Bigfoot: Up Close and Personal!

Painting a picture of what Bigfoot might look like from head to toe.

From Newsweek's Special Edition Magazine - "BIGFOOT: The Science, Sightings, and Search for America's Elusive Legend" - Purchase here!   

While nobody has produced a specimen of the mysterious Sasquatch, that hasn't stopped speculation about its physical properties. Dr. John Bindernagel, who has been researching Sasquatches since the '60s, gives us a best guess about how these creatures measure up.

Height 
While the beast stands at an imposing stature compared to most of us, it isn't the kind of giant you have to climb a beanstalk to see. "I put it in the range of 7 feet tall. Sometimes people see an adult and it's very human-like in proportion," Bindernagel says, "It's not the big hulking male with shoulders over 3 feet wide. It's almost like a basketball player, so people are thinking `human.—

Weight 
From analyzing casts of footprints and taking eyewitness reports into account, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization estimates Sasquatch tips the scales quite a bit. Bindernagel thinks the average Sasquatch weighs in at around 600 pounds.

Hair
The mammal is sheltered by a coat of hair ranging from black to reddish brown. "They have hair rather than fur," Bindernagel says. "Hair like the gorilla. It's stringier than a dense underfur and guard hair on most mammals."

Facial Features 
"There are a lot of apelike characteristics in the face: very thin lips and very wide mouth, a very wide upper lip; Bindernagel says. "Nostrils often almost facing directly forward. It has deep-set eyes and brow ridges with a receding forehead. Sasquatch also has a rounded chin, which is very apelike and very unhuman. We humans, one of our big characteristics is a sharp, pointed chin."

Diet 
Just like humans, Bigfoot will eat pretty much anything it can get its hands on. "In my first book [North America's Great Ape: The Sasquatch], I had a list of about 40 food items—items that Sasquatches have either been observed eating or carrying, presumably with the intention of eating," Bindernagel says. "It's a lot of vegetation—berries, fruits, grasses and aquatic plants—which you would expect. But then about half the items are meat or shellfish, that they could either forage for or which may actually involve predation."

Vocalizations 
Sasquatches are not seen only at night, according to Bindernagel, but they can also be heard during the evening. "We think they are largely nocturnal. We hear these vocalizations starting around dusk into the night. I think there's communication involved in the vocalizations. These calls are long, mournful and some would suggest loneliness. Some are almost distressful."

Social Behavior 
Bindernagel thinks the Sasquatch might mirror the family behavior of the orangutan, rather than the chimpanzee or gorilla.. "My suggestion for the best behavior model in the great ape kingdom is the orangutan," Bindernagel says. "It's like the orangutan where you have a male and female get together in a consortship for brief mating. Then the female and infant travel by themselves, and the males remain largely solitary. I think that's the most likely social structure."

From Newsweek's Special Edition Magazine - "BIGFOOT: The Science, Sightings, and Search for America's Elusive Legend" - Purchase here!