Controversy continues over 'Bigfoot' tape

CBC News

Winnipeg — Experts have been battling over the potential veracity of a video of Bigfoot in the weeks since a Norway House man claimed to spot a strange creature earlier this month. Ferry operator Bobby Clarke was taking a vehicle barge across the Nelson River at the northern end of Lake Winnipeg on the morning of April 16 when he noticed something on the shore. He grabbed his camcorder and shot a two-minute, 49-second clip of a tall, dark humanoid-like figure moving on the riverbank.

The family of the man who shot the video says an American television outlet has purchased the footage. The family would not reveal the name of the outlet or how much money changed hands. There is no word on when the video may be made public. A few believers have been making their case in the media, talking about their research and plaster casts of footprints they've collected. However, the majority of scientists insist Sasquatch is a myth, including James Hare, a zoologist at the University of Manitoba. Hare doesn't reject the possibility outright, but he says he would need to see "credible" scientific proof. "It would take some more concrete physical evidence, things like hair samples, bones — a carcass obviously would be very useful." Hare notes that most sightings are eventually proven to be hoaxes. "I can see the media's interest. We don't want to rule out that there could be something out there. New species are discovered all the time," he says. "I would prefer, of course, that the media concentrate its attention on more tangible issues, things like habitat fragmentation, habitat loss, environmental degradation and those species that we can study." Hare says some people want to believe in Bigfoot because it takes their minds off more pressing issues, and because they want to feel a part of something bigger than life as we know it in the natural world.

From: CBC, 28 April 2005.