Skookum cast
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The Skookum cast is a plaster cast showing the imprint of what appears to be a large animal’s left forearm, hip, thigh and buttocks. It was discovered in a muddy wallow near Mount Adams in southern part of Washington state, US, and is argued by some to be a bigfoot.
Description
The cast was taken on September 22, 2000, during a Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) expedition to the Skookum Meadows area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state,[1] during filming of the Animal-X television show. There was also evidence of 17-inch human-like footprints found in the area.[2]
The cast, which measures 3.5 by 5 feet (1.1 m × 1.5 m) and weighs approximately 400 pounds (180 kg), is of a partial body imprint left in roadside mud.
Skepticism
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry have put forward the suggestion that the initial identification was premature and created bias among subsequent team members. The casting was made by wildlife ecologist LeRoy Fish, tracker Richard Noll, and animal tracker Derek Randles. While working with this team to find evidence of bigfoot, Richard Noll saw the impression and suggested to his team that it was left by a bigfoot. These team members may have been influenced by the suggestion, motivating them to co-validate the original identification.[3]
Conclusion
On March 3, 2001, Marc Hume wrote an article for the National Post of Canada in which he recognized the clear tracks of an elk and described: "imprints left that would match perfectly with an elk's legs." In his opinion, the cast was "if anything, a cast of the impression made by the hindquarters of an elk.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Glenn Alford (200-10-23). "Idaho State University Researcher Coordinates Analysis of Body Imprint That May Belong to a Sasquatch". Retrieved 2008-06-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Alford, Glenn. "Idaho State University Researcher Coordinates Analysis of Body Imprint That May Belong to a Sasquatch". Retrieved 11/9/2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Ben, Radford (March–April 2002). "Bigfoot at 50: Evaluating a Half-Century of Bigfoot Evidence". Skeptical Inquirer. 26.2 (1). Retrieved 27 September 2009.
- ^ Marc Hume (2001-03-03). "Controversy Surrounds Skookum Sasquatch Cast". Retrieved 2008-06-23.
Further reading
- Buhs, Joshua Blu (August 1, 2009). Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend. University of Chicago Press. pp. 239–41. ISBN 978-0-226-50215-1.
- Daegling, David J. (2004). Bigfoot Exposed: An Anthropologist Examines America's Enduring Legend. Altamira Press. pp. 94–97. ISBN 0-7591-0539-1.
- Rupert Matthews (2014) [2008]. Sasquatch: North America's Enduring Mystery; Kindle locations 1251–69. Arcturus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78404-107-6.
- Michael McLeod (2009). Anatomy of a Beast: Obsession and Myth on the Trail of Bigfoot. University of California Press. pp. 149–52. ISBN 978-0-520-25571-5.
- Jeff Meldrum (2006). Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. Forge Books. pp. 112–23. ISBN 978-0765312174.
- Christopher Murphy (2009). Know the Sasquatch/Bigfoot: Sequel and Update to Meet the Sasquatch. Hancock House. pp. 171–75. ISBN 978-0-88839-689-1.
- Powell, Thom (2003). The Locals: A Contemporary Investigation of the Bigfoot/Sasquatch Phenomenon, Chapter 6. Hancock House. pp. 109–25. ISBN 0-88839-552-3.