The Sasquatch?

If spotted, be sure to have your camera ready to take snapshots of this elusive creature and post them here for all to scrutinize and enjoy. He yearns to travel far and wide and seems to like to keep moving, so if you are ready to give him a ride, keep him safe and place him in well hidden caches where the Sasquatch is free to roam without being sighted by skeptics, (i.e. Muggles!).

The Sasquatch has been sighted in the Kootenays! Grainy footage procured from an intrepid Geocaaching family has revealed that he (or she?) was spotted on a rocky bluff about 10 minutes from downtown Castlegar, and they were fortunate enough to be able to tag the creature for tracking purposes. Scientists have been alerted to this fact and are anxious to track the whereabouts of this creature and request that anyone who sees this creature log all reported sighting. Initial thoughts are that this animal must be in the same family as that creature seen in the Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967 in Northern California.

It is impossible to know what this creature's real motives are and why he is so elusive, but it is interesting that the creature has been spotted with a Canadian Flag, is it possible that the Sasquatch is displaying his national pride?

The Sasquatch is more commonly known as Bigfoot, or sometimes as the Abominable Snowman. This from wikipedia:

Bigfoot is described in reports as a large hairy ape-like creature, ranging between 6–10 feet (2–3 m) tall, weighing in excess of 500 pounds (230 kg), and covered in dark brown or dark reddish hair. Alleged witnesses have described large eyes, a pronounced brow ridge, and a large, low-set forehead; the top of the head has been described as rounded and crested, similar to the sagittal crest of the male gorilla. Bigfoot is commonly reported to have a strong, unpleasant smell by those who claim to have encountered it.

Wildmen stories are found among the indigenous population of the Pacific Northwest. The legends existed prior to a single name for the creature. They differed in their details both regionally and between families in the same community. Similar stories of wildmen are found on every continent except Antarctica.

In 1840, Reverend Elkanah Walker, a Protestant missionary, recorded stories of giants among the Native Americans living in Spokane, Washington. The Indians claimed that these giants lived on and around the peaks of nearby mountains and stole salmon from the fishermen's nets.

A rare image of the local Sasquatch surfaced this week, the photo taken as a local man, (who wishes to remain anonomous for obvious reasons), was trying out an antique instamatic camera. Due to the blurred vision through the viewfinder, he thought he was taking a picture of his wife, (who was actually standing some distance off to the right of the creature at the time), and was somewhat surprised to discover his luck at capturing this magnificent creature apparently comfortable in its natural habitat.

But the scientific community is not sold on the idea of the Sasquatch...

Most of the scientific community discounts the existence of Bigfoot, as there is little or no evidence supporting the survival of such a large, prehistoric ape-like creature. The evidence that does exist points more towards a hoax or delusion than to sightings of a genuine creature. In a 1996 USA Today article titled "Bigfoot Merely Amuses Most Scientists", Washington State zoologist John Crane says, "There is no such thing as Bigfoot. No data other than material that's clearly been fabricated has ever been presented." In addition to the lack of evidence, scientists cite the fact that Bigfoot is alleged to live in regions unusual for a large, nonhuman primate, i.e., temperate latitudes in the northern hemisphere; all recognized nonhuman apes are found in the tropics of Africa and Asia. Thus, as with other proposed megafauna cryptids, climate and food supply issues would make such a creature's survival in reported habitats unlikely.

All I can say is I was a skeptic, but I have now seen one with my own two eyes, right here in the Kootenays.

This trackable creature is part of a homeschool project in the Kootenays of British Columbia Canada. Please keep it moving and post photos of the places and caches it visits - we'd love to see where it gets to.

Please ensure that any photos posted do not reveal the tracking code on the backside of the tag!