| Bigfoot
Encounters Harrison Hot Springs Sasquatch Forum 1996, speaker Dr. John Bindernagel |
"The March 2006 Wayback Machine" Speakers and guests gathered at the Harrison Hot Spring Hotel, Coronet Room on Friday evening, the 3rd, at 6:30 PM, for a no-host get-acquainted reception. Unfortunately, the entrance fee of $7.00 kept many away, and the food served was only chips and dip plus some cut vegetables, so many left early, headed for nearby restaurants. I did meet several of the speakers though; René Dahinden, Barbara Wasson-Butler, Thomas Steenburg, and many WBS members, up for the talks. Larry Lund has video-taped all the lectures plus a Bigfoot Race and other things. Covering the topic of Sasquatch, there were several slides of totem poles. John indicated that the totems were a family memorial, and one did not see the Bukwas pictured on them, only family crests... those that were, as in Vancouver, BC, are made for tourists, he noted. One exception though, was a Duzuniqua (North Vancouver Island, Dr. Wihr tells me) totem that had a bear with the elusive female Bukwas face carved on both of the feet. John noted that there were some 46 reports of Sasquatch on Vancouver Island. In 1988 he found and plastered tracks himself at Strathcona Provincial Park, Vancouver Island. Again in 1994 handprints were found in the park... Another instance was when a witness noted a Sasquatch rummaging in garbage. It went through a white plastic bag, glanced up at the witnesses overhead, and went back to the bag. Another was seen at Comox Lake dragging a deer, when seen, leaning against a tree. Again on a mountain road, a witness was driving fast and came around a curve to see a Sasquatch bending down. It was a 10-12 footer with legs like garbage cans. The driver swerved and rolled the car. He guessed that it jumped outta' the way, as he never hit it. Dr. Bindernagel wrote an article, "A Biologist Looks at Sasquatch... Seriously". The excellent article with an introduction to Sasquatch. Challenging the idea that bears and hoaxes account for sightings, John went on to give a rational assessment of the current facts surrounding the Sasquatch phenomenon, looking at the physical and anatomical characteristics, and the tracks. John became interested in Sasquatch when he found tracks from near his home, which he plastered and had available for viewing. We certainly look forward to more interesting papers from Dr. Bindernagel concerning his findings and speculations, and are happy to note that he is still fairly open-minded, as a scientist should be, and apparently open to all information, regardless if it fits a particular "frame" of reference at that particular time. If you subscribe to the "sasquatch is an ape theory" you might enjoy his book, "North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch," 1998 Here is a 1994 newspaper article on Dr. Bindernagel published in the Bremerton, Washington Sun on January 7, 1994.... Biologist 'out of the closet' and on Bigfoot's trail Victoria, B.C. (AP) -- Massive footprints found in the snow, a "whoo whoo whooop" call heard in the woods - must be a sasquatch! At least, that's what a wildlife biologist on Vancouver Island believes. John Bindernagel, 52, of Courtenay, said he began his sasquatch hunt years afo, but kept it quiet for fear of being branded a crack-pot. "I only sort of came out of the closet about a year ago and started talking to other people about it," Bindernagel said Thursday. His evidence includes 16-inch, human-like footprints found in Strathcona provincial park while on a hiking trip in 1988. "You have to see them to appreciate how massive they really are," he said. In addition, Bindernagel said he heard a strange, apelike call at a friend's cabin near Comox Lake in 1992. "The only thing which I have ever heard which is similar is a chimpanzee in Uganda," he said. "It was a sort of 'whoo whoo whooop.'" He said his friend told him he had heard the cry often, always in spring, and always at dusk. Bindernagel said he knows of no other creature in North America that makes such a call, and he believes it was a sasquatch trying to communicate with its own kind. The mysterious ape-like creature - also known as Bigfoot - is said to inhabit remote regions of the Pacific Northwest. Bindernagel, who has a doctorate in wildlife biology from the University of Geulph in Ontario, worked for 20 years conducting wildlife research for the United Nations around the world. Bindernagel works now as a consultant. Portions of this website are reprinted and sometimes edited to fit the standards of this website under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law |