1 00:00:17,875 --> 00:00:20,292 - My name is Ivan Marx. 2 00:00:20,583 --> 00:00:23,083 The film you are about to see is authentic. 3 00:00:24,250 --> 00:00:28,250 It records the last 10 years which has changed my life. 4 00:00:28,542 --> 00:00:31,917 I stumbled on something that I could not believe at first, 5 00:00:32,208 --> 00:00:34,792 but soon realized it had significance on me 6 00:00:35,083 --> 00:00:36,583 and everyone around me, 7 00:00:36,875 --> 00:00:39,333 which could not be ignored or underestimated. 8 00:00:40,542 --> 00:00:44,208 The Eskimos call the subject of my story Bushman. 9 00:00:45,125 --> 00:00:47,208 The Colville Indians of upstate Washington 10 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:49,333 call him Sasquatch. 11 00:00:49,625 --> 00:00:53,500 The Hoopas of Northern California call him Oh-Mah. 12 00:00:53,792 --> 00:00:56,625 But right now, let's just call him Bigfoot. 13 00:00:58,208 --> 00:01:00,708 (somber music) 14 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:37,958 (bright music) 15 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:40,750 This is my country 16 00:02:47,208 --> 00:02:49,750 I've spent all my life in areas like this 17 00:02:51,083 --> 00:02:53,333 as close to the animals as a man can get. 18 00:03:06,875 --> 00:03:08,500 I built my home here. 19 00:03:10,542 --> 00:03:14,458 Bear Ranch, of course, I'm prejudiced, but I think 20 00:03:14,750 --> 00:03:17,542 it's just about the prettiest place I've ever seen. 21 00:03:21,625 --> 00:03:23,417 Then there's Peggy. 22 00:03:23,708 --> 00:03:25,250 She's a rare woman. 23 00:03:26,292 --> 00:03:29,333 She's the only woman I know who'd put up with the animals 24 00:03:29,625 --> 00:03:32,417 I used to bring home, like those coyote pups, 25 00:03:33,417 --> 00:03:35,792 and raised them just like they were her own. 26 00:03:53,583 --> 00:03:57,250 Yeah, we shared more ups and downs 27 00:03:57,542 --> 00:03:59,125 than there are in the High Sierras. 28 00:04:00,042 --> 00:04:03,208 Those were good days, simple, clear-cut. 29 00:04:04,458 --> 00:04:07,583 You see, I'm a tracker, and believe me, 30 00:04:07,875 --> 00:04:10,333 I'm the last of a vanishing breed. 31 00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:17,000 I know tracks like the FBI knows fingerprints. 32 00:04:17,292 --> 00:04:19,000 (dogs howling) 33 00:04:19,292 --> 00:04:21,000 I specialized in renegades, 34 00:04:21,958 --> 00:04:25,542 killers of livestock and sometimes people. 35 00:04:25,833 --> 00:04:27,625 (gun fires) 36 00:04:27,917 --> 00:04:29,375 I didn't kill for sport. 37 00:04:29,667 --> 00:04:30,833 I went after the right animal 38 00:04:31,125 --> 00:04:33,208 so innocent ones might be spared. 39 00:04:38,750 --> 00:04:42,375 I learned trapping from my dad's shoulders back in Illinois. 40 00:04:43,708 --> 00:04:46,458 (animal snarling) 41 00:04:54,042 --> 00:04:56,208 Since that time, I worked for the government, 42 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:00,208 territories, sheriff's office, federal game warden. 43 00:05:01,417 --> 00:05:03,917 When they had a renegade, they knew who to call. 44 00:05:05,125 --> 00:05:09,458 (snarling) (barking) 45 00:05:13,333 --> 00:05:15,833 There was a time me and the dogs got called up 46 00:05:16,125 --> 00:05:18,833 all the way to Kodiak, Alaska. 47 00:05:19,125 --> 00:05:21,833 There'd been reports that bear had been killing the cattle. 48 00:05:22,125 --> 00:05:25,250 Now, I know bear, and the Kodiak happens to be 49 00:05:25,542 --> 00:05:28,208 one of the most beautiful on god's Earth. 50 00:05:29,875 --> 00:05:32,042 Takes a lot of grub to feed him. 51 00:05:32,333 --> 00:05:35,250 Nine feet tall, up to a ton in weight. 52 00:05:36,292 --> 00:05:39,292 No need for him to be killing cattle, though. 53 00:05:39,583 --> 00:05:43,083 He's as fine a fisherman as you'll ever see. 54 00:05:43,375 --> 00:05:46,417 (gentle country music) 55 00:06:04,542 --> 00:06:08,417 The ranchers were getting $5,000 bounties 56 00:06:08,708 --> 00:06:11,042 on these so-called cow killers, 57 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:15,375 so I moved in to set things straight. 58 00:06:15,667 --> 00:06:18,042 (gulls crying) 59 00:06:23,083 --> 00:06:25,792 (mooing) 60 00:06:26,083 --> 00:06:28,000 I met a rancher who said, 61 00:06:28,292 --> 00:06:31,042 "It ain't Kodiak killing my cattle.” 62 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:34,167 I finally found someone I could talk to. 63 00:06:35,375 --> 00:06:40,292 He said Bigfoot straight-faced as could be. 64 00:06:42,792 --> 00:06:45,417 He said, "Bigfoot's been killing my cattle.” 65 00:06:46,708 --> 00:06:47,500 Bigfoot? 66 00:06:50,208 --> 00:06:54,333 I checked the carcass and saw the cow had died naturally. 67 00:06:54,625 --> 00:06:56,708 The bears just fed on its remains. 68 00:06:57,917 --> 00:07:00,958 Found out after, the grass was waterlogged, 69 00:07:01,250 --> 00:07:01,917 not enough protein. 70 00:07:02,208 --> 00:07:04,500 The cattle died of malnutrition. 71 00:07:08,167 --> 00:07:09,167 Kodiak? 72 00:07:10,333 --> 00:07:11,250 Bigfoot? 73 00:07:12,250 --> 00:07:14,542 People always want their questions answered 74 00:07:14,833 --> 00:07:18,500 in such neatly wrapped little packages. 75 00:07:18,792 --> 00:07:22,042 Well, I'd heard about Bigfoot, some abominable snowman 76 00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:25,667 who'd wandered across the Bering Strait before the Ice Age. 77 00:07:27,667 --> 00:07:30,250 I couldn't believe a grown man would tell me 78 00:07:30,542 --> 00:07:32,542 a Bigfoot was killing his cattle. 79 00:07:32,833 --> 00:07:36,208 Huh, what a bunch of hogwash. 80 00:07:39,750 --> 00:07:42,208 (gentle music) 81 00:07:50,083 --> 00:07:52,000 I didn't mind at all putting distance 82 00:07:52,292 --> 00:07:55,375 between me and those crazies in Alaska. 83 00:07:55,667 --> 00:07:57,750 It felt good to be with some sensible folks 84 00:07:58,042 --> 00:07:59,292 like Peggy's brother. 85 00:08:01,417 --> 00:08:03,375 And Arizona University wanted us 86 00:08:03,667 --> 00:08:07,000 to track down a javelina hog for research. 87 00:08:07,292 --> 00:08:09,792 It's a small critter, but vicious. 88 00:08:18,250 --> 00:08:20,833 (hog squealing) 89 00:08:26,583 --> 00:08:30,625 Well, I told my brother-in-law about the wild Bigfoot story 90 00:08:30,917 --> 00:08:35,708 at Kodiak, but he didn't respond as I'd expected. 91 00:08:40,750 --> 00:08:45,167 He said, "Don't be so quick to make judgments. 92 00:08:46,333 --> 00:08:48,458 "There's something I want you to see." 93 00:08:53,167 --> 00:08:54,750 He took me to what Indians called 94 00:08:55,042 --> 00:08:58,500 the land of petrified wood. 95 00:08:58,792 --> 00:09:03,542 There, carved in a rock, were drawings of a creature 96 00:09:03,833 --> 00:09:07,042 with big hands and big feet, 97 00:09:07,333 --> 00:09:10,417 exactly as I had heard Bigfoot described. 98 00:09:11,417 --> 00:09:15,375 The drawings were 700 years old. 99 00:09:16,625 --> 00:09:19,917 They told how creatures the Indians called stickman 100 00:09:20,208 --> 00:09:23,333 had come in the night and stolen the Indian children. 101 00:09:24,875 --> 00:09:29,792 The Indians abandoned the village in fear. 102 00:09:30,250 --> 00:09:33,167 (suspenseful music) 103 00:09:41,417 --> 00:09:44,417 First the ranchers, now my brother-in-law. 104 00:09:44,708 --> 00:09:46,958 My head was reeling with Bigfoot. 105 00:09:51,833 --> 00:09:54,667 Eh, the stories are just so many words, 106 00:09:54,958 --> 00:09:56,792 so I soon forgot about 'em, 107 00:09:57,083 --> 00:09:59,708 till I was up tracking a mountain lion, 108 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,542 and I found these tracks. 109 00:10:02,833 --> 00:10:05,208 And they look much like human footprints, 110 00:10:05,500 --> 00:10:08,500 but they were 18 inches long, 111 00:10:08,792 --> 00:10:12,750 6.5 across the ball of the foot, 5.5 at the heel. 112 00:10:14,333 --> 00:10:16,208 They were the hugest I'd ever seen. 113 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:19,417 Tracks were so deep, 114 00:10:19,708 --> 00:10:23,292 they had to have been made by at least a 500-pound animal. 115 00:10:27,250 --> 00:10:30,333 And the hair, I couldn't identify it. 116 00:10:32,333 --> 00:10:35,042 The toe prints were spread around small rocks 117 00:10:35,333 --> 00:10:38,042 and dug into the earth, showing whatever made them 118 00:10:38,333 --> 00:10:40,625 could cover pretty rugged country. 119 00:10:40,917 --> 00:10:45,708 And the stride was enormous: 52 inches in length. 120 00:10:46,375 --> 00:10:47,750 Man's only 30. 121 00:10:48,750 --> 00:10:49,792 If they were fakes, 122 00:10:50,083 --> 00:10:52,583 somebody would have had to drag a pretty big machine 123 00:10:52,875 --> 00:10:54,750 over pretty rough country to make them 124 00:10:55,042 --> 00:10:57,667 and they would have left their own tracks. 125 00:10:59,042 --> 00:11:01,542 I saw where a creature had stumbled. 126 00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:07,417 There was a handprint, but no sign of claws. 127 00:11:09,417 --> 00:11:11,333 They were so man like. 128 00:11:13,333 --> 00:11:16,750 I was mystified, so I made plaster casts 129 00:11:17,042 --> 00:11:19,583 and sent them with the hair to a lab for analysis. 130 00:11:23,667 --> 00:11:26,292 Well, I tell you, I was glad to get home. 131 00:11:28,625 --> 00:11:31,208 Our pups were growing and they didn't give us much time 132 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:33,542 to think about everything that had happened. 133 00:11:33,833 --> 00:11:36,875 (lively country music) 134 00:11:44,833 --> 00:11:47,750 (chickens clucking) 135 00:11:51,417 --> 00:11:53,875 (pup whining) 136 00:11:58,542 --> 00:12:01,667 I was called to chase a renegade bear up north. 137 00:12:01,958 --> 00:12:05,208 This time I wasn't so eager to return to the mountains. 138 00:12:06,208 --> 00:12:08,708 Tests had shown the hair samples and tracks 139 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:11,917 couldn't be matched with any known animal. 140 00:12:13,917 --> 00:12:16,125 I was uncomfortable. 141 00:12:19,083 --> 00:12:21,792 The animals were even acting strange. 142 00:12:26,958 --> 00:12:31,250 I soon found out why. (somber music) 143 00:12:33,542 --> 00:12:35,667 I found the bear I was looking for 144 00:12:36,667 --> 00:12:38,542 but not in the condition I expected. 145 00:12:43,333 --> 00:12:46,208 Another track just as I'd seen on the mountain. 146 00:12:51,958 --> 00:12:56,708 And there, between its teeth, the hair. 147 00:12:59,875 --> 00:13:01,167 I was astounded. 148 00:13:01,458 --> 00:13:05,250 A 600-pound bear that had stood eight feet tall, 149 00:13:06,958 --> 00:13:11,708 lying by the side of the creek with its neck broken. 150 00:13:22,417 --> 00:13:26,917 Now I wanted to find out everything I could about Bigfoot. 151 00:13:27,208 --> 00:13:30,042 I advertised for any information or leads. 152 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:34,792 You can't believe the number of stories people had to tell. 153 00:13:35,833 --> 00:13:37,375 My friends laughed at them all. 154 00:13:37,667 --> 00:13:40,042 Okay, I'd laugh too. 155 00:13:41,333 --> 00:13:43,875 But things were different now. 156 00:13:44,167 --> 00:13:48,042 I had to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. 157 00:13:49,833 --> 00:13:54,125 There were reports of creatures 12 feet tall, 800 pounds, 158 00:13:54,417 --> 00:13:56,042 that prowled on two feet. 159 00:13:56,958 --> 00:14:00,250 Now, that's absurd, scientifically impossible. 160 00:14:00,542 --> 00:14:04,125 No creature that size or weight could even stand upright. 161 00:14:05,333 --> 00:14:07,833 And as for tracks, (chuckles) 162 00:14:08,125 --> 00:14:10,042 you can't imagine the number of kids 163 00:14:10,333 --> 00:14:14,042 I found running around the woods making plywood fakes, 164 00:14:14,333 --> 00:14:16,542 tales of hunters being ripped apart, 165 00:14:16,833 --> 00:14:19,167 campers kidnapped and never heard of again. 166 00:14:20,833 --> 00:14:24,500 But four features all the reports shared 167 00:14:26,083 --> 00:14:31,000 were the dark hair, the domed head, the large footprints, 168 00:14:34,917 --> 00:14:39,667 and the glowing red eyes. (ominous music) 169 00:14:50,542 --> 00:14:52,792 Nature's my home. 170 00:14:53,083 --> 00:14:57,833 How could some missing link be wandering around up here 171 00:14:58,125 --> 00:14:59,542 without me knowing it? 172 00:15:00,917 --> 00:15:02,625 I was good to get back in the mountains 173 00:15:02,917 --> 00:15:04,750 and visit a couple of my pets. 174 00:15:06,042 --> 00:15:07,917 I tried not to think about Bigfoot 175 00:15:08,208 --> 00:15:10,667 but it was tough to shake. 176 00:15:13,083 --> 00:15:14,208 It wasn't two minutes 177 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:17,083 before my friend had vanished in the wood. 178 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,542 Well, I set out after him, but I couldn't find him anyplace. 179 00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:34,292 (gentle instrumental music) 180 00:15:46,167 --> 00:15:50,583 (rattling) (cracking) 181 00:16:09,667 --> 00:16:12,708 I came to a bridge and there beside it, 182 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,208 another track, fresh. 183 00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:20,292 (dramatic music) (leaves rustling) 184 00:16:22,917 --> 00:16:25,792 My legs were moving before I realized what I was doing. 185 00:16:26,750 --> 00:16:28,917 I couldn't believe what I'd seen. 186 00:16:32,083 --> 00:16:34,125 I had to get a closer look. 187 00:16:46,958 --> 00:16:51,042 Nauseating, musky odor made it difficult to breathe, 188 00:16:51,333 --> 00:16:53,792 but I had to find out what I'd seen. 189 00:16:54,083 --> 00:16:56,500 (thunder rumbles) 190 00:16:56,792 --> 00:16:59,917 It was getting dark, time was growing short. 191 00:17:17,917 --> 00:17:20,500 Bigfoot. 192 00:17:20,792 --> 00:17:22,000 I'd seen Bigfoot. 193 00:17:30,708 --> 00:17:32,333 What the hell was I doing? 194 00:17:34,667 --> 00:17:39,042 I was here alone without a rifle, 195 00:17:39,333 --> 00:17:41,625 without anyone knowing where to find me 196 00:17:46,708 --> 00:17:51,625 with a 500-pound, eight-foot tall vicious creature. 197 00:17:53,125 --> 00:17:55,875 I had to get out of here, get some help. 198 00:18:01,083 --> 00:18:02,958 I had to show people what I'd seen. 199 00:18:04,708 --> 00:18:05,875 The footprints. 200 00:18:18,125 --> 00:18:20,750 (animal snarling) 201 00:18:21,042 --> 00:18:22,083 It was just the cat. 202 00:18:23,958 --> 00:18:26,958 I'd never been so scared in my life, 203 00:18:27,917 --> 00:18:30,000 but my friends couldn't laugh now. 204 00:18:31,167 --> 00:18:33,250 Wait till they saw the tracks. 205 00:18:44,042 --> 00:18:48,958 The rains came and washed the tracks away. 206 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,458 - [Man] Hurry, hurry, get your Bigfoot burger. 207 00:18:56,750 --> 00:18:57,292 Two burgers-- 208 00:18:57,583 --> 00:19:00,167 - [Ivan] Now people's attitudes towards Bigfoot 209 00:19:00,458 --> 00:19:02,167 made me mad. 210 00:19:02,458 --> 00:19:04,875 (car horn honking) 211 00:19:05,167 --> 00:19:06,083 I'd seenit. 212 00:19:07,917 --> 00:19:12,833 Matter of fact, I felt I'd been singled out to find it. 213 00:19:18,292 --> 00:19:21,333 (gentle guitar music) 214 00:19:25,250 --> 00:19:26,833 Where do you begin? 215 00:19:30,958 --> 00:19:34,792 Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a suspicious set of tracks. 216 00:19:36,792 --> 00:19:39,250 I really thought I was on to something. 217 00:19:39,542 --> 00:19:42,000 Over 500 on the side of a mountain. 218 00:19:43,583 --> 00:19:44,917 The tracks are funny things. 219 00:19:45,208 --> 00:19:48,708 The smallest print can melt, freeze, get snowed over, 220 00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:52,375 and before you know it, it's gigantic. 221 00:19:53,375 --> 00:19:57,333 Here, the supposed Bigfoot was a little old coyote. 222 00:20:05,250 --> 00:20:08,958 The Redwoods, an endless source of sightings. 223 00:20:15,167 --> 00:20:18,292 If this creature were here, where did it hide? 224 00:20:21,708 --> 00:20:23,000 I searched it in the caves 225 00:20:23,292 --> 00:20:25,292 formed by the roots of the ancient trees. 226 00:20:34,208 --> 00:20:36,708 Here were perfect shelters. 227 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,792 Large, dark, secluded, hideaways to recover from injuries. 228 00:20:45,958 --> 00:20:49,500 Refuge for many forest animals from the elements. 229 00:20:52,083 --> 00:20:54,958 Protected privacy when giving birth. 230 00:20:59,417 --> 00:21:03,458 Hundreds of tree caves, but no tracks, bones, 231 00:21:03,750 --> 00:21:04,958 or unusual droppings. 232 00:21:09,333 --> 00:21:11,208 No clues at all. 233 00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:13,625 I had to be wasting my time. 234 00:21:15,875 --> 00:21:18,833 But there was a statue carved in Redwood. 235 00:21:20,083 --> 00:21:22,750 Its image was based on hundreds of sightings 236 00:21:23,042 --> 00:21:24,708 collected over the years. 237 00:21:25,875 --> 00:21:30,292 And it was exactly like the creature I had seen myself. 238 00:21:51,708 --> 00:21:52,708 Oregon Coast. 239 00:21:54,917 --> 00:21:58,625 Reports of Bigfoot feeding during the run of the night fish. 240 00:22:01,625 --> 00:22:03,125 The shore was secluded. 241 00:22:04,250 --> 00:22:06,292 Food was plentiful. 242 00:22:06,583 --> 00:22:09,083 It seemed a perfect place for the secretive Bigfoot, 243 00:22:10,958 --> 00:22:11,917 so I waited. 244 00:22:12,917 --> 00:22:14,667 You don't know what it is to wait 245 00:22:14,958 --> 00:22:16,167 till you've been a tracker. 246 00:22:21,375 --> 00:22:26,292 Finally, a gull came with the first sign of the run. 247 00:22:27,917 --> 00:22:32,833 And right behind it, you've never seen so many fishermen. 248 00:22:38,417 --> 00:22:42,333 My secluded beach turned into Coney Island. 249 00:22:42,625 --> 00:22:44,250 Only way Bigfoot could show up here 250 00:22:44,542 --> 00:22:46,167 was wearing swimming trunks. 251 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,667 One bum steer after another. 252 00:22:54,583 --> 00:22:58,167 How was I supposed to know which lead to follow? 253 00:22:59,083 --> 00:23:03,208 I was running out of time and I was running out of money. 254 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:05,917 As we left, 255 00:23:06,208 --> 00:23:10,250 I felt like the waves were laughing at our backs. 256 00:23:16,917 --> 00:23:19,292 Then came our hottest tip yet. 257 00:23:19,583 --> 00:23:21,500 We couldn't turn it down. 258 00:23:21,792 --> 00:23:24,250 Snowbird warned us of an upcoming storm 259 00:23:24,542 --> 00:23:27,125 but I was too excited and ignored it. 260 00:23:28,125 --> 00:23:33,042 The area was rich with wildlife, and why not Bigfoot? 261 00:23:33,542 --> 00:23:36,750 Plenty of food, plenty of cover. 262 00:23:37,042 --> 00:23:40,333 This time, remote from man. 263 00:23:44,167 --> 00:23:45,583 There it was. 264 00:23:46,792 --> 00:23:49,292 (dramatic music) My efforts had paid off. 265 00:23:49,583 --> 00:23:52,292 And this time, I was ready for him. 266 00:23:55,250 --> 00:23:59,375 I wasn't ready to find out it was just a bear 267 00:23:59,667 --> 00:24:02,208 staying up past its winter bedtime. 268 00:24:04,458 --> 00:24:06,708 What was happening to me? 269 00:24:08,833 --> 00:24:12,333 Any Boy Scout knows how people's eyes 270 00:24:12,625 --> 00:24:15,083 play tricks on them in the woods. 271 00:24:15,375 --> 00:24:19,125 I was like a gun-happy hunter that makes a 10-foot grizz 272 00:24:19,417 --> 00:24:21,625 out of a charred old tree stump. 273 00:24:24,333 --> 00:24:26,333 Even the snowbird was laughing. 274 00:24:28,750 --> 00:24:29,875 And why shouldn't it? 275 00:24:32,708 --> 00:24:36,000 Here I was, a grown man running around the woods 276 00:24:36,292 --> 00:24:37,833 chasing some fairy tale. 277 00:24:39,708 --> 00:24:40,625 I felt like a fool. 278 00:24:45,292 --> 00:24:48,958 Well, I was out of patience and I was out of money, 279 00:24:49,250 --> 00:24:50,958 so I took a job up in the wilderness 280 00:24:51,250 --> 00:24:52,625 round Bossburg, Washington. 281 00:24:54,208 --> 00:24:57,958 I had to photograph a cinnamon bear in its natural habitat. 282 00:24:58,250 --> 00:24:59,125 You want a bear? 283 00:24:59,417 --> 00:25:00,333 Here's a bear. 284 00:25:02,042 --> 00:25:03,375 Piece of cake. 285 00:25:03,667 --> 00:25:07,958 I always got what I set after, except Bigfoot. 286 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:15,333 Then I saw it, a deformed version 287 00:25:15,625 --> 00:25:17,792 of the track I'd seen so often. 288 00:25:18,083 --> 00:25:20,875 (suspenseful music) 289 00:25:25,125 --> 00:25:26,375 There it was. 290 00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:31,125 Finally, face to face with Bigfoot. 291 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,458 Here was the domed head just as others had described it. 292 00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:46,500 The thick, dark fur to protect it from extremes of weather 293 00:25:46,792 --> 00:25:49,208 and allow it to pass unnoticed in the night. 294 00:25:51,833 --> 00:25:53,875 I saw it, photographed it, 295 00:25:55,167 --> 00:25:57,458 but scientists challenged my film. 296 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,250 It had stood up under every conceivable test. 297 00:26:05,458 --> 00:26:07,000 Some revealed rugged terrain 298 00:26:07,292 --> 00:26:09,125 as the cause of the skinned heels, 299 00:26:09,417 --> 00:26:12,042 polio as the cause of the limp. 300 00:26:12,958 --> 00:26:14,792 But my documented evidence 301 00:26:15,083 --> 00:26:17,333 wasn't good enough for the experts. 302 00:26:20,333 --> 00:26:25,250 Experts who still asked, "How could such a creature survive? 303 00:26:25,667 --> 00:26:26,583 "Where does it live? 304 00:26:26,875 --> 00:26:28,250 "Show us its remains. 305 00:26:28,542 --> 00:26:29,917 "What does it eat?" 306 00:26:30,208 --> 00:26:32,833 Experts who challenged my word 307 00:26:33,125 --> 00:26:34,875 but claimed credit for my film 308 00:26:35,167 --> 00:26:37,917 and profited by it on lecture circuits. 309 00:26:40,375 --> 00:26:43,000 Well, I didn't care for these people, 310 00:26:46,958 --> 00:26:49,333 but I was haunted by their questions. 311 00:26:54,250 --> 00:26:56,542 What an experience. 312 00:26:59,208 --> 00:27:02,625 Now I had to start finding some answers. 313 00:27:04,625 --> 00:27:06,542 The creature's tracks disappeared 314 00:27:06,833 --> 00:27:08,542 at the edge of a beaver swamp. 315 00:27:11,708 --> 00:27:14,917 Only sign of animal life was the geese 316 00:27:15,208 --> 00:27:17,167 migrating north for the summer. 317 00:27:20,208 --> 00:27:22,042 I wanted the satisfaction 318 00:27:22,333 --> 00:27:25,833 of bringing that unchallengeable proof. 319 00:27:26,125 --> 00:27:29,292 Still, where to begin? 320 00:27:30,417 --> 00:27:34,583 I found several other creatures had passed through the area. 321 00:27:34,875 --> 00:27:36,583 All heading north. 322 00:27:38,292 --> 00:27:41,583 Could Bigfoot be a migratory animal? 323 00:27:45,542 --> 00:27:48,125 I've plotted all the reliable reports. 324 00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:53,417 (gentle instrumental music) 325 00:28:07,292 --> 00:28:11,042 There actually seemed to be a migratory pattern 326 00:28:11,333 --> 00:28:13,667 extended over thousands of miles. 327 00:28:15,625 --> 00:28:17,292 If this were true, 328 00:28:17,583 --> 00:28:22,083 I'd have some means of predicting the creature's movements 329 00:28:22,375 --> 00:28:26,042 and a good chance to find some answers to my questions. 330 00:28:28,167 --> 00:28:32,833 Bigfoot always stayed in very rocky mountains 331 00:28:33,125 --> 00:28:34,500 and isolated terrain. 332 00:28:36,167 --> 00:28:37,875 The greatest number of sightings 333 00:28:38,167 --> 00:28:42,208 and the only ones of the Bigfoot young were in summer, 334 00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:44,208 above the Arctic Circle. 335 00:28:45,375 --> 00:28:48,167 Could that be where Bigfoot migrated to breed? 336 00:28:49,125 --> 00:28:53,875 If I move rapidly, I might find a clue before season's end. 337 00:28:57,208 --> 00:29:00,292 (lively guitar music) 338 00:29:20,333 --> 00:29:21,833 Peg and I took our camera 339 00:29:22,125 --> 00:29:24,625 and planned to document every step we took. 340 00:29:26,958 --> 00:29:29,333 The Lava Beds, Modoc, California. 341 00:29:30,333 --> 00:29:32,458 If Bigfoot were a migratory animal, 342 00:29:32,750 --> 00:29:35,708 my theory had to hold up all along the way. 343 00:29:37,750 --> 00:29:40,750 A track, centuries old, preserved in the lava. 344 00:29:41,667 --> 00:29:43,000 My theory was working, 345 00:29:44,042 --> 00:29:48,042 but I wondered how Bigfoot survived the violent eruptions 346 00:29:48,333 --> 00:29:50,417 that brought the lava rock. 347 00:29:54,708 --> 00:29:57,458 As usual, nature provided me clues. 348 00:29:58,958 --> 00:30:02,458 I saw these two little ground squirrels so much in love, 349 00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:07,417 they took no notice of me or the dangers around them. 350 00:30:07,708 --> 00:30:11,167 (gentle instrumental music) 351 00:31:02,583 --> 00:31:05,208 (dramatic music) 352 00:32:17,125 --> 00:32:19,625 (eagle crying) 353 00:32:44,792 --> 00:32:48,042 The male's natural instincts drove him to cover. 354 00:32:52,125 --> 00:32:56,125 These same instincts started up into wounded squirrel. 355 00:32:56,417 --> 00:32:59,875 (gentle instrumental music) 356 00:33:05,708 --> 00:33:09,875 Nature was reminding me of her basic law: survival. 357 00:33:28,875 --> 00:33:31,167 The same will to survive 358 00:33:31,458 --> 00:33:33,708 must have somehow kept Bigfoot going 359 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,958 throughout all these years. 360 00:33:39,792 --> 00:33:43,500 But where did the creature go if it were injured? 361 00:33:44,417 --> 00:33:49,250 The caves, Mount Lassen. (gentle guitar music) 362 00:33:52,875 --> 00:33:55,417 The Hat Creek Indians believed they were inhabited 363 00:33:55,708 --> 00:33:56,958 by an evil ape-man. 364 00:33:59,792 --> 00:34:01,250 Now I was hot. 365 00:34:01,542 --> 00:34:05,125 Every step along the way brought me new clues. 366 00:34:07,333 --> 00:34:10,667 It's too late in the season to find the creature here now. 367 00:34:12,917 --> 00:34:17,833 But I'd soon catch up with him above the Arctic Circle. 368 00:34:21,583 --> 00:34:24,333 (thunder rumbles) 369 00:35:10,833 --> 00:35:13,500 Peg and I found the people up north different. 370 00:35:13,792 --> 00:35:16,625 They encouraged me, took my search seriously. 371 00:35:19,458 --> 00:35:24,125 Like the lumberjacks, mountain men like myself, 372 00:35:25,167 --> 00:35:27,750 the first into the midst of the wilderness, 373 00:35:28,042 --> 00:35:31,333 which meant first with stories of Bigfoot. 374 00:35:33,667 --> 00:35:34,875 Most of their sightings 375 00:35:35,167 --> 00:35:38,208 came at the time of year I'd anticipated. 376 00:35:39,208 --> 00:35:41,667 They were sure when Bigfoot passed 377 00:35:41,958 --> 00:35:46,333 because strange happenings followed in a nearby valley. 378 00:35:48,958 --> 00:35:53,875 Herds of goats come and perform a ritual suicide. 379 00:35:56,417 --> 00:35:58,958 Sure enough, the goats were there, 380 00:35:59,250 --> 00:36:01,875 looking as if they were grazing normally, 381 00:36:02,167 --> 00:36:05,333 but actually eating pounds of dirt. 382 00:36:06,667 --> 00:36:08,333 With one gulp of water, 383 00:36:09,417 --> 00:36:13,083 the earth turns to cement and they die, 384 00:36:14,250 --> 00:36:19,167 lying in the shadow of Bigfoot etched in rock 26 feet high, 385 00:36:20,583 --> 00:36:25,500 and the wolf, his only known traveling companion. 386 00:36:27,333 --> 00:36:30,042 What went on in this valley, Bigfoot passed through, 387 00:36:30,333 --> 00:36:33,333 went against all the natural laws of survival. 388 00:36:34,958 --> 00:36:36,583 And the rock formations, 389 00:36:36,875 --> 00:36:39,333 too massive to have been shaped by man, 390 00:36:39,625 --> 00:36:44,417 presented another totally unexplainable natural phenomena. 391 00:36:50,792 --> 00:36:53,750 To those who cried for Bigfoot to exist 392 00:36:54,042 --> 00:36:58,333 goes against every bit of scientific data known to man. 393 00:36:58,625 --> 00:37:02,667 I could now say, how much more there is to know. 394 00:37:07,208 --> 00:37:09,667 I felt close to the adventurers 395 00:37:09,958 --> 00:37:12,250 who'd left their calling cards at Watson Lake 396 00:37:12,542 --> 00:37:14,417 as they crossed into the Yukon, 397 00:37:14,708 --> 00:37:17,542 and even closer to those who'd made a similar journey 398 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:19,833 at the turn of the century, 399 00:37:20,125 --> 00:37:22,208 folks who set out after something 400 00:37:22,500 --> 00:37:24,125 they didn't know where to find 401 00:37:24,417 --> 00:37:26,667 but knew was out there someplace. 402 00:37:27,708 --> 00:37:31,875 With so many pouring into the Yukon during the gold rush, 403 00:37:32,167 --> 00:37:33,042 it's no surprise 404 00:37:33,333 --> 00:37:37,750 there'd be such a rich source of stories about Bigfoot. 405 00:37:40,542 --> 00:37:44,125 (gentle instrumental music) 406 00:37:50,042 --> 00:37:51,417 For the first time in my life, 407 00:37:51,708 --> 00:37:55,042 I understood what made people like that tick. 408 00:37:56,083 --> 00:37:58,208 It's more than gold. 409 00:37:58,500 --> 00:38:02,167 I guess we all need a frontier to explore. 410 00:38:02,458 --> 00:38:04,917 You don't necessarily have to go off into it. 411 00:38:05,208 --> 00:38:08,708 Just makes you feel kind of good knowing it's there. 412 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:14,458 Thousands of these people came from everywhere. 413 00:38:21,833 --> 00:38:25,917 Tent cities sprung up where no man had ever even walked. 414 00:38:27,208 --> 00:38:30,375 If Bigfoot came here to keep clear of man, 415 00:38:30,667 --> 00:38:33,000 its seclusion didn't last for long. 416 00:38:34,083 --> 00:38:39,000 Such a rich source of information had to bring new leads. 417 00:38:41,042 --> 00:38:44,250 Sure enough, an old miner story told 418 00:38:44,542 --> 00:38:45,792 how the glaciers out there 419 00:38:46,083 --> 00:38:47,917 were the burial grounds of the Bigfoot. 420 00:38:49,708 --> 00:38:53,500 That would explain why there were no remains. 421 00:38:53,792 --> 00:38:57,417 The creatures carried their dead over thousands of miles 422 00:38:57,708 --> 00:38:59,750 just to deposit them in crevices 423 00:39:00,042 --> 00:39:02,708 that open up in the spring thaw. 424 00:39:03,750 --> 00:39:05,375 Can you imagine? 425 00:39:05,667 --> 00:39:07,708 (rumbling) 426 00:39:18,875 --> 00:39:22,042 I went there searching for some remains. 427 00:39:22,333 --> 00:39:25,167 I did find tracks, so I had to be close. 428 00:39:26,458 --> 00:39:29,583 I found bones that told many different stories, 429 00:39:31,167 --> 00:39:33,375 but none of Bigfoot. 430 00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:38,917 The constant movement of the glaciers 431 00:39:39,208 --> 00:39:42,458 could either crush the remains or wash them to the sea. 432 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,583 Burial grounds of the Bigfoot. 433 00:39:59,958 --> 00:40:01,333 I thought of the people 434 00:40:01,625 --> 00:40:04,500 who were the source of these stories. 435 00:40:04,792 --> 00:40:07,417 Their friends called them crazy, 436 00:40:07,708 --> 00:40:09,583 and some of them might have been, 437 00:40:09,875 --> 00:40:13,875 but you wouldn't believe the extremes they went to 438 00:40:14,167 --> 00:40:18,042 for their fortunes, romance, and the unexplored. 439 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,583 (gentle instrumental music) 440 00:40:37,458 --> 00:40:39,667 I guess it wasn't so tough to believe 441 00:40:39,958 --> 00:40:42,875 Bigfoot could have gone to similar extremes 442 00:40:43,958 --> 00:40:47,917 for a far more instinctive, basic drive, 443 00:40:49,833 --> 00:40:51,292 as burying his dead. 444 00:40:58,917 --> 00:41:00,833 So many questions. 445 00:41:05,458 --> 00:41:08,833 Well, I sure understood what drove those miners 446 00:41:09,125 --> 00:41:12,583 as they sailed up the river in pursuit of gold, 447 00:41:12,875 --> 00:41:17,667 for I'd soon ride the same river in pursuit of Bigfoot. 448 00:41:22,250 --> 00:41:24,125 The miners were gone now, 449 00:41:25,292 --> 00:41:27,917 but I knew Bigfoot had to still be around. 450 00:41:29,542 --> 00:41:34,458 The frequency of current sightings meant he somehow survived 451 00:41:35,292 --> 00:41:38,875 the diseases the white man brought into the wild. 452 00:41:40,167 --> 00:41:42,042 The tuberculosis, measles 453 00:41:45,667 --> 00:41:50,583 that wiped out whole tribes of Indians and Eskimos. 454 00:42:05,417 --> 00:42:07,375 He'd even survived the violence 455 00:42:07,667 --> 00:42:10,292 reaching out from the boom towns. 456 00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:17,708 Now I understood why Bigfoot steered clear of man. 457 00:42:18,958 --> 00:42:22,750 He had to in order to survive. 458 00:42:27,417 --> 00:42:30,625 However vicious the creature might be, 459 00:42:30,917 --> 00:42:34,750 I gained a lot of respect for the elusive Bigfoot 460 00:42:35,042 --> 00:42:37,167 and its ability to endure. 461 00:42:38,083 --> 00:42:39,625 But if we were to find it, 462 00:42:39,917 --> 00:42:43,917 we'd have to get to the furthest outpost of civilization. 463 00:42:48,875 --> 00:42:50,833 When we ran out of road, 464 00:42:51,125 --> 00:42:54,958 we saw the remnants of the old pioneers 465 00:42:55,250 --> 00:42:58,542 giving way to the machinery of the new. 466 00:42:58,833 --> 00:43:02,500 Thousands were now pouring back up to the new gold rush, 467 00:43:02,792 --> 00:43:04,875 for the Black Gold: oil. 468 00:43:07,208 --> 00:43:11,500 How much longer could Bigfoot avoid all these people? 469 00:43:11,792 --> 00:43:13,083 Where would he go next? 470 00:43:14,917 --> 00:43:17,458 I gambled on him heading north. 471 00:43:28,083 --> 00:43:30,250 Well, traveling had been tough, 472 00:43:30,542 --> 00:43:34,542 so we treated ourselves to the fanciest hotel in town. 473 00:43:34,833 --> 00:43:38,750 There, Yukon Frieda, her sketches were based 474 00:43:39,042 --> 00:43:42,583 on recent sightings and descriptions of Bigfoot 475 00:43:42,875 --> 00:43:45,208 from that very area. 476 00:43:45,500 --> 00:43:47,875 (somber music) 477 00:43:55,083 --> 00:43:57,000 As we started our journey of the river, 478 00:43:57,292 --> 00:44:01,750 I thought of the statues and drawings I'd seen in Arizona, 479 00:44:02,042 --> 00:44:06,792 California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, the Yukon, 480 00:44:07,083 --> 00:44:10,042 and now above the Arctic Circle, 481 00:44:10,333 --> 00:44:14,958 all of them resembling the very creature I saw myself. 482 00:44:15,250 --> 00:44:18,167 They were too similar over too vast an area 483 00:44:18,458 --> 00:44:19,667 to be coincidental, 484 00:44:20,583 --> 00:44:24,917 but these images weren't good enough for the experts below. 485 00:44:25,208 --> 00:44:28,083 I still had a lot of questions to answer. 486 00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:33,042 There were no grocery stores up here, 487 00:44:33,333 --> 00:44:36,917 so we ate off the land or purchased fish from the Eskimos. 488 00:44:38,083 --> 00:44:41,417 I knew I could get my answers from these people 489 00:44:41,708 --> 00:44:46,042 'cause stories of Bigfoot were as plentiful as the food. 490 00:44:48,917 --> 00:44:52,542 One man told of a strange day his mother died. 491 00:44:53,667 --> 00:44:55,000 In a cabin like this, 492 00:44:55,292 --> 00:44:56,917 family and friends gathered 493 00:44:57,208 --> 00:44:59,333 to await the passing of her spirit. 494 00:45:01,417 --> 00:45:03,917 At night, they heard a soft scratch at the door. 495 00:45:04,958 --> 00:45:08,333 There was Bigfoot chanting in a strange tongue. 496 00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:12,000 Everyone was terrified. 497 00:45:12,292 --> 00:45:13,708 The spirit of his mother 498 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:17,042 was speaking through the voice of Bigfoot. 499 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,792 They must abandon their homes, which they did. 500 00:45:23,208 --> 00:45:26,333 The next day, an ice floe changed the river 501 00:45:27,667 --> 00:45:31,000 and waters now flow where the village once stood. 502 00:45:33,167 --> 00:45:36,708 I asked to see this area hoping for a sign of Bigfoot. 503 00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:41,333 The man said, "If you wish to see the king of the animals, 504 00:45:41,625 --> 00:45:46,208 "he breeds in the mating grounds of the Alaskan moose." 505 00:45:46,500 --> 00:45:49,292 (suspenseful music) 506 00:45:55,333 --> 00:46:00,250 The moose came as if a sign, reaffirming the man's words. 507 00:46:12,583 --> 00:46:14,583 Up the river, by a salmon wheel, 508 00:46:14,875 --> 00:46:17,417 a lone Eskimo greeted us with the words, 509 00:46:17,708 --> 00:46:19,542 Bigfoot is not here. 510 00:46:21,708 --> 00:46:23,500 How did he know what we were after? 511 00:46:24,958 --> 00:46:27,167 He told a tale about a trapper 512 00:46:27,458 --> 00:46:30,250 who killed a creature in the early '40s, 513 00:46:30,542 --> 00:46:33,792 bringing the wrath of Bigfoot down upon his people. 514 00:46:36,583 --> 00:46:40,167 (gentle instrumental music) 515 00:46:41,750 --> 00:46:45,167 He said, "One night, I was caught out on the trail 516 00:46:45,458 --> 00:46:47,958 "with only a few minutes of twilight left. 517 00:46:49,167 --> 00:46:52,667 "The lights began to shine in the sky. 518 00:46:52,958 --> 00:46:55,042 "They were bright, traveling was good, 519 00:46:56,292 --> 00:47:01,208 "then the snow turned red. (suspenseful music) 520 00:47:02,500 --> 00:47:05,792 "The north, south, east, and west, 521 00:47:06,083 --> 00:47:08,583 "rivers of blood flowed across the sky 522 00:47:08,875 --> 00:47:11,208 "and down into the snows. 523 00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:14,667 "It seemed to be the last day of the world. 524 00:47:15,833 --> 00:47:19,417 "Bigfoot was punishing us for bringing its sorrow. 525 00:47:23,500 --> 00:47:28,125 "But then, the good white light rose from the north. 526 00:47:28,417 --> 00:47:31,792 "What followed was a battle of 1,000 warriors. 527 00:47:34,208 --> 00:47:37,958 "White light was the spirit of Bigfoot 528 00:47:38,250 --> 00:47:40,083 "left to die by the trapper. 529 00:47:41,333 --> 00:47:44,458 "It returned in the form of a white raven 530 00:47:45,667 --> 00:47:49,083 "to protect us from the red wrath of its grieving brothers. 531 00:47:50,167 --> 00:47:53,792 "If you travel the river, you may see him. 532 00:47:54,083 --> 00:47:56,875 "And if you do, he will bring you luck." 533 00:47:58,750 --> 00:48:01,417 (dramatic music) 534 00:48:27,250 --> 00:48:32,125 Then the native gasped, pointing to a bird soaring above us, 535 00:48:32,417 --> 00:48:34,833 the legendary white raven. 536 00:48:35,125 --> 00:48:39,792 The fisherman said, "Bigfoot smiles upon you. 537 00:48:40,083 --> 00:48:43,208 "You will bring word of him to the people below." 538 00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:45,875 (bright music) 539 00:48:58,250 --> 00:49:00,417 My mind was reeling. 540 00:49:03,708 --> 00:49:07,208 At the next village, the natives were waiting for us. 541 00:49:08,500 --> 00:49:10,625 They had heard about the white raven 542 00:49:10,917 --> 00:49:14,333 and wanted to show us their secret sacred figure. 543 00:49:17,208 --> 00:49:18,292 Here it was again. 544 00:49:20,500 --> 00:49:23,375 He told us how Bigfoot was their friend. 545 00:49:23,667 --> 00:49:24,458 Their friend? 546 00:49:25,375 --> 00:49:27,417 How do they think such a violent creature 547 00:49:27,708 --> 00:49:29,500 could be their friend? 548 00:49:31,208 --> 00:49:34,625 They told how Bigfoot carried the bodies of men 549 00:49:34,917 --> 00:49:37,542 killed and lost in the Arctic winter 550 00:49:37,833 --> 00:49:39,958 to the edge of the nearest village 551 00:49:40,250 --> 00:49:42,583 to be buried by their own kind. 552 00:49:44,167 --> 00:49:47,917 When I asked where I could make contact with their friend, 553 00:49:48,208 --> 00:49:52,458 they said, "In the land of shining eyes.” 554 00:49:52,750 --> 00:49:57,542 But they they warned me not to violate Bigfoot's domain. 555 00:49:57,958 --> 00:50:01,417 I reminded them of the white raven, 556 00:50:01,708 --> 00:50:03,708 so they taught me a chant to sing 557 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:05,833 on the night of the full moon, 558 00:50:06,125 --> 00:50:10,917 and promised I would see the glowing eyes of Bigfoot. 559 00:50:11,958 --> 00:50:16,542 (chanting) (drum music) 560 00:50:33,167 --> 00:50:36,333 Well, I wasn't gonna have a thing to do with any chanting, 561 00:50:37,792 --> 00:50:41,583 so I set up walkie-talkies 300 yards from the tent 562 00:50:41,875 --> 00:50:45,333 to monitor any movements on the tundra during the night. 563 00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:48,292 At the first sound, I'd have a jump on the creature. 564 00:50:54,708 --> 00:50:56,167 Then the wait. 565 00:50:59,542 --> 00:51:04,458 The land was lush with vegetation, a perfect feeding ground. 566 00:51:06,750 --> 00:51:11,333 Berries, lichen, gnats, bugs, millions of fish, 567 00:51:12,292 --> 00:51:15,750 not just a land of ice and snow. 568 00:51:17,542 --> 00:51:20,958 I understood why Bigfoot and so many animals 569 00:51:21,250 --> 00:51:25,042 flocked to the Arctic to breed and raise their young. 570 00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:33,583 But this land was strangely silent. 571 00:51:36,792 --> 00:51:38,292 Where were the animals? 572 00:51:40,292 --> 00:51:43,542 (sound waves crackling) 573 00:51:55,833 --> 00:51:59,000 My transmitter had been thrown 15 feet 574 00:52:01,792 --> 00:52:04,167 and the tundra held no tracks. 575 00:52:06,583 --> 00:52:09,542 Days passed, I felt like a fool, 576 00:52:09,833 --> 00:52:14,125 but now I'd go to any ends to conjure up the creature. 577 00:52:14,417 --> 00:52:16,625 (drum music) 578 00:52:27,375 --> 00:52:28,875 Soon, Peg saw what she thought 579 00:52:29,167 --> 00:52:32,792 were two car lights approaching. 580 00:52:33,083 --> 00:52:35,875 (suspenseful music) 581 00:52:41,667 --> 00:52:42,792 I was caught in the darkness 582 00:52:43,083 --> 00:52:45,083 but Peg guided me toward the lights. 583 00:52:46,250 --> 00:52:48,542 I had to find out what it was. 584 00:52:52,917 --> 00:52:57,583 And we realized they were the shining eyes. 585 00:53:01,833 --> 00:53:05,125 This time I couldn't let Bigfoot escape. 586 00:53:41,500 --> 00:53:46,417 But dawn broke and it disappeared behind a rainbow. 587 00:54:01,375 --> 00:54:03,208 This was too much. 588 00:54:05,750 --> 00:54:08,708 I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. 589 00:54:11,833 --> 00:54:16,125 Here I was, an experienced mountain man all my life 590 00:54:16,417 --> 00:54:18,625 acting like a spook tenderfoot. 591 00:54:19,625 --> 00:54:24,542 I still had 1,000 questions and so few answers. 592 00:54:28,667 --> 00:54:30,167 I couldn't concentrate. 593 00:54:31,750 --> 00:54:35,333 My head was spinning with tall tales and folklore. 594 00:54:36,625 --> 00:54:38,417 I no longer knew what to believe. 595 00:54:40,667 --> 00:54:45,000 I had to get away from the others and be by myself. 596 00:55:03,125 --> 00:55:04,583 There were the salmon, 597 00:55:04,875 --> 00:55:07,792 back after 10 years of living in the sea, 598 00:55:09,125 --> 00:55:14,042 to spawn in the exact place of their birth, and then to die. 599 00:55:16,708 --> 00:55:19,958 They reminded me of those I'd seen at Kodiak 600 00:55:20,250 --> 00:55:24,875 in the days when I was a pure tracker, stuck to nature signs 601 00:55:25,167 --> 00:55:26,583 and wasn't so confused 602 00:55:26,875 --> 00:55:30,000 with all the legends and stories of man. 603 00:55:38,625 --> 00:55:39,625 And there were geese, 604 00:55:40,708 --> 00:55:44,750 my first clue to Bigfoot's migratory pattern. 605 00:55:52,417 --> 00:55:55,625 I began to feel close to nature again. 606 00:55:57,750 --> 00:56:01,375 I knew that's where I'd find the answers to my questions. 607 00:56:04,833 --> 00:56:05,958 And the caribou. 608 00:56:07,417 --> 00:56:09,250 The shining eyes. 609 00:56:10,458 --> 00:56:12,500 Scratching velvet off their antlers, 610 00:56:12,792 --> 00:56:14,292 released swamp gas from the tundra 611 00:56:14,583 --> 00:56:15,875 to glow in the night. 612 00:56:22,083 --> 00:56:25,833 I saw what must have been the monarch of the North. 613 00:56:28,792 --> 00:56:30,250 I was terrified. 614 00:56:30,542 --> 00:56:33,500 He could crush the likes of me with one swoop, 615 00:56:33,792 --> 00:56:36,000 but it was the most magnificent animal 616 00:56:36,292 --> 00:56:38,042 I think I've ever seen. 617 00:56:42,750 --> 00:56:45,500 He didn't seem to notice me as he made a clearing. 618 00:56:48,750 --> 00:56:52,250 He sharpened his horns as if to prepare for combat. 619 00:56:52,542 --> 00:56:54,000 I thought he'd come for me now. 620 00:56:55,208 --> 00:57:00,125 Instead, he dug a pit and marked it with his scent. 621 00:57:07,792 --> 00:57:12,000 This attracted cows from all over the area 622 00:57:12,292 --> 00:57:15,458 and seemed to warn other bulls to keep away. 623 00:57:20,917 --> 00:57:24,292 The cows declared themselves his 624 00:57:24,583 --> 00:57:27,042 by covering themselves with his scent. 625 00:57:28,542 --> 00:57:30,083 I'd made it. 626 00:57:30,375 --> 00:57:33,167 The mating grounds of the Alaskan moose, 627 00:57:33,458 --> 00:57:36,250 where no man had ever been before, 628 00:57:36,542 --> 00:57:39,667 and possibly the breeding grounds of Bigfoot. 629 00:57:43,875 --> 00:57:46,958 Some young bulls seemed a little overeager 630 00:57:47,250 --> 00:57:50,125 and found the monarch defending his territory 631 00:57:50,417 --> 00:57:53,708 against all intruders (dramatic music) 632 00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:58,500 while others waited for the right moment to move in. 633 00:58:03,875 --> 00:58:08,792 Then he saw me, but luckily a match for the monarch 634 00:58:10,208 --> 00:58:12,917 challenged him for his cows and territory. 635 00:58:36,375 --> 00:58:40,292 Those who'd waited now moved in. 636 00:58:43,667 --> 00:58:47,917 While the bulls were fighting, nature made sure 637 00:58:48,208 --> 00:58:51,833 there'd be a good crop of calves come spring. 638 00:59:00,458 --> 00:59:02,875 Finally, the monarch triumphs. 639 00:59:04,750 --> 00:59:08,250 Now, too preoccupied to give any notice to me, 640 00:59:08,542 --> 00:59:13,250 he gathered his cows, and according to the law of nature, 641 00:59:17,417 --> 00:59:19,708 the strongest began to breed. 642 00:59:23,042 --> 00:59:25,750 I was deeply moved by what I'd seen, 643 00:59:26,042 --> 00:59:29,000 but still no sign of Bigfoot. 644 00:59:30,292 --> 00:59:33,083 The salmon lay dying in the streams 645 00:59:33,375 --> 00:59:35,833 signaling the end of the breeding season. 646 00:59:36,958 --> 00:59:40,542 Time was running out, so we took to the air. 647 00:59:40,833 --> 00:59:43,792 (gentle guitar music) 648 00:59:46,208 --> 00:59:49,250 The Arctic winter could close us in at any moment, 649 00:59:49,542 --> 00:59:51,375 so we had to move fast. 650 00:59:55,000 --> 00:59:57,333 Why couldn't I find this creature? 651 00:59:58,292 --> 00:59:59,708 Was my theory wrong? 652 01:00:01,792 --> 01:00:05,833 When I saw the expanse of space below, I laughed. 653 01:00:06,125 --> 01:00:07,583 Anything could be out there. 654 01:00:09,042 --> 01:00:11,375 They'd found Stone Age men in New Zealand. 655 01:00:11,667 --> 01:00:12,667 There were prehistoric fish 656 01:00:12,958 --> 01:00:14,958 being pulled out of the Persian sea. 657 01:00:15,250 --> 01:00:17,833 My god, the primitive man walked out of the mountains 658 01:00:18,125 --> 01:00:20,833 70 miles from the capital of California. 659 01:00:21,875 --> 01:00:26,042 There's so much territory yet to be explored. 660 01:00:27,417 --> 01:00:30,250 We found undiscovered wrecks of men 661 01:00:30,542 --> 01:00:33,042 who tried to break into this wilderness 662 01:00:33,333 --> 01:00:35,042 and were never heard of again. 663 01:00:36,917 --> 01:00:38,833 I couldn't think of the risks. 664 01:00:39,875 --> 01:00:43,375 Everything I believed in was on the line. 665 01:00:48,500 --> 01:00:50,875 Suddenly, the pilot whipped around. 666 01:00:54,250 --> 01:00:59,167 There he was, a young Bigfoot frozen like a tree. 667 01:01:06,958 --> 01:01:11,375 We raced back to the river but he slipped away. 668 01:01:12,542 --> 01:01:15,625 Seeing the young Bigfoot confirmed my theory. 669 01:01:15,917 --> 01:01:20,083 I could now roughly predict the creature's movements. 670 01:01:22,458 --> 01:01:25,000 The crew celebrated the sighting 671 01:01:25,292 --> 01:01:27,250 but it wasn't enough for me. 672 01:01:27,542 --> 01:01:30,875 I knew I needed to document Bigfoot's habits. 673 01:01:34,958 --> 01:01:38,208 The young Bigfoot's tracks led me from the river 674 01:01:38,500 --> 01:01:39,917 to a lush meadow. 675 01:01:41,792 --> 01:01:44,875 He passed through a herd of grazing musk ox. 676 01:01:46,250 --> 01:01:49,083 I wondered what Bigfoot fed on. 677 01:01:49,375 --> 01:01:53,792 Maybe he ate vegetation too, or fish. 678 01:01:54,083 --> 01:01:55,875 I'd seen him by a river. 679 01:01:56,167 --> 01:01:59,750 Of course he could have been cleaning himself or drinking. 680 01:02:00,958 --> 01:02:03,042 Of course he could be a predator. 681 01:02:03,333 --> 01:02:05,625 One of these oxen would last him half the winter. 682 01:02:07,792 --> 01:02:10,875 Bigfoot's behavior still held many mysteries, 683 01:02:12,042 --> 01:02:16,958 but now it was just a matter of time before I solved them. 684 01:02:17,500 --> 01:02:20,167 (men chattering) 685 01:02:23,667 --> 01:02:25,708 (somber music) 686 01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:28,750 Winter now closed down on us in earnest. 687 01:02:30,708 --> 01:02:33,750 We were forced to move south just like the animals. 688 01:02:39,500 --> 01:02:41,958 The caribou gathered for their migration. 689 01:02:52,375 --> 01:02:54,250 They'd be the source of food 690 01:02:54,542 --> 01:02:57,167 for all the meat-eating animals that followed. 691 01:03:03,125 --> 01:03:06,667 If Bigfoot were a meat eater, he'd feed on caribou too. 692 01:03:08,708 --> 01:03:10,625 If I could prove that he did, 693 01:03:10,917 --> 01:03:14,625 I'd have a clue to the place he held in nature. 694 01:03:14,917 --> 01:03:16,542 If I could film it, 695 01:03:16,833 --> 01:03:20,917 I'd have the kind of documentation the experts demanded. 696 01:03:22,750 --> 01:03:23,833 Whatever his habits, 697 01:03:24,125 --> 01:03:28,125 I knew the road would be paved with danger. 698 01:03:28,417 --> 01:03:30,375 (howling) 699 01:03:41,083 --> 01:03:43,333 (gun fires) 700 01:05:12,333 --> 01:05:15,542 I was devastated by the slaughter of the caribou. 701 01:05:16,833 --> 01:05:20,042 I kept thinking of Bigfoot and its migration. 702 01:05:20,333 --> 01:05:21,750 It had to be protected. 703 01:05:22,042 --> 01:05:25,167 It could be wiped out before I had a chance to study it. 704 01:05:29,708 --> 01:05:32,167 But how could I get protection for something 705 01:05:32,458 --> 01:05:35,917 so few believed existed? 706 01:05:36,208 --> 01:05:41,000 I needed that unchallengeable proof I'd first set out for. 707 01:05:42,875 --> 01:05:46,083 There was no sign of Bigfoot with the caribou. 708 01:05:47,875 --> 01:05:50,417 It must eat vegetation or fish. 709 01:05:52,958 --> 01:05:57,125 The perfect place: beaver swamp in the spring. 710 01:06:04,583 --> 01:06:08,833 I got there early and planned to stay as long as I could. 711 01:06:09,875 --> 01:06:14,083 I used every trick I learned over my years as a trapper, 712 01:06:14,375 --> 01:06:17,333 and carefully covered my scent with ammonia. 713 01:06:21,583 --> 01:06:26,083 Beaver swamp, the geese. 714 01:06:26,375 --> 01:06:30,542 If my theory was right, Bigfoot would follow shortly. 715 01:06:32,833 --> 01:06:36,083 I searched for the perfect place to set up a blind. 716 01:06:38,208 --> 01:06:40,667 (croaking) 717 01:06:40,958 --> 01:06:45,750 When I found it, I moved in and set up my cameras. 718 01:06:48,125 --> 01:06:51,292 Day after day I waited, 719 01:06:51,583 --> 01:06:55,583 and soon grew jealous of the other animals' freedom. 720 01:06:55,875 --> 01:06:59,208 I was stiff, chilled to the bone, 721 01:06:59,500 --> 01:07:02,083 but I was determined not to make a move 722 01:07:02,375 --> 01:07:05,333 that might warn Bigfoot of my presence. 723 01:07:12,500 --> 01:07:13,750 What if he didn't come? 724 01:07:23,000 --> 01:07:25,208 Then a movement in the woods. 725 01:07:26,250 --> 01:07:28,333 The sun hadn't come up yet. 726 01:07:28,625 --> 01:07:31,292 It was hard to make out what I'd seen at first. 727 01:07:31,583 --> 01:07:34,125 (dramatic music) 728 01:07:46,500 --> 01:07:47,500 There he was. 729 01:07:49,208 --> 01:07:54,125 Bigfoot standing no more than 100 yards from my blind. 730 01:07:55,250 --> 01:07:57,708 I began to shake all over. 731 01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:00,083 I could barely keep hold of my camera. 732 01:08:01,375 --> 01:08:03,042 He was awesome. 733 01:08:14,333 --> 01:08:19,250 Then, behind me, another one, smaller, possibly younger. 734 01:08:21,500 --> 01:08:23,750 How many of them were there? 735 01:08:24,917 --> 01:08:26,250 Was I surrounded? 736 01:08:29,417 --> 01:08:34,333 They were the most extraordinary creatures I'd ever seen. 737 01:08:34,708 --> 01:08:38,250 I now knew why the Eskimos called Bigfoot 738 01:08:38,542 --> 01:08:40,250 the king of the animals. 739 01:08:41,625 --> 01:08:45,042 The older, larger one was seven feet tall, 740 01:08:45,333 --> 01:08:48,375 450 to 500 pounds. 741 01:08:48,667 --> 01:08:51,417 His domed head and long dark hair 742 01:08:51,708 --> 01:08:54,792 just like the other creatures I'd seen. 743 01:08:55,083 --> 01:08:57,167 His odor was overwhelming, 744 01:08:57,458 --> 01:09:01,875 the same thick musky scent that first led me to Bigfoot 745 01:09:02,167 --> 01:09:03,375 so long ago. 746 01:09:05,542 --> 01:09:10,458 The young one was no more than 5.5 feet tall, 250 pounds. 747 01:09:11,917 --> 01:09:15,958 If my guess was right, probably on its first trip away 748 01:09:16,250 --> 01:09:18,667 from its northern breeding grounds. 749 01:09:18,958 --> 01:09:21,708 He'd probably never seen a man before. 750 01:09:22,000 --> 01:09:25,125 If he saw me, he could panic and attack. 751 01:09:28,083 --> 01:09:29,167 Then I looked around 752 01:09:30,167 --> 01:09:34,333 and realized the other animals were carrying on normally. 753 01:09:35,750 --> 01:09:40,333 If danger was around, they would have fled. 754 01:09:45,875 --> 01:09:47,875 Just as the Eskimos had said, 755 01:09:49,292 --> 01:09:52,208 Bigfoot is a benevolent creature. 756 01:09:55,583 --> 01:10:00,000 It doesn't even attack or feed on other animals. 757 01:10:00,292 --> 01:10:04,917 It seems to eat only vegetation or sometimes fish. 758 01:10:06,125 --> 01:10:08,500 Here it was before me, 759 01:10:08,792 --> 01:10:12,292 pulling up the tender swamp grass with its hands, 760 01:10:14,333 --> 01:10:18,042 remarkable huge hands that seemed capable 761 01:10:18,333 --> 01:10:21,250 of grasping, scooping up drinking water, 762 01:10:21,542 --> 01:10:25,625 and splashing to rid itself of parasites. 763 01:10:29,083 --> 01:10:30,167 I had done it. 764 01:10:31,417 --> 01:10:33,375 Here I was again with Bigfoot, 765 01:10:34,875 --> 01:10:38,292 unchallengeable proof, my theory had worked. 766 01:10:39,208 --> 01:10:41,583 It is a migratory animal, 767 01:10:41,875 --> 01:10:46,125 and I now have the documentation of its habits I needed. 768 01:10:48,292 --> 01:10:50,875 Now we can begin to understand 769 01:10:51,167 --> 01:10:54,208 the place this creature holds in nature. 770 01:11:13,750 --> 01:11:16,542 A raccoon came out to start his day's hunting. 771 01:11:17,708 --> 01:11:21,292 I knew the nocturnal Bigfoot would soon return 772 01:11:21,583 --> 01:11:23,083 to the cover of the forest. 773 01:12:37,708 --> 01:12:42,583 I once again said goodbye to this mysterious creature 774 01:12:42,875 --> 01:12:46,500 that has somehow outlived its natural role, 775 01:12:48,292 --> 01:12:50,958 endured the tests of time, 776 01:12:52,208 --> 01:12:56,208 now left to wander the land elusively 777 01:12:56,500 --> 01:12:59,375 with a strange will to survive. 778 01:13:08,958 --> 01:13:12,250 Oh, I still have plenty of questions. 779 01:13:12,542 --> 01:13:15,292 And I'll continue my search for the answers now. 780 01:13:16,458 --> 01:13:20,167 But I assure you, I'll no longer get so caught up 781 01:13:20,458 --> 01:13:22,792 in the problems of my research 782 01:13:23,958 --> 01:13:27,667 that I'll lose touch with the wonders it reveals.