A Common Thread

by Christine & Jim Bruun

While discussing the recent sighting in Oregon, My hubby, Jim, and I both had a light bulb moment.  There is one common thread that we keep hearing throughout all the reports over all these years ,and  I have heard no one really address this common thread in any kind of scientific way.  

We feel that this much over-looked and under discussed piece of information is a crucial bit of information that is so frequently reported as to render it just background noise to most people, including us, up till now.

The operative word here is MUSK.  Dr. Johnson, in his July 1st report from Oregon specifically stated that its smell..." was a strong as a skunk" ...but the scent was different.  He smelled it long before he saw it.  

 In other reports that "awful smell" is present in the majority of all sighting reports and even those who don't see anything but smell something.  So let us take this further.

We know that BUCKS have musk glands between the tendons of the legs near the knee joints.  They are approximately golf ball size. The buck  rubs them on trees and bushes to attract females, Mark territory and warn off other Bucks who might end up in their territory. I want to emphasize MARKING TERRITORIES and WARNINGS. 

The first thing one does after killing a buck is remove the musk glands so the smell does not ruin the meat, and it will, if this is not done. 

We know the skunk uses his musk glands for warning possible  predators, (protection), and for, probably, marking its own territory.  We also know that this particular musk can be smelled for long distances and that it lingers a very long time.  Just run over a dead skunk and find out just how long and how permeating it is...

Bears are said to smell but I have heard no one talk about their smell being so powerful that you could smell them from very far away.  Their smell is a pungent odor of wet fir, dirt, & sweat.  I doubt their bad breath would be sufficient to cause a lingering odor that  can be detected over a long distance.

We also know mink have musk glands which are used for many purposes. So, what if this awful smell that is always connected with a sighting, (or almost-sighting), is a musk gland reacting to a human intruding into its territory?  What if it is a warning, a territorial thing, or perhaps a fear based musk gland release? And as such it would naturally be existing in almost every case where human and Bigfoot are in close proximity.

And, with this information it would mean that this particular smell would announce the presence of a Bigfoot  before you see it.  It could mean that it is a signal for us to take note and assume it is there and take action accordingly.  It certainly would mean that there are other Bigfoot out there that would be able to smell the musk for probably miles and would be able to tell whether it is a warning or a "come hither" one. 

Human's have their own odors from their sweat glands.  There is a common thought among some scientists that we even pick our mates by the MUSK smell we give off--that it is how your partner smells that dictates whether you will attracted to them or not.  And if smell plays an important part in how we interact, then it would be fair to say that smell also plays a part in the life of Bigfoot. 

We believe that this overpowering smell connected with Bigfoot is nothing more than a MUSK gland being released to produce some natural signal to us that we do not yet understand because he is closer to animal than we are. We don't understand the subtle  nuances of the animal world.