"Much of what is learned about mammals in the wild comes from the stories that can be read from their tracks and other sign." -- Dr. Jim Halfpenny, as quoted in Meldrum's book.
Mammals are some of the most elusive creatures that are on this planet. We know they are out there. But how many do you actually see? I know they have reported black bears in my area. How many have I seen in the flesh? Zero. Yeah, I see deer, maybe even up to a half dozen at a time. They tell me there are hundreds in the area. Skunk? Not for several years, except as road kill. Opossum? Road kill. Rabbits? One or two, here and there. Again, hundreds said to be around. Coyotes? We're told we've been invaded in this area. In the past 10 years I've seen Two. Yep. Two.
I can balance it with being told no bobcats in the area and claim the one that tracked my injured cat up to my backdoor. (Don't worry, years ago and that was the last day any of my cats were outdoor cats). Yep. No bobcats. And that one looked me straight in the eye. No mistake on what I saw.
So, sorry. Side-tracked. (Pun intended).
On to sasquatch tracks. Dr. Meldrum gives us three main things to look for : toe movement, midfoot flexibility, pressure ridges.
He goes on to say that the resemblance to a human footprint ends mostly with the inner big toe being aligned with the remaining toes. Sasquatch prints are typically flat with no consistent indication of the true hallmark of the human foot -- a fixed longitudinal arch. The sasquatch foot is relatively broader and the sole pad is apparently thicker, comparing it to a human foot. The heel and toe segments are disproportionately longer.
A sasquatch displays an exceptionally long stride, often with the footprints one directly in front of the other. Most modern Euro-Americans leave lines of alternating right and left footprints separated by some distance, referred to as a straddle, or step width.
A sasquatch print shows a lack of difference of pressure indentation beneath the heel and ball as in an arched foot (human). The sasquatch prints tend to be uniform in depth.
Sometimes the print may indicate a more ape-like midfoot flexibility.
Meldrum also reminds us that a sasquatch print is not an enlarged human print, but "appears to represent a uniquely adapted primate foot associated with a distinctive mode of bipedalism, one that may well have evolved independently although roughly in parallet to hominid bipedalism".
Well, now to a quiz. Real or fake? You decide.
"For me as a wildlife biologist, it's the tracks that we depend upon for the existence of an animal in a study area. We don't usually see the mammals, but we do see their tracks. In the case of the Sasquatch, this is the most compelling evidence we have." --
Dr. John Bindernagel
Nancy
"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."
Excellent
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