Bigfoot Discovered - wouldn't it be cool if one of these amateur researchers was right for once?

Canadian "researcher" set to reveal evidence of Bigfoot

Todd Standing says he has 12 seconds of video and has seen Bigfoot 'several times.' He has even convinced Canadian Parliament member Mike Lake to petition the Canadian government for legal protection of the species.

His 30 minute documentary film "The Origins of Sylvanic" is set for release at the Edmonton, Alberta public library on Friday, May 4. Sylvanic refers to a region in the Canadian Rockies. The film is said to contain evidence for the existence of Bigfoot. He is convinced that the animal is real and highly endangered, so he's pushing the government to enact legal protection for Bigfoot. Surely, if true, a dead specimen of a large undiscovered species could fetch many $millions.

Todd Standing says he wants to encourage scientists to accompany him in order to tranquilize the animal and document it. To hear Todd Standing talk about his discovery is somewhat compelling. He is not typical of previous Bigfoot hoaxsters, he wants to be scrutinized:

"It is extremely likely that they are an endangered species, no one really knows how many of these animals are left. It's prudent to us that we get protection for these animals before we release how we've been getting the animals on footage - which no one has been able to do, and we will do again. I know that there have been a lot of people that have come forward with Bigfoot videos, all kinds of hoaxes and I have no reason to want to do this and require this attention. The difference that you're going to see with us, is that we can do this again. We want to go out on our next expedition with professional scientists, a member of the media - we will show them. Come with us, look for yourself, don't take my word for it. ... If you're a scientist and you are reputable, and you want to conclusively disprove me, come on out here, I will show you the area. We've definitely seen these animals several times."

If I were a betting man, I'd bet they'll never document anything. In any case, it should be noted that Todd Standing will donate all proceeds of his film to the SPCA.

He has released some brief video to the media of Bigfoot, but like other Bigfoot videos, it's not very convincing. However, the new "video 3" debuting tomorrow, is said to show the most conclusive piece of Bigfoot evidence ever. He claims his unedited raw footage of a 7' tall 400 lb running bipedal Bigfoot was analyzed by a PhD kineticist who found that the animal ran faster than any human possibly could. Todd Standing claims the 'aft shot' clearly shows an animal with human-like legs - "gutes, hamstring and calf." (Several TV interviews with Mr. Standing archived here).

Like the so-called "Biblical archaeologists" (i.e. Ron Wyatt), UFO researchers, creationists, and devotees of the paranormal, wouldn't it be exciting if one of these far-fetched stories turned out to be true? But, a large new species of N. American primate? Extremely unlikely, but not totally impossible I suppose, particularly in light of recent discoveries of new species of large mammals in similarly uninhabited areas.

Nevertheless, there is something in most of us humans that makes us want to believe in the undiscovered ... mythical animals, UFOs, Santa Claus, legends, and invisible men in the sky. Such belief in the incredible is widespread in America. The reasons for this I discussed in a previous post. Most organized religion is a perfect example of our human need to believe in the incredible. I say 'go Todd'! I'm routin' for ya. Go back and get 'em. Bring back the evidence.

I just hope the guy isn't being duped by his camera man.
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UPDATE: I found a review of the previous version of Todd Standing's documentary "Sylvanic". From the reviewer's perspective, it appears to be a hoax as expected, and not a very good one.