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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Joe Corsiglia, President Trump, Henry Heimuller, VP Pence, Pat Robertson, Debi Corsiglia’s dog, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Standard Disclaimer.
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Bigfoot fact or fiction in Oregon.
Legends of Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, have existed in the Pacific Northwest for centuries. Native American tribes passed down stories about large, hairy, forest-dwelling creatures, and early settlers reported sightings of ape-like creatures as early as the 1800s. A man hunkers down on the Oregon forest floor late at night, looking between the trees for signs of nocturnal life. The scene is pitch-black but his face and hands are visible in infrared footage, and he exams the landscape with a thermal camera, looking for a heat signature that would indicate he isn't alone. Suddenly, a red blob appears in the distance, it looks big. Could it be a Bigfoot could it be Bigfoot, North America's fabled apelike creature? That's the question this man — author and explorer Russell Acord — and his colleagues are trying to answer. More than 10,000 eyewitness accounts have described Bigfoot encounters in the continental U.S. over the past 50 years. Bigfoot even has an FBI file that was released to the public on June 5; in 1977, the agency examined 15 unidentified fibers that were suspected of being Bigfoot hairs. But the hairs were eventually found to be "of deer family origin," reported by the FBI. The search of Bigfoot is mostly focused in the Pacific Northwest, where about one-third of all "Bigfoot" encounters have taken place. Recently a team of experts — including a primatologist — embarked on a three-week search for the elusive Bigfoot. Using state-of-the-art equipment and computer algorithms, the team analyzed footprints and possible nest sites, and recorded mysterious vocalizations at Bigfoot "hotspots" around 90,000 acres of land in central Oregon. Central Oregon is not the only place where Bigfoot has been spotted. Bigfoot has been reported in the Coast Range, Cascades, also in Washington state near Mt. St. Helens, Mt Rainier. Bigfoot sightings often describe a tall, hairy creature resembling a gigantic ape that walks on two legs. An enormous primate known as Gigantopithecus — standing 10 feet (3 meters) tall and weighing up to 595 lbs. (270 kilograms) — once lived in Southeast Asia, but it went extinct hundreds of thousands of years ago. And large, hairy animals such as woolly mammoths and rhinos roamed North America during the Ice Age. But to date, there is no fossil evidence showing that large primates other than humans ever inhabited North America, said a primate researcher. But researcher can only go on evidence they have. That does not mean the creature did not exist or even exists today. No one thought that there was a Kennewick man either, until he was found, and there are new discoveries of dinosaurs, humanoids, and living creatures every day. So let’s not rule out Bigfoot, just because someone has not seen it don’t mean it does not exist. As long as the animals have food, shelter and a habitat that isolates them from humans, they could survive and the Pacific Northwest has vast areas of untouched lands. In fact, chimpanzee researcher Jane Goodall said in a 2002 interview that she wouldn't dismiss the possibility that such creatures might be real. There was a recently discovered new species of tiny mouse lemur, which is one of the world's smallest primates. Weighing less than 2 ounces. Small animals can be hard to spot in the wild, but even a very big primate such as the reported Bigfoot could conceal itself from humans quite effectively. For example black bears, many people who are always in the woods have never seen one in the woods, yet black bears are very heavily populated even in Columbia County, Oregon. They don’t like humans and do all they can not to be spotted. In all the eyewitness accounts of possible Bigfoot sightings, one thing that stood out was the consistency of the descriptions: a large, bipedal creature with primate-like behavior. It was very big and moving in an apelike — if not bipedal — fashion in every report. Scientists will only consider Bigfoot unless they get a recovered body or genetic data from organic tissue, feces or hairs could definitively establish this fabled creature as a newfound species. Scientifically describing any new species means establishing a holotype — a single physical specimen representing the species. On the other hand people who actively roam the woods and mountains and deep forests very rarely come across dead animals or find bones. Other creatures eat the dead bodies, and drag off bones which are ate as well and the wet climate of the Pacific Northwest decomposes things fast. With all the hairs which have been collected so far they belong to humans, bears coyotes and two samples did not belong to any known species. However, the DNA data showed that the mystery hairs didn't come from primates, and they likely belonged to unknown bear species. So—see-- there could be Bigfoot’s roaming around the forests. Mt St Helens, WA The aptly named Ape Canyon is located Southeast of Mt St Helens and had several Sasquatch sightings in the 1920s, including one report of a pack of Bigfoot attacking a group of miners in 1924. Sasquatch sightings continued throughout the years but sadly, many locals believe the legendary creature’s population took a hit during the 1980 eruption of Mt St Helens since sightings are now reported less frequently. Applegate Lake, OR A miner from Southern Oregon reported several Sasquatch sightings near Applegate Lake in the 1970s. In 1924, six terrified miners rushed off Mount St. Helens to report that a band of hairy, ape-like giants had attacked them in the middle of the night. The encounter is thought to be the first modern report of Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest. The names of Ape Canyon and Ape Cave allude to the event. Walla Walla, WA There have been many plaster casts taken of purported Sasquatch tracks, but probably the most famous were taken by a forest service worker in the Blue Mountains just outside of Walla Walla. These were the first casts of Sasquatch prints verified by scientists to contain dermal ridges, and many believers point to them as proof that Bigfoot does indeed exist. Bellingham, WA In the 1970s the Lummi Indian Reservation just outside of Bellingham, WA reported more than 100 hundred Sasquatch sightings in a short period of time, including three from police officers. Today, the city of Bellingham has officially branded itself as a “Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area” in order to protect the creature from harm. Maybe Bigfoot does exist, and the FBI and scientific community really know they do. If the creature does exist do you think they would acknowledge that fact? Maybe not because there would be people who would want to do only one thing- kill it—for a mount and to make history and a fast buck. Not a very good quality but man has little couth about him. Columbia County has had 3 reported sightings. So if you happen to see something odd, take a second look because you never know it may be Bigfoot. Tammy
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