The Quandary

The other day I received this e-mail from a disgruntled student who was trying to write a research paper on "Unsolved Mysteries"

"...I am working on a research paper on bigfoot due to my English class. I am getting pretty frustrated about this topic, for my paper is supposed to be on an unsolved mystery. In all  the research I have done so far, All I ever find are claims of all these sightings were people have seen bigfoot.  But, as of right now I am pretty skeptical of the matter.  For the way I see it is if there is one, then how come you never hear about it, and how come someone hasn't captured it already?"

She has voiced the big questions many are asking right now.  I don't have all the answers, but perhaps I can provide some background that may account for some of the lack of information.  This is in no way the only answer, and the answers seem to lead to more questions.  

When someone writes a research paper they form an hypothesis, a theory, a premise upon which they form the basis for the research.  It is a preconceived idea that they set out to prove by gathering facts and information to back up their premise.  Is the premise that Bigfoot is an unsolved mystery?  Or, is it that, despite all the reports and all the hashing and rehashing of all the evidence that has been gathered, no one has been able to produce undeniable proof that will stand up against scrutiny by the scientific community? 

I looked up the word, "Mystery" in the dictionary.  The first definition in the Webster's  New World Dictionary, third edition, simply says, "supernatural".  Many people believe that Bigfoot is supernatural.  The American Indians believe that it has a supernatural existence connected to their spiritual and religious beliefs.  Many people believe that it is a creature from a different dimension or that it is an alien being.  For our discussion I want to lay that idea aside.  Despite the American Indian beliefs giving  Bigfoot a supernatural connotation, (something they give to all animals and creatures upon the earth, and so I think that has gotten misconstrued in the process), I want you to understand that it is not supernatural.  It is a living, breathing animal just as a bear is living and breathing.

The second definition for the word "Mystery" is: Any thing  that remains so secret or obscure as to excite curiosity.  I think in this definition we are getting much closer to the truth.  It is the mere obscurity of it that excites the masses and sends their minds whirling with questions and imagination. Fortunately, for us in the new millennium, it isn't quite as obscure at it used to be.  It certainly isn't a secret anymore, despite its secretive life.  As the populations move further out in the wilderness of our country, they encroach on what was once pristine forest untouched by a human footprint.

Just 50 years ago, the generation of my parents who are now in their 70's, seldom ventured outside their backyards.  Only the deer hunter or the occasional mountain climber left their imprint on our wild forests.  Logging was not the technical corporate venture it now is.  There was plenty of space for a small population of Bigfoot to roam unnoticed in a wild primitive area that was only disturbed by the sound of a plane flying overhead.  People congregated around cities and factories and less and less people migrated to the country where jobs were scarce and eking a living from the land was hard and time consuming.  The war and the industrial leap caused by meeting the demands for war ships and military hardware, demanded a relocation of the people and only those hardy stock who loved the land remained in the outlying areas.

Then we had a change of direction as people, tired of the cities, began to drift back to the outer lying areas, creating the suburban lifestyle.  Suddenly, land that had been wild and untouched became home sites.  People, wanting a quieter, more relaxed lifestyle, started buying up land in the forests that was once the home of many of our wildlife, which  moved back into the mountains to avoid man.  Those who ventured too near civilization were eradicated, (like the wolf and the mountain lions).

Suddenly more and more reports of an unusual creature started popping up across the nation.  Suddenly roads intersected what used to be primitive forest.  Farmers cleared more and more land and planted.  It became easier to get food from farm fields, (look at the bears in Yellowstone who have become a problem because it is easier to raid garbage cans than forage naturally for food elsewhere.), Animals will take the easy way.  It is a natural instinct for survival.  The wild animals soon became used to man being around.

The third definition of the word" Mystery" is: The quality of being inexplicable.  Think about this.  The Panda existed for hundreds of years without a single human being ever seeing them.  They were once thought to be extinct.  However, as more and more land was cultivated, and more and more people moved outward, it was soon discovered. But that discovery didn't take place until the 21st century, not so many years ago.  In fact, the Chinese discovered over 200 new species of plants on one expedition their government sponsored to find their version of Bigfoot, (Known as the Yeren).  That is 200 new species of plants never before known to man.

How about the two Yellowstone National Park rangers who, in the last ten years, hiked into areas of the park no one had ever set foot in and documented and discovered over 200 new waterfalls.  One of them was higher than the highest waterfall they had found to date.  It took them ten years to accomplish this and there are thousands and millions of acres of park left untouched to discover.  And that is in just one small part of our country.  Even the Chinese panda was eventually discovered. Given enough time and effort, we will someday be able to explain the inexplicable.

Bigfoot is an elusive creature like the panda was.  It has developed survival skills and adapted to its environment.  It's habitat is millions of acres of wilderness that it knows like the back of its hand. WE, however, are at a disadvantage when we are on its turf.  However, its days of obscurity are also numbered. 

The fourth definition of the word "Mystery" is: secret rites or doctrine known only to a small esoteric group; religious ceremonies or doctrines revealed only to the initiated.  Here is where we find a small group of individuals who have had the unique opportunity of seeing a Bigfoot.  To this group, no amount of sarcasm and doubt on the part of those who haven't had this experience will sway them from their belief in what they saw with their own eyes.  For this group, they hold a special bond that sets them apart.  The rest, who have not had this experience, cannot hope to understand the awesome impact it has had on their lives. They can tear the witness apart. They can scoff at the reported sighting.  They can shred the evidence and discard it and discredit it, but to the few lucky individuals, it does not matter, because they have experienced something so  miraculous that it is not diminished by nay-sayers.  And, perhaps the jealousy of those who have not had this event in their lives drives the critics to bash those who have.

The word "mystery" is applied to something beyond human knowledge or understanding, or it merely refers to any unexplained or seemingly inexplicable matter. Though Bigfoot remains a mystery to most, to those of us who search and sift through reports, evidence, and information, the mystery is becoming clearing and nearing to being solved. 

With all the effort that is poured into solving this mystery, I think it will be a sad day when its elusiveness is only a memory.

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