A researcher claimed a strong link between Bigfoot sightings and black bear presence. Pic credit: AI-generated
A researcher believes many reported Bigfoot sightings were due to people mistaking bears for human-like cryptids.
Researcher Floe Foxon concluded that most reported that sightings across North America were due to mistaken identity following an analysis of data.
People mistake American black bears (Ursus americanus) for humanoid cryptids when they stand on their hind feet.
Despite widespread skepticism among science researchers, believers in the legend continue reporting encounters with the elusive cryptid.
Paranormal Papers reported that a Canadian resident in New Brunswick reported they may have recorded a Sasquatch roar in the wild.
A Bigfoot hunter also reported they stumbled on a Sasquatch turd about the size of a coke can while exploring Washington woods.
Bigfoot reports related to black bear presence, study found
According to Foxon, researchers can’t dismiss the scores of sightings reported annually across the North American continent. But while many researchers believe people are seeing something, they don’t think it is Sasquatch.
Foxon suggested that the American black bear (Ursus americanus) was responsible for a significant proportion of reports of mysterious bipedal creatures allegedly roaming North American forests.
The evidence supporting the bear theory comes from the observation that sightings across the continent are associated with the distribution of black bears.
Direct relationship between bear population and Sasquatch
Foxon said that data revealed a direct relationship between the black bear population and Sasquatch reports (after factoring in human population size).
In other words, data analysis showed a link between an increase in the black bear population and reported Bigfoot sightings.
Human population size also plays a role because more people translate into more eyes looking for Sasquatch evidence.
The direct relationship between the bear population in an area and Bigfoot encounters suggests that people mistake a proportion of bear sightings as Sasquatch.
People mistake black bears for Sasquatch
It is not the first time researchers have tried to debunk sighting claims by suggesting black bears.
Skeptics have long insisted that many Bigfoot sightings were due to people mistaking black bears standing on their hind feet for bipedal humanoid creatures.
According to skeptics, the description of Bigfoot often resembles black bears.
As Foxon noted, Bigfoot encounters often occur in forested areas of the North American continent where bears also live.
The main contribution of Foxon’s study is the finding that a positive relationship exists between the bear population and the number of reported Bigfoot encounters.
Skeptics will likely cite Foxon’s study as further evidence supporting the theory that bears are involved in most sightings.
But believers have pushed back against the theory by pointing out that people have also reported Bigfoot sightings in areas that did not have a natural population of black bears.