’s foremost website on all things cryptid, Cryptomundo.com, will be hosting a very special event on January 26th at the Museum of the Weird in Austin, TX:

Cryptomundo Night at the Museum!

Featuring an all-star line up of world famous cryptozoologists, experts and authors, it’s sure to be a night of entertainment, intrigue and mystery as we explore the unknown creatures that lurk in the darker corners of the world we live in! Please come out and join us for the festivities!

Speaker presentations and author book signings include:

Lyle Blackburn, frontman for rock band Ghoultown, writer for Rue Morgue magazine and author of “The Beast of Boggy Creek”

Nick Redfern, author of “Wildman! The Monstrous and Mysterious Saga of the British Bigfoot”, “Monster Diary: On the Road in Search of Strange and Sinister Creatures”, “The World’s Weirdest Places,” “Memoirs of a Monster Hunter,” and “Monsters of Texas.”

Ken Gerhard, author of “Big Bird! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters” and “Monsters of Texas.”

Dave Coleman, author of “The Bigfoot Filmography”

The event starts at 3:00pm and goes until 6:00pm, then a break for dinner and to explore 6th Street and downtown Austin.

It resumes again at 8:00pm with a special screening in the Museum’s Weird Theater of the ’70s drive-in classic “Creature from Black Lake.”

Posted on December 27, 2012 by MOTW Admin

IS THIS ‘FIGURE OF INTEREST’ THE BIGFOOT OF OREGON?

McKenzie_river — What is this figure highlighted on the left? *Photo credit to bigfootlunchclub.com and YouTube user Matt Stansberry.*

Back in 2010 a very interesting video was posted by Youtube user Matt Stansberry. Now, what he thought he was uploading was just a some footage of him and some buddies rafting a river in Oregon but, upon further inspection realized he got a little, or should I say a BIG, something extra! I can’t seem to find any updates to this story so, if you have any info, leave it in the comments below.

You can watch the video here:

BIGFOOT Lunch Club writes:

On August 30th 2010, BFRO.net posted a video that was filmed nearly two years ago during a fishing trip on Oregon’s McKenzie river.

Preview of the post here:

“This YouTube video shot in 2008 briefly shows what may be a sasquatch in central Oregon, on the McKenzie River. At this stage it is just a “figure of interest”. A dark, long-armed figure stood up and walked away from the edge of the river as the two whitewater row boats passed by. The cameraman was shooting a YouTube installment for a fly fisherman’s blog site.

Oregon bigfoot investigator Cliff Barackman will find out the technical details from the cameraman, and ask him to submit a full report to the BFRO’s database. That has not happened yet, so we don’t know all the details at this point.”

In our minds it seems very little to go on, but when we saw Cliff Barackman was to investigate, it peaked our interest. The video below is cued 5 secs before the the appearance of the dark figure.

THE FALCON PROJECTS ASKS YOU TO FUND ITS SEARCH FOR BIGFOOT

Have you always wanted to find Bigfoot? Well, now you can get as close to searching for the big guy as possible without actually leaving your own home!

With as little a a $1 donation you can fund “The Falcon Project” that plans on sending a blimp to the most remote areas of the world to find Bigfoot and capture him on film. Check out their Kickstarter Project and watch the video below for more information.

Posted on December 5, 2012 by MOTW Admin

CSI BIGFOOT? CLIFF BARACKMAN BLOGS ABOUT FINDING BIGFOOT’S 3RD SEASON

Finding Bigfoot is now in it’s third season and is still searching for sasquatch but, Cliff Barackman follows his heart and does what none of the other Bigfoot believers seem to do, actually go look.

Here you can read a portion of his heartfelt review of their recent trip to Oklahoma City. Continue on to his website to read the rest of this blog and others that he has posted.

Cliff Barackman writes:

When I first heard that Finding Bigfoot would be heading to Oklahoma, I immediately assumed we would visit the southeast corner of the state where there are mountains and thick forests. I was a little surprised when I found I was incorrect, and that we would be going to Oklahoma City instead. Certainly there was more bigfoot activity around Honobia and the other small towns down in the southeast. However, the evidence that was bringing us to Oklahoma City was compelling enough to make me very excited about what we’d be doing.

We were to meet with a man named Roger Roberts who had been looking into bigfoot encounters on a nearby Indian reservation. This reservation had quite a bit of activity over the years, including rumors of a video taken on a surveillance camera from the parking lot. This video purportedly showed a bigfoot raiding the grease trap behind a casino. The video is reported to had been destroyed at the direction of the tribal elders, though a number of witnesses had seen the video before it disappeared. The elders were rightly concerned because after word leaked out that bigfoots were being seen on the reservation, several horses were shot dead. Apparently, people would drive onto the reservation at night spotlighting the woods, and when they saw eye shine at a good height above the ground, they would shoot to kill (This is just one of many, many reasons I strongly advocate NOT trying to kill a sasquatch.). Roger had some footprint evidence, as well as some hair samples that he collected from the same time period that he strongly suspected was of sasquatch origin.

The footprint evidence was interesting. While the photos and the cast were a bit blobby due to the substrate the creature walked in, there were some interesting details that were visible, including toe impressions and a nicely rounded heel. The impressions measured over 17 inches, but the cast indicated that the foot was somewhere between 15 and 16 inches in length (the impressions do not necessarily indicate the length of the foot, but rather the length of the damage done to the ground by the foot). The step length was up to 57 inches. Ranae tried to duplicate the step length, which she did successfully, but failed to replicate this step length in combination with the lack of straddle that is so commonly found in bigfoot footprint trackways.

Of most interest to us was the hair sample. The hair sample had been found by a tribal game officer on an animal trail leading from a location where a bigfoot had been recently seen. It was found on some broken branches more than eight feet above the ground, which would seem to rule out that it was buffalo (which are kept nearby), bear, deer, or human hair. Roger had in his possession enough hairs to spare some for us to have tested for DNA material. In hair, all of the viable DNA is found in the medulla, or hollow center shaft of the hair. This is a bit problematic because bigfoot hair tends to have fragmentary medullas, if any is present at all. However, a DNA lab in Oklahoma City called DNA Solutions offered to test the sample to see if any material could be extracted for testing. If nothing else, they could examine the hair and tell us what animals the could eliminate as a possible source for the hairs. Also of value is that they could get the results back to us in about a week.

HAS BIGFOOT BEEN PROVEN REAL?

Has recent DNA evidence proven the existence of the Bigfoot?

We recently posted a fantastic story about Dr. Ketchum in Texas, actually claiming to have gotten and examined DNA evidence of a human-primate hybrid, what we would call a Bigfoot, and has confirmed it as real as can be! More information is slowly coming out and as it does, we’ll keep you posted on anything new so, check back here often and let us know what you think!

The Huffington Post writes:

Bigfoot is real. At least that’s what veterinarian Melba S. Ketchum claims after a five-year study of more than 100 DNA samples that she believes comes from the elusive hairy beast.

Under Ketchum’s direction at DNA Diagnostics in Nacogdoches, Texas, a team of researchers has concluded that the creature may be a human relative that somehow developed around 15,000 years ago as a result of a hybrid cross between Homo sapiens with an unknown primate.

Ketchum’s research has yet to stand the scrutiny of independent researchers. While many people have claimed to have seen the creature, its existence has never been confirmed, despite a plethora of photos and footprints. The ongoing search is the subject of Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot” television series.

“Well, it came to me, I didn’t go after it, that’s for sure,” Ketchum said of the evidence of Bigfoot’s existence in an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post. “I did not believe in these creatures. But my lab did a lot of animal testing, and we did species identification. We didn’t have any hits on anything interesting until five years ago.”

Ketchum’s professional work includes nearly 30 years in genetics research and forensics. After her team attempted DNA sequencing of hair samples from an alleged Bigfoot encounter, they found some unusual things in the hair. But there wasn’t enough DNA to conclusively verify what they were seeing.

DNA Diagnostics received more samples to investigate — including hair, blood, saliva and urine, all reportedly from various Bigfoot sightings.

Ketchum’s team consists of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology. The researcher said she believes that over the past five years, the team has successfully found three Sasquatch nuclear genomes — an organism’s hereditary code — leading them to suggest that the animal is real and a human hybrid.

Ketchum’s study showed that part of the DNA her team sequenced revealed an unknown primate species, she said, which suggests that Bigfoot is a real creature that resulted from this primate “crossing with female Homo sapiens.”

“They’re not any of the large apes — they branch off as a separate lineage,” Ketchum said. “My personal theory is that it probably branched off and evolved in parallel with the rest of the primate lineage.”

The overall results of Ketchum’s study will soon be revealed, she said, after a peer-reviewed journal is published. But skeptic Benjamin Radford is dubious about the outcome of this latest attempt to give credibility to the existence of Bigfoot.

“If the data are good and the science is sound, any reputable science journal would jump at the chance to be the first to publish this groundbreaking information,” Radford, the deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine, wrote in LiveScience.com.

Radford suggests that if the mitochondrial DNA is identical to Homo sapiens (modern humans), it could mean one of two things.

“The first, endorsed by Ketchum, is that Bigfoot ancestors had sex with women about 15,000 years ago and created a half-human hybrid species currently hiding across North America.

“There is, however, another, simpler interpretation of such results: The samples were contaminated. Whatever the sample originally was — Bigfoot, bear, human or something else — it’s possible that the people who collected and handled the specimens accidentally introduced their DNA into the sample, which can easily occur with something as innocent as a spit, sneeze or cough,” Radford wrote.

Not so, counters Ketchum.

“Early on, we started getting human results on the mitochondrial DNA — that’s maternally inherited and it can show where you’re from,” Ketchum said. “Different labs had already tested alleged Sasquatch samples, and all of these labs were getting human results, so they just threw it out.

“We split the samples with another forensic lab — one worked on it manually while the other did it robotically, extracting the DNA — and we ran several tests to confirm there was no contamination. And we ended up getting human sequences on many samples.”

Read a whole lot more and watch video over at huffingtonpost.com/2012

Posted on December 1, 2012 by MOTW Admin

TRAIL CAM PHOTO OF “BIGFOOT” ANALYZED

A still from the original video showing the trail cam photos of the alleged Bigfoot.

Here’s a fantastic review and analysis by Scott McMan at one of our favorite sites, ghosttheory.com, of a man in Vermont who has come forward with some of his own trail cam photos that he says, have captured Bigfoot on film!

Watch the original video of the Vermont man claiming to have the proof below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnP05Qj9YhE&feature=player_embedded

Scott McMan at Ghost Theory writes:

Many of you may remember a couple weeks back when I turned the latest and greatest Bigfoot photo into a deer and demonstrated the desperate measures many will go to in order to prove the existence of said beast.

Since doing that I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if I could find another alleged Sasquatch photo and prove a similar theory? Well, the truth is I didn’t do that at all…at least until I happened upon the now famous Vermont Trail Cam photo, again….today. It was then that the previous article popped into my head.

As I pondered the possibilities, my eyes affixed on the subject and bam, there it was! I immediately froze the video and to my amazement, I won the Powerball! Well, not the actual Powerball. I mean, come on! If I had won the Powerball, I wouldn’t be here trying to entertain the likes of you lose….Uhh, wonderful readers!

Getting back on track, Yes, you guessed right, I did see what appeared to be a different animal entirely. As I began to look for parts that made it all come together, they seemed to fall into place like so many dominos. Of course, we are rarely going to get enough visibility to see every aspect of these pictures, but there was enough to clearly prove the photo was and is not that of the elusive Bigfoot…

Many of you may know, the untrained eye is going to follow along with what it recognizes and that can be different from person to person. However, enough people were in favor of it being Sasquatch, that the picture soon went viralicity.

As I said, people see what the want to see, but I try to reconstruct these photos from body part to body part. This picture was no exception and it was actually quite easy to break it down.

Read the entire fantastic analysis with photo breakdowns at ghosttheory.com/2012

We’re looking forward to checking back and reading more soon!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by MOTW Admin

CLIFF BARACKMAN OF FINDING BIGFOOT WEIGHS IN ON RECENT DNA STUDY

Cliff Barackman of Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot"

Since the release of the DNA results by Dr. Ketchum and her team of their study of the Russian “Bigfoot” hair, we’ve been scouring websites for any type of update or new information. Not much else has happened just yet but the great guys at Cryptomundo.com have a bit to say and have found a recent interview of Finding Bigfoot’s lead researcher, Cliff Barackman, where he was asked about and weighs in on the research.

Cryptomundo writes:

Watching Finding Bigfoot co-host Cliff Barackman on G4’s Attack of the Showis like having Thanksgiving all over again. At least in the sense that you are reminded what you are thankful for. There are only a handful of people who make great ambassadors, represent serious Bigfoot research. We are thankful for that.

The Attack of the Show host, Matt Mira starts with the typical ribbing of the title “Finding Bigfoot,” since they have not found Bigfoot. Then he pivots and asks sincere questions about breeding populations, habitat, and then drops the bomb, “What do you think about the Bigfoot DNA study that came out last weekend?”

Watch the interview with Barackman on G4 here:

BIGFOOT FACE FILMED FROM INSIDE TENT

Well geez, this certianly does look like Bigfoot taking a peak into this guy's tent!

Well, here is some awesome footage that has only deepened the world’s curiosity for Bigfoot, especially on the heels of the fantastic and absolutley amazing information contained in our last post.

Take a look at this well done analysis video posted to YouTube by TeamYin of a camper that has claimed to have filmed an intruding Bigfoot through an opening in his tent for yourself, and read what one our favorite blogs has to say just below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nZ_lbVCVd48

Ghost Theory writes:

Okay, this is like offering Jello as desert after a seven course gourmet meal coming right on the heels of the Dr. Ketchum report, still some of us have to get on with things and keep the lantern burning, even in the face of the sun.

I found this video while looking into another account of a bigfoot caught in a police officers dashboard camera that turn out an admitted hoax by some local teens. Of course going from an admitted hoax to a video this clear sets off some natural mental blocks that say to me that this is probably fake too. Yet the video below possesses some merits discussed in the analysis.

Taken as real this video contains the best footage of a Bigfoot face I have ever seen, but listen to the analysis and then I will have a few comments on some key points.

Okay, you have watched the video now. You have, haven’t you?

I am going to address the main characteristics described in the analysis.

First is the described Large Nocturnal Eyes. I am sorry to say that what the analysis describes as large nocturnal eyes with no whites showing simply appears to me to be deep set eyes beneath a heavy brow where you cannot actually see the eye. Nor do I see an eye that is especially large in proportion to the face.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DNA STUDY CONFIRMS EXISTENCE OF BIGFOOT!

This incredible news was released today by Dr. Melba Ketchum, the head of the Bigfoot DNA study:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

‘BIGFOOT’ DNA SEQUENCED IN UPCOMING GENETICS STUDY

Five-Year Genome Study Yields Evidence of Homo sapiens/Unknown Hominin Hybrid Species in North America

Contact: Robin Lynne, media@dnadiagnostics.com, 231.622.5362

DALLAS, Nov. 24–A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” living in North America. Researchers’ extensive DNA sequencing suggests that the legendary Sasquatch is a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.

The study was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX. In response to recent interest in the study, Dr. Ketchum can confirm that her team has sequenced 3 complete Sasquatch nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid:

“Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples. The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.

Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which includes all members of the genus Homo. Genetic testing has already ruled out Homo neanderthalis and the Denisova hominin as contributors to Sasquatch mtDNA or nuDNA. “The male progenitor that contributed the unknown sequence to this hybrid is unique as its DNA is more distantly removed from humans than other recently discovered hominins like the Denisovan individual,” explains Ketchum.

“Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA.”

Ketchum is a veterinarian whose professional experience includes 27 years of research in genetics, including forensics. Early in her career she also practiced veterinary medicine, and she has previously been published as a participant in mapping the equine genome. She began testing the DNA of purported Sasquatch hair samples 5 years ago.

Ketchum calls on public officials and law enforcement to immediately recognize the Sasquatch as an indigenous people:

“Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry. Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a ‘license’ to hunt, trap, or kill them.”

Full details of the study will be presented in the near future when the study manuscript publishes.