"Hank the "Bigfoot" Revealed"

The San Antonio Area Sasquatch

by David Claerr, Yahoo Contributor Network

 

In April of 2012, I was in San Antonie for a few days. I investigated the area northwest of town where there had been reported sightings of Sasquatch by locals, including a 911 call that gave a specific location. In visiting the precise area, I was unable to find conclusive evidence- there was too much human activity in the vicinity. But in another area nearby farther away from town, by following other leads, I found very strong evidence of an area settled by an extended family or small clan of Sasquatch. This area has some of the most favorable habitat in all of Texas with heavily wooded, ecologically diverse terrain within a labyrinth of hills, ravines and gullies. This area also has an abundance of sheltering rock overhangs, some minor cave systems,and possibly, more extensive interlinked caverns.

The significance of this population is that a Sasquatch, probably from the clan in the same area, was reportedly shot and killed by Rick Dyer five months later, in September of 2012. The shooting occurred at about the same place that the 911 call originated. As of this writing I am still trying to ascertain the truth of this report although, I believe it to be, unfortunately, true, based on the similarities of the individual in Rick's "Tent Video" and the more unusual Sasquatch that inhabit that region of Texas.

In forays in Central Texas, I perceived that many of the Sasquatch in that region have traits that are often associated with recessive genes in humans, such as auburn, red and light-haired coats. (I often thought of these Sasquatch as "Scotsmen" whom they reminded me of.) When enhancing still frames from Rick Dyer's slightly obscured "Tent Video" (shot from inside a screened pup tent door-window, with a mobile phone), I could see the similar traits resembling the more human-like Sasquatch typical of this region. By comparison, toward the Northeast quadrant of Texas, there are more of the black- or dark-coated Sasquatch, which have more simian traits, like gray-black skin, as does the famous "Patty" type of the Pacific Northwest. (refer to the Patterson-Gimlin film.)

Why the difference in physical types? Sasquatch, like humans, are genetically very diverse, and derive from widely dispersed populations that can none-the-less travel very great distances. Sasquatch migrated to the Americas in small groups that originated from many different ecosystems and climatic regions of the world. These migrations occurred sporadically during short periods separated by tens of thousands of years. Consider that Native Americans, from dozens of different linguistic groups and genetic backgrounds also traveled extensively throughout North America. A notable example was Sacagawea, a Native American woman who was a member of the exploration team of Lewis and Clark which crossed America, while she was bearing an infant!. Their Native American guides knew the inland routes across the central US, following the major river systems, travel routes still used by Sasquatch today.

Sasquatch are, in my opinion, derived from a progenitor species from which many of the archaic humans have descended. They are perhaps even ancestral to modern humans. They likely have evolved concurrently to some degree chronologically with humans, and may even have the capacity to interbreed with modern humans, as current, basic DNA sequencing suggests. So Sasquatch clearly do not follow the typical pattern of common wild mammals, such as deer or bear, which have few physical or behavioral differences,from individual to individual, within a contiguous geographic region. Sasquatch populations are most likely a mosaic of related subspecies and hybrid lineages.

The illustration above of "Hank the Sasquatch" is based on the enhancements of the Tent Video, eyewitness accounts (others who reportedly have viewed the body) and my own previous research.  Here is the import of the image: I showed it to Rick Dyer, who stated that it was very well done, highly accurate and only missing some of the scars on the face that were on the individual he had shot. Probably in the near future the accuracy of this image can be tested by comparison to the reported video of the deceased "Hank" on DVD recently released by Mr. Dyer & Team Tracker associates. I have not yet seen the video myself as of this writing. (The image is copyright protected and may not be copied in print or posted on the internet without the author's express permission)

As an "editorial" comment here, I personally feel considerable regret and dismay that a Sasquatch has been shot and killed, if, as Dyer's report maintains, that is true. However, I am also cognizant of the fact that it is not possible to undo the past. So if there has been or will be a documented and verified "Specimen Type" of the Sasquatch or "Bigfoot" it is now imperative to call a moratorium on future hunting or killing of what are likely to be considered as an indigenous people. If so, they should be granted full rights under the United States Constitution, which guarantees life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all. But whether or not Sasquatch will be classified as fully human, they are a sentient species with all the emotions and feelings that humans have. They deserves our respect and protection from wholesale slaughter. Think of Sasquatch in terms of families- mothers, fathers, boys and girls that love and support one another as the best of humans also do. Empathy and understanding should be the basis for a moral or ethical regard for the Sasquatch, and for future legislative efforts to protect them.

Another major reason to draft legislation that will make it illegal to hunt or kill Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Skunk Apes or any bipedal primates in the United States, is that it will save the lives of humans that will otherwise be mistakenly shot and killed by overzealous "Bigfoot" hunters. Have you ever been on a deer hunt and seen your companions under the effects of "Buck Fever"? This state of irrational excitement can lead to indiscriminate weapons discharge in the direction of anything that moves. Some hunters with Buck Fever will shoot in the direction of mere rustling sounds in the brush without any confirmed sighting at all. From experience, I've seen that "Bigfoot Fever" often generates an even more exaggerated state of excitement and rash behavior, which will undoubtedly lead to similar lethal results.

In my travels around the U.S., Canada and Mexico since the late 1960s, I have had many opportunities to visit Native Americans both on the reservations, and those that now live in cities and towns. There are many stories, legends and folk-lore tales, that, taken as a whole, depict the Sasquatch as complex, intelligent beings, with attitudes and behaviors that differ from individual to individual as much as humans differ individually from one another. There are tales that tell of tribal and social groups of Sasquatch that are organized by clan. Some Native American tribes maintain that they would barter with Sasquatch and share knowledge of herbal medicines and the study of nature. There are tales of Sasquatch that rescued lost and injured people in the wilderness.There are tales where entire villages were warned of impending disasters, such as floods, by Sasquatch.There are also tales of rogue and outcast Sasquatch that engaged in criminal acts. But consider that in every nation of the world, the prisons are full of humans of every race, creed and color, and every civilized nation has mental institutions that are also at maximum capacity. So just as the majority of humans are socially cooperative and interested in the welfare of others, so the majority of Sasquatch are benevolent and altruistic to both their own kind and to humans in general. There is often an undercurrent of hostility in humans, due to often exaggerated tales depicting all Sasquatch as savage beasts, that many people are using as justification to actively hunt and kill them. Some justify the hunt in the name of scientific discovery. However, a vastly greater sum of knowledge can be gained by an approach such as those pioneered by Jane Goodall and Dian Fosse in their long-term studies of the chimpanzee and gorilla, respectively. As far as further study into their genetics, far more in-depth sampling and data can be obtain from LIVING family groups of Sasquatch than from one isolated, dead individual.

There is now a growing opportunity for those of like mind to join together for the protection of the Sasquatch and the preservation of their way of life. If just one family of Sasquatch will be spared the grief, distress and loss of having a family member shot and killed, it will be worth the effort