The Skookum Cast

Many Bigfoot enthusiasts and cryptozoologists, those who study animals not recognized by science, hail the Patterson-Gimlin film (a minute long film that shows what appears to be a large, human-like ape) as the best evidence we have for the existence of Bigfoot, but there has always been a huge amount of controversy with the film. There are even people claiming to be the person in a gorilla suit being filmed. Because of this issue, there are some who have pointed their fingers at a different piece of evidence as the most conclusive. It's known as the Skookum cast by researchers and it is thought to be made of an unknown humanoid’s buttocks, various sections of its legs and feet, knuckles, hand imprints, and an elbow.

The cast was found during a research expedition into Skookum Meadows in Washington state. The expedition was funded by the Bigfoot Research Organization (BFRO) and included a long list of specialists in various fields, a psychologist and pheromone expert, an expert tracker, a zoologist, a wilderness guide, a bait expert and a communications specialist, to name a few. The expedition began on September 16, 2000, and went until September 23. The group made “traps” in hopes of finding evidence of the creature, the traps were simply setting fruit inside a large section of mud in hopes they would attract a Bigfoot and get tracks, what they got was much better. On September 22 two of the group decided to check the traps for any prints, the first two were duds but the third and final trap had a strange set of prints that caught the eye of the researchers. It required 325 pounds of plaster cast to record the full cast.

The name “Skookum” is actually one of the many Native American words for Bigfoot like creatures. The word can be found used in the names of many places throughout Washington and Oregon. This, in fact, was the reason the BFRO chose the Skookum Meadows for the expedition.

Many scientists have tried to explain the print as nothing more than a deer laying in the mud but the cast does not appear even close to what deer body imprints look like. Anthropologist and primatologist, Jeffrey Meldrum examined the print and concluded that the print was almost definitely made by a humanoid of seven to eight feet in height. He points to the clear dermal ridges (dermal ridges are small creases in your hands and feet, such as your fingerprints) in the feet and hands, as well as the appearance of hair imprints throughout the body.

Sources

Bigfoot! by Loren Coleman

Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science by Jeff Meldrum

Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology by Michael Newton