There are several famous mysteries: the Loch Ness Monster, the Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot, to name just some. Every once in a while, we read about someone who says they have spotted Bigfoot. Well, a data scientist has dashed any inclination I may have had to believe in the paranormal by saying that he has solved the Bigfoot mystery by using DNA testing.
Bigfoot scrutinized: Does the gigantic ape-like creature exist?
Floe Foxon, a data analyst, says that he has finally solved the mystery of the existence of Bigfoot. This ape-like creature is purported to measure six to 15 feet in height, walk on two feet, and creep around the forests of North America.
Foxon presented his answer on the identity of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, as it is sometimes referred to. He arrived at the answer to the question of who, or what, Bigfoot is, not by staking out in the forest and waiting for days on end for the hairy giant to appear, but by doing something very different and scientific.
This is a bit of a climax killer, but Foxon unveiled the identity of Bigfoot by using math. Yes, just like you read it. A bit disappointing for those of us who like a little bit of mystery now and then. He carried out a statistical analysis and found out that Bigfoot is not an inexplicable, hairy, gigantic phenomenon, but really, he may be just a plain old, simple bear.
Debunking Bigfoot with numbers and facts
By looking at the places where Bigfoot had supposedly been sighted in regions in the US and Canada, Foxon discovered that these tended to coincide with regions that have a black bear population. Foxon even went further, saying that, according to statistical probability, every 900 bears, one of them would be said to be the mysterious, giant, ape man.
He published an online study in bioRxiv and presented his theory that Bigfoot is, in fact, not a strange ape who walks like a man, but just a run-of-the-mill bear. Bears are capable of walking on their two hind legs. Additionally, if black bears stand on their hind legs, they can reach a height of seven feet.
The study also includes a map that compares the populations of black bears and the Bigfoot alleged apparitions, and they tend to coincide in most places. But, there are two significant exceptions: Florida and Texas. Texas doesn’t have bears, and Florida has very few. So, mystery lovers, don’t lose hope, Bigfoot may still exist.
Further proof supporting Foxon’s claim
If you remain unconvinced and statistics are not conclusive enough for you, we can also bring forth more proof that discredits the existence of the Sasquatch. Firstly, for Bigfoot to be alive and breathing today, he must have been born from someone. That is to say, there must have been several other Bigfoots out there for the species to survive.
Moreover, let’s say more Bigfoots were creeping around, wouldn’t one of them have been found dead? There are no fossil traces of Bigfoot. Any alleged biological evidence has been unmasked as fake or coming from animals.
Bigfoot vs DNA testing
They just won’t leave poor Bigfoot alone. Researchers matched 36 hair samples, allegedly from Bigfoot, from different parts of the world and concluded that most were just hairs from other animals, like horses, deer, coyotes, and raccoons. There were even some that were human.
All the evidence suggests that Bigfoot doesn’t exist. Most of the pictures and videos of sightings have been revealed as fake. The most likely answer is that Bigfoot is indeed a bear, disappointing as that may be for us, mystery lovers.