Bigfoot (cryptid)

"We eat... BERRIES! AND MUSHROOMS! You fool! Or we did, now there's none of us left. Some maniac's been murdering us. I'm the last one of my kind. We've lived in these hills a thousand years... My family is gone. My kind is gone... *Cries* Shoot me... I can't take it anymore! *Cries more* MAKE IT STOP! *Cries even more and gets a crippling depression*"

- Bigfoot to Marston in RDR

The Bigfoot or Sasquatch is a type of a humanoid ape-like creature said to inhabit areas of North America. The term Sasquatch was first used in 1920 by British Columbian school teacher J.W. Burns. It is an anglicised version of the Halkomelem word 'sásq'ets', which translates to "wild man."

Info
Based on sightings, the Bigfoot is a bipedal humanoid that ranges from 8 to 12ft tall with long arms, a coat of brown, reddish or black fur and, as the name Bigfoot would suggest, very big feet, although in much earlier sightings the Sasquatch was reportedly more bear-like.

Based on early sightings of the Sasquatch, the profile of the creature was thought to be more ape-like with a prominent brow ridge, an undefined nose and a prognathous face. It wasn't until a sketch by Roger Patterson, titled "fatso browno", was released that the Sasquatch would adopt its flat-faced, almost man-like image observed in most representations of the creature today. The Bigfoot in Patterson's famous clip also possesses such a flat face.

The overall disposition of the Sasquatch seems to be peaceful, though in some instances acts of hostility have been documented.

Many witnesses have claimed the Bigfoot appeared to be floating or gliding across the ground. This is because of the creature's stride, called its "complaint gait", which, while being quite different from the stride of a human, has been seen in some primates. Unlike a human's stiff-legged walk, the Bigfoot walks bent-legged, as if snow-shoeing, suppressing the bobbing motion of the upper body during each step. With each leg rise, the creature's shins are almost parallel to the ground, the head tilts forward and the foot is oriented vertically. Though this style of walking was thought by some to be impossible for a human to replicate, it has been reproduced by select healthy individuals with practice. Even then, though, the stride becomes difficult to execute over extended periods. The Sasquatch can be seen exhibiting the "complaint gait" in many clips, most notably the Patterson-Gimlin film.

Early Reports
Stories of an ape-like creature roaming the forests of North America have been around as long as some of the Native Americans' tribes started in certain areas, due to the findings of cave painting of Sasquatches. However, the earliest written account was made in 1811 by David Thompson, who was mapping regions of Canada and the United States of America during the time.

Thompson spoke to the Spokanes, a local Native American tribe in Washington State. According to Thompson, the Spokanes told him of a race of hairy giants that lived in one of the nearby mountains (possibly Mt. Saint Helens or the Cascade Mountains) that would steal salmon and people while they were asleep (similar to the Ostman story in 1924). This was also the first time a footprint was mentioned for a Bigfoot. Thompson said that the "giants" left footprints one and a half feet long.

Ostman Account
In 1957, a man named Albert Ostman reported being "stolen" in his sleep by a Sasquatch, similar to the stories of giants told by the Spokanes.

He claimed that in 1924, when he was searching for gold, he felt that someone was carrying him while he was sleeping. Ostman claimed when he woke up he could see eight feet tall Sasquatches with long arms and hairy body except for the padded feet, which lacked hair. Ostman also stated that the Sasquatches appeared to live like a family, like modern apes. He escaped the forests soon after he was captured by them and they decided to not pursue him for some yet unexplained reason.

This situation is similar to modern accounts where baboons have reportedly stolen infants while they were sleeping. It is unknown why primates preform such behaviour, however it may be related to the Ostman account.

Patterson-Gimlin Film
On a fall day in 1967, Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson and his friend Robert Gimlin set off on horseback to investigate claims of the creature roaming the nearby woods of Orleans, California, where footprints were supposedly found.

Not far from Orleans, the two filmed what would become the most iconic footage of Bigfoot ever taken. The Sasquatch in the film has come to be known by many as "Bikky".

The 59-second clip shows a hairy humanoid figure, notably female, walking through the woods of Bluff Creek. Halfway through the clip, the creature gives Patterson a "look of death", but continues her way through the large forest without halting. Though pursued distantly on horseback, the Bigfoot was lost in the heavy undergrowth.

The duo brought plaster later that day and made casts of the footprints before leaving in hopes of recruiting a search party. The two planned to return to Bluff Creek to search for their Bigfoot that day, but warnings of heavy rain changed their minds, fearing their exit may be flooded, thus trapping them in Bluff Creek.

Could this be footage of a real Bigfoot? Many believers believe so. Analysing the film, it was figured by some that it could not be a man in a costume. The joints of a man could simply not line up with the creature on film and still move in a similar fashion. If you look closely, you can also see what appears to be muscle movement, along with a tumour of sorts on the Bigfoot's right leg.

On the opposite spectrum, there are many sceptics who adamantly believe this is like a classic case of Scooby-Doo, and what we see in the short clip is nothing more than a man in a gorilla suit.

Patterson stated to his grave that the creature was real, and Gimlin still tells the world that he was never involved in any hoax.

Footprints
Arguably, the biggest form of evidence we have of the Bigfoot are the "tracks" they leave across North America. They are typically 15 to 17 inches long and about 30% wider than typical human footprints.

The first documented discovery was in the cold winter of 1811 in Alberta, Canada, when David Thompson discovered a large set of footprints in the Rockies, impacted deep in the snow. Thompson was convinced the tracks he found did not belong to a bear.

Footprints were discovered almost daily in the logging area of Bluff Creek, California, during the 1950s. It was here that the first Sasquatch footprint was cast and Bigfoot was brought to the media. However, Bluff Creek wasn't the only place these tracks were found. By 1980 there were over 200 reports of footprints from Northern California alone.

In 1969, a trail of over one-thousand footprints leading through the snow was discovered in Bossburg, Washington. The tracks were 17 inches long and gave researchers the indication that there was a crippling deformity on the right foot. This analysis has given the Bossburg Sasquatch the name "Cripple Foot".

In 1982, prints were discovered by the U.S Forest Service in the state of Washington that appeared to possess dermal ridges (fingerprints for the foot) and sweat pores. The footprints were found similar to that of a primate. After much analysis, many researchers have concluded that these could not have been faked.

Sasquatch footprints are still being discovered everyday across North America.

Redemption
In the stranger mission "Birth of the Conservation Movement", the player is tasked by a man wearing clothing similar to the expert hunter outfit to kill the Bigfoots around Tall Trees. When the last specimen is found, he'll tell a depressing story about being the last of his kind and how he wishes to be killed due to his stressful depression. After the cutscene and the killing of the last Bigfoot, the quest is complete.

Trivia

 * Zombies will chase and kill a Bigfoot as if it was a human.
 * Numerous Bigfoot quotes include: "Please no!", "This is my home!" and "You have ruined this land!", making it more and more obvious they have some relation to the Native Americans.
 * It is possible to lasso a Sasquatch, but it cannot be hogtied due to his might and weight.
 * It is possible to find both male and female Sasquatch. After killing one, closer inspection occasionally reveals a more feminine facial structure and breasts, similar to that of the Patterson-Gimlin Film. There is also a chance for female Bigfoot to have flowers on their heads. The dark brown ones are considered to be male and the reddish brown ones are considered to be female.
 * Bigfoot's rear end is quite noticeable and sexy.
 * If one is to throw a tomahawk or an axe at its head, it can survive and follow the chap around, but it doesn't attack until 3 hours later.
 * Sasquatch seem to recognise firearms. They will stare at the player and sometimes even run away when a gun is aimed at them.
 * Sometimes, Bigfoots can be seen performing human activities, such as hanging out by a campfire and even smoking a cigarette or one ton of weed.

Gallery
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