Is this Bigfoot

Bigfoot News Stories...

SUNDAY, October 30th, 2007

Is this Bigfoot....or is it a bear with bad skin?

Daily Mail (UK)

It is furry, lives in the woods and walks on all fours. Beyond that, there are no hard facts about the furtive creature spotted prowling around the foot of a tree in Pennsylvania. But its mysterious appearance has prompted a storm of speculation - and prompted many Bigfoot believers to grab their cameras and head for the woods.

Others, however, believe it's just a bear with bad skin. The animal was photographed by Rick Jacobs, who captured the images after fastening a camera with an automatic trigger to a tree in the Allegheny National Forest on September 16. He had hoped to get pictures of deer - but instead ended up with something more sinister.

"I couldn't figure out what it was," he said. "But I've been hunting for years and I've never seen anything like this." Mr Jacobs contacted the Bigfoot Research Organization, which pursues reports of the legendary two-legged creature, also known as the sasquatch, that some people believe lives in parts of the U.S. and Canada.

"It appears to be a primate-like animal. In my opinion, it appears to be a juvenile Sasquatch," said Paul Majeta of the Bigfoot group.

Despite the furore, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has a more conventional opinion. Agency spokesman Jerry Feaser said conservation officers routinely trap bears to be tagged and often see animals that look like the photos.

"There is no question it is a bear with a severe case of mange," Feaser said.

According to most reports, Bigfoot is a large ape with dark brown or dark reddish hair. There have been recorded sightings of the creature since 1840 but most scientists dimiss the sasquatch as myth.

Bigfoot or bear with bad skin?: The jury's out

Captured: The images were taken by a camera set up in a tree