Bigfoot Overview

Big·foot  noun | plural: Bigfeet  a large, hairy, apelike creature whose appearance and movements resemble that of a human’s and is supposedly found in North America; named for the size of its footprints. Also known as “Sasquatch”.

Bigfeet are hairy, humanoid primates that travel on two legs. Most species are believed to have an acute sense of smell and an omnivorous diet; moreover, they are often depicted with small heads, long, clumsy fingers, and small, squinted eyes. The North American beasts are most known for their walking posture: crouching while swinging their arms in a broad arc as they take wide, bounding strides. Bigfeet are known to appear throughout all of North America but are concentrated in certain regions of the United States: the Pacific, especially along the coastline; the Appalachian region; the Midwest’s eastern half; Florida; northern Texas. Sightings are also numerous throughout the South and Northeast.  

Those that hunt or track these large creatures search for four things within allegedly favorable locations: footprints, strands of hair, strong odors, and crude constructions. These markers are sought after in habitats frequented by bears, wolves, or other large apex predators. Locations of known sightings are known to feature reliable water sources, migrations of medium-large game, large populations of small animals, and abundant edible foliage; furthermore, these regions are usually distant from human activity and can be dotted by difficult terrain, caves, and even abandoned mine shafts.

Footprints: all species of bigfoot have humanoid feet much larger than an average adult human. Like human feet, bigfeet have a variety of toe lengths/arcs, foot widths/spans, gaits, and hide textures. Additionally, some species only run or walk on two legs, switching to a four-legged posture for the other stride (most prefer walking and running on two legs; several run on two legs and walk on four, while a minority does the opposite). Footprints are very rare, but their diversity can help determine the species, age, and approximate size of a bigfoot. Fresh tracks may also provide hair samples.

Hair: unlike other, non-human mammals, bigfeet are covered in hair, not fur; the hide is comprised of a covering of one type of hair—fur is comprised of guard hairs and an undercoat—and can be found in single strands rather than clumps (they do not molt their hair, so it is not found in clumps as a canine’s). Bigfoot hair ranges in length, texture, and hue; reported colors include: black, brown, gray, blonde, and red. Some bigfeet have multi-toned coats.

Odor: bigfoot creatures have been known to emit intense odors that are used to communicate with others in their species or genus, attract prey, mark territory, or as a repellent. Scents are often transmitted through glands in the armpit, though other species diffuse odors through urine, fecal matter, spit, or through secreting organs located elsewhere on the body. These scents are often offensive to human senses and are commonly described as sour, musky, or similar to rotten meat, with the smell lingering without diminishing for extended durations.

Crude Construction: some species of bigfoot build small sculptures or sleeping structures within their territory or while on their travels. These include: beds or nests of leaves lined with sticks and stones, or within woven ‘baskets’ found on the ground, between trees, or within caves or tunnels; cairns made of stacked stones or trinkets; wooden ‘totems’ or objects made with bound sticks, animal bones, feathers, and other gathered objects; tunnels, caves, or hovels lined with stones and/or sticks; wooden and/or stone tools; mud or carved markings left on trees, stones, or other objects.

Oral Tradition: the Native American Bigfoot of Folklore and Mythology  

Bigfoot-like figures in folklore are common among northwestern Native American tribes. In these tales, the large, hairy, humanoid creatures have a fetid smell, are 6 - 9 ft tall, very strong, barbaric, and most active at night; they were said to communicate with each other through grunts, whistles, and gestures, but never displayed the ability to verbally speak a language. Some legends claimed that the creatures had minor supernatural abilities, like invisibility, and that males could reproduce with human women. Although powerful beings, the bigfeet described in several Native American legends are shy and gentle, never physically harming humans, and sometimes even rescuing them from distress. Other stories documented the exchange of gifts and conversations through sign language between Native American communities and bigfeet. Many of these humanoids were regarded as guardians of nature, yet were also always described as physical, woodland creatures (not ghosts or spirits). Though frequently benevolent, the creatures were not always good; they were also said to steal objects or food and kidnap women, taking them as mates. These less threatening bigfeet lived alone or in small family groups, unlike those said to be malevolent.  

Evil bigfeet also exist within Native American folklore—playing dangerous tricks on humans, stealing children, eating people, and warring against nearby tribes; these formidable versions of the beast were said to live in large groups or villages. Interestingly, bigfoot or similar figures are mostly absent in folklore from Native American tribes from West Virginia. In these tales, bigfoot is seemingly replaced by a much smaller humanoid—wild, forest dwarves that resemble hairy men about the size of a human toddler—as well as nature-guarding fae creatures. Nevertheless, West Virginia is home to several bigfoot creatures.

Name Origin: there are two usages of “Big Foot” in Native American communities in the 19th century. First, the nickname was given to a Wyandot chief around 1830 who had very large feet, great strength, courage, and was over six ft tall. Later, Spotted Elk (chief of the Miniconjou, Lakota Sioux) was nicknamed Chief Big Foot. It is thought that the two Native Americans may have been the namesakes for two Western, mythological bears with the same name in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and was an inspiration (or perhaps a misnomer) for the 20th century’s bigfoot.

Finding Bigfoot  

Approximately one-third of all bigfoot reports come from the Pacific Northwest, though several reports are from the Midwest, the South, Appalachia, Texas, and Florida–but most of these encounters are thought to be hoaxes or cases of misidentification. 

In West Virginia, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has received over a hundred reports of bigfeet within the state, most of which are nonviolent encounters. Bigfeet inhabiting this region are believed to reside in the remote, mountain wilderness or abandoned mine shafts that cover the southwestern portion of the state. Bigfoot encounters are rarer in the northern and far-eastern sections of West Virginia.