OntarioSasquatch
Field How-To's ...
Page 3
Article written by
guest contributor,
Paul Pinkham.
Illustrations by Ontario Sasquatch Investigator, Pat Barker.
The Trouble with Footprints
Written by Paul Pinkham, Illustrations by Pat Barker
Wednesday, 22 March 2006
... continued
So how can you tell if a track is faked? There are things to look for, but as time goes on and more information on sasquatch is available, it is getting harder and harder to weed out the hoaxes. Here are the important things to consider:
Variation: If multiple prints are found, look for variations such as toe position, shape, partial or full prints, etc. A living foot will not make the same print twice. A footprint is not what the foot looks like, but what it did when it hit the ground. Artificial feet are likely to look relatively the same print-to-print.
Fig.14: Photos showing purported sasquatch tracks from the same trackway.
Photo credit: Dr. Jeff Meldrum, http://www.isu.edu/~meldd/fxnlmorph.html
* See Link to his article at top of page
Compression Lines: Tiny cracks in the inner top-most part of a track are called compression lines, and are an indicator that the track was made by a flexible foot.
Fig. 15: Location of compression lines
Impact Ridges: These are cracks that form on the outside of a track, and are caused when something hard – like wooden feet – are stamped into the ground.
Manipulation: Check to see if the print has possibly been tampered with. Has debris been removed to make the track clearer? Are there finger marks or obvious signs of shaping? Is the soil pushed and formed in ways that seem unnatural?
Human Activity: Are there signs of human presence in the area? Is the suspect print in a place where someone would think it would be noticed? In a picnic area, on a well used trail, etc.? What is the likelihood that someone would choose this place of all places to perpetrate a hoax?
Habitat: Is the area involved likely sasquatch habitat? Is there a history of sightings or track finds in the area?
Who knows: Who knows where you are going? Do any of your acquaintances or family members like to play jokes? Maybe you know someone who wants to trick you. Could they have known where you would be?
A hoaxed track may be extremely convincing, so your best option is to document it as thoroughly as possible. You may not be convinced it is a hoax at first, but proper documentation and peer review can help you make a more informed decision.
Fig. 16: Location of impact ridges
In Conclusion
Do not be so excited as to miss the little details. Regardless of what you think, if the evidence is enough to convince you that it deserves further investigation, then do your best to document it in as much detail as possible with multiple photographs, measurements, and field notes containing time of day, date, location, and anything else worth noting, as mentioned in this article. It is of the utmost importance that when presenting evidence for further review you are able to accurately portray the evidence in question. The fewer questions that need to be asked, the better results you are going to have.
Until we have sasquatch to examine, we have to do our best with the information that has been collected so far. The truth of the matter is, what we consider to be an authentic sasquatch track may not be as accurate as we hope. In reality, unless one has seen a sasquatch make the track, one can never be 100% sure that it is an authentic sasquatch track. The best an investigator can do is examine and document to the best of their abilities, and hope for constructive feedback from peer review. Something is making these tracks. With properly documented evidence, we become closer to finding out what exactly that may be.
... End ...
We would like to thank Paul Pinkham for giving permission to publish this article. It first appeared on the Sasquatch Research Initiative (SRI) website.
We also extend our thanks to Samuel Rich of Georgia Bigfoot for providing us with a copy of the photo he took of a 15" long footprint (Fig. 1).
And to Paul Willison for his bear overstep photo (Fig. 6), and for his expertise. Paul is a veteran bear hunter.
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