Bigfoot hunt is on in florida

Just a quick update to let you know we will be broadcasting live from the field the next three days /nights. You can watch videos on my YouTube channel as they are loaded live time. You can also get updates from this blog. Stay tuned.

A Bigfoot scientifc paper has already been published which does not support the Ketchum Project

Has there ever been a scientific paper written on Bigfoot? With the world waiting for the Ketchum DNA study, is there any other report that uses science to examine the Sasquatch issue? Yes. In 2009 a paper was published by The Journal of Biogeograpy, titled, Predicting the distribution of Sasquatch in North America. The paper used a new mathematical model called ecological niche modeling to compare Sasquatch sightings with Black Bear sightings. By using environmental data such as rainfall, temperature, foliage, density, ect., they created a computer model that could predict the location of such animal and the expected density of population.

The upcoming Ketchum project uses samples gathered at random (a process that could never be duplicated). This new mathematical model would require samples gathered from the high density areas you will see on the maps. Restricting such activity to these areas would make strides towards scientific credibility instead of hackneyed samples being sent in by known hoaxers. Evidence needs to be measurable.

For example, the following would be a common claim by many Bigfoot researchers. However, is it evidence? What would be evidence for the existence of a North American Ape?

"I have been researching Bigfoot in Washington and have 3 hours of video and castings of 2 different foot prints in the snow. I now have a chunk of hair I found on a broken tree branch. I need to find out what kind of animal it came from. It is about 3 inches long and like dry fishing line and there is some hair that is like a under coat or winter coat. You my think I'm crazy but that's ok because I know what I have and some day the world will know too."

Scientist need more then just that kind of evidence so J. D. Lozier, P. Anilio, and M. J. Hickerson submitted a paper with their results on Bear and Sasquatch sightings ( below you will see density for both animals)

Bigfoot density of sightings

Bear density of sightings

This all looks very similar. The authors did a correlative study and explain how niche modeliing works.

"Ecological niche models (ENMs) and species distribution models have become increasingly popular tools for predicting the geographic ranges of species and have been important for conservation (Kremen et al., 2007), for predicting changes in distribution from past or future climatic events (Hijmans & Graham, 2006), and for investigating patterns of speciation and niche divergence (Wiens & Graham, 2005; Carstens & Richards, 2007; Warren et al., 2008). The basic premise of the ENM approach is to predict the occurrence of species on a landscape from georeferenced site locality data and sets of spatially explicit environmental data layers that are assumed to correlate with the species’ range. In many cases, models are based on researchers’ own collection data and on detailed knowledge of the taxa being studied, making predictions reasonable depictions of species occurrences given the current modelling technology. However, the increasing availability of locality data in online literature, museum databases and online data portals [e.g. GBIF (http://data.gbif.org/)] is providing unprecedented access to biodiversity data and allowing researchers to greatly expand the deployment of species distribution models and/or ENMs. While the value of publicly available sample locality data is not questioned, the consequent introduction of errors in the accuracy of specimen identity and georeferencing could be problematic for developing ENMs from public data sources (Graham et al., 2004; Soberón & Peterson, 2004). Although georeferencing inaccuracies can be identified in databases from qualitative or quantitative accuracy thresholds (e.g. http://manisnet.org/GeorefGuide.html), poor taxonomy and/or misidentification may be less detectable. This issue may be particularly problematic, for example, with cryptic species or subspecies that are morphologically similar but may have very distinct ecological requirements and geographic distributions, or for those data sources that contain indirect observations rather than references only to physical specimens."

"The observed value of I = 0.849 indeed indicates a high degree of overlap, and falls well within the null distribution generated from maxent runs for 100 randomizations of Bigfoot and black bear coordinates (Fig. 3; P < observed = 0.32). Thus, the two 'species' do not demonstrate significant niche differentiation with respect to the selected bioclimatic variables. Although it is possible that Sasquatch and U. americanus share such remarkably similar bioclimatic requirements, we nonetheless suspect that many Bigfoot sightings are, in fact, of black bears."

The conclusion of this scientific paper is stated below and it is based on quantifiable computer models.

The availability of user-friendly software and publicly available biodiversity databases has led to a rapid increase in the use of ecological niche modelling to predict species distributions. A potential source of error in publicly available data that may affect the accuracy of ecological niche models (ENMs), and one that is difficult to correct for, is incorrect (or incomplete) taxonomy. Here we remind researchers of the need for careful evaluation of database records prior to use in modelling, especially when the presence of cryptic species is suspected or many records are based on indirect evidence. To draw attention to this potential problem, we construct ENMs for the North American Sasquatch (i.e. Bigfoot). Specifically, we use a large database of georeferenced putative sightings and footprints for Sasquatch in western North America, demonstrating how convincing environmentally predicted distributions of a taxon’s potential range can be generated from questionable site-occurrence data. We compare the distribution of Bigfoot with an ENM for the black bear, Ursus americanus, and suggest that many sightings of this cryptozoid may be cases of mistaken identity. Journal of Biogeography

The fact that a model can be fit to any random assemblage of locality points is, of course, not surprising, but in cases where the distribution of these points appears to be organized, records may be less carefully scrutinized for errors. For instance, the Sasquatch sightings shown in Fig. 1 occur in areas where we might expect to observe such an organism based on preconceived notions, but we may be seriously biasing our inference of the distribution if many (or all) of the records represent misidentified black bear sightings. Although beyond the scope of this piece, it would be interesting for future theoretical studies to explore the effects of including misidentified specimens on ENMs, either using simulations or empirical data from closely related species.

The conclusion is that people are seeing Black Bears and Brown Bears. Interesting. I guess people will say the Sasquatch share the same environment and that explains why they have been proven to overlap.

Tim Fasano on the Damian Bravo incident

The majority of his followers of Bigfoot Evidence Blog are trolls who have been blocked by me and other Bigfoot researchers from Facebook and YouTube. They are harmless since they merely spout the party line, and urban myths, that have sprung up about me. They do not like my looks, my size, my occupation and other pejoratives that have nothing to do with research. That by itself I could almost live with. Recently, however, something happened that I am not going to just live with. I was wrongly accused of hoaxing by someone who represents himself as a reporter, but is nothing of the kind. His name is Damian Bravo and he is associated with an organization called Team Tazer Bigfoot.

TTBF is a collective of keyboard jockeys that obviously have no field research background, which was amplified by my experience with Mr. Bravo. Damian, Kevin and I went out last Easter Sunday in the swamp to do a maintenance check on a trail cam that had been deployed for 21 days. It was important to inspect the area, change the media card and batteries, and lock it down for the next six months until November. All was going well as we hiked along a dried out creek bed to gain entry into the area. That is when Damian thought he saw something.

He thought he saw an upright, dark figure with head and shoulders moving through the palmetto field. I had my back turned at that instant and Kevin was looking ahead. Damain yelled out there was something in the brush and we went into the area to investigate. We were, however, unable to find anything. After questioning Damian about it size, movements, color (cloths), and so forth, he insisted he had seem “a bi-pedal’ dark animal. I did not see it but I was hopeful he had seen some of the phenomena that has been going on out there in the last three years. We continued and finally reached the trail cam.

I found Damian Bravo to be a nice guy with a good mind. Kevin and Damian hit it off well and I was excited about this possible alliance of different research groups. Damian shot a ton of video from two different cameras. I could tell he was having a good time. We accomplished our mission and made our way back to our cars. All was well and we headed home.

Before we left, I told him I could not wait to get home and begin downloading my videos. If you’ve watched me for the last three years, you know I am a YouTube guy. That is what I do. Damian then made a strange request. He asked that I put everything up on YouTube as “Private” and send him the emails so he could copy them and edit them on his site. He wanted to be the first to post them.

When I got home, I thought about that arrangement. I did not like it. In the field, I was very excited about meeting a new friend and I may have said no problem. I reconsidered that based on a couple things.

I went to his YouTube site and seeing that this guy has never set foot in the woods, I began to wonder about him. Kevin called and asked me if “Damian Bravo” was his real name. He thought it sounded too made up. I was getting second thoughts about giving him full control over my videos.  I changed my mind.

I put up the video that shows the possible class A encounter. He clearly states he saw something and would not back away from that stance. I realized now why. He was a novice to the woods, and all newbie’s have sightings on their first trip in. That is normal. He saw that I published it on YouTube and became very angry.

He would later say I HOAXED THE WHOLE THING. He claims I had put a stooge in the woods with a monkey suit on. A stooge who would respond on cue. That cue was I ‘taking a fake piss.’ The stooge, according to Damian, was Rick Dyer(?)This is a preposterous assertion.

Damian did a counter response to the video I did as a quest poster on Bigfoot Evidence Blog. He put my image in a collage of Biscardi and Rick Dyer to give the impression I was in on the 2008 Georgia Hoax. For someone who wants to be respected in the Bigfoot world as a reporter, that was not ethical or moral on his part.

He said he wanted to report about me without any bias! Oh really! That image was biased. He claims he was set up. Can you prove this Mr. Bravo or are you just going to slander me and my friend Kevin? There is no other way to view this. You have no proof of your accusation. The statement that Rick Dyer was in the woods is mind boggling for any rational person to understand. However, let me get to the point.

In the video that is posted here you will hear me tell Mr. Bravo I did not think he saw Bigfoot. I believed he saw “the interplay of light and shadow.” In short - A BLOBSQUATCH. However, there was the potential that he DID see something. Especially the way he clung to it, and would not let it go. Kevin told me he did not believe Damian and was suspect about it.

Damian said he wanted to give me a second chance. What! Who the hell is he to be giving ME a second chance. I gave him a FIRST change. That was the chance to come from behind his computer and actually get into the woods. Kevin and I have been out in the woods twice since we last saw you. I bet you have not. Nothing slows down our research.

In addition, I confided in you that the recession has been hard on me. That was personal. You went public with that… You are low class sir.

The only thing that happened Sunday was you ran your stupid mouth while I was running tape. You made those claims; I did not. You also shot a bunch of tape. Where are your videos? Where is the video that proves it was hoax? You can't produce it because it does not exist. You are too much of a coward to show your videos because they do not SUPPORT YOU HOAXING CLAIM.

I am getting very tired of people like you calling me a hoaxer with no Goddamn evidence. Prove it Mr. Bravo or take down what you have said about me.

Oh, what the does Rick Dyer have to do with this? You have lost me there amigo.

A possible Class A Sighitng by a member of Team Tazer Bigfoot

I had an opportunity to go out Easter Sunday with Damian Bravo of Team Tazer Bigfoot and Kevin Thomas Kehl of Enigmatic Anomalies. I have worked with Kevin many times in the swamps and he has been instrumental in locating spots for trail cam deployment while inspiring me too go even deeper then I ever have before. With the introduction of Damian of Team Tazer, the opportunity was groundbreaking. Face it, you really don't see alot of groups working together.

Damina Bravo and Tim Fasano in the swamp

You may have noticed that at the start of 2012 my research took a turn that I think is for the better. One, I have only focused on my field work and stopped commenting about what others are doing. Two, I almost always work with others now. Everything from a weekend canoe trip in January to deep field work in the swamp with Kevin has been included. If you have been watching ALL my videos, you know that Kevin and I have found some remarkable things.

A large field of prints in the flood runoff plane was found and now casted. Kevin also found what we think is hair five feet up on a tree. As you know, we are not experts in zoology. However, we show and put our stuff up for others to give input. Everyone so far believes it was hair we found. The prints we found have toes and are large. We also found a strange pig kill that even hunters have not been able to tell us how it happened. We did not represent that as a Bigfoot kill, I only said Matt Moneymaker on National TV said BF kills in such fashion.

Kevin and Damian examine the footprints

In the past, I faced ridicule and scorn by working alone. People said I was 'hoaxing' my stuff. The fact that I was alone meant I could pull anything I wanted, and nobody would be there to observe. Now, that I only work with other people who have experience (an attempt to elevate my game), I am now being accused of 'riding on others coattails.' It seems you can't win for losing in the Bigfoot world.

I have gained nothing by doing this. I am losing subscribers and blog hits. In early 2012 I  had over 900 subs on YouTube; today I have 890. I am losing ground. Gee, I thought if I went "legetimate' I would get more. My blog used to get over 15,000 page views a month when I trashed talked; I am now down to about 7,000. I am losing ground. Going legit does not seem to be what you people want. I do this on my own dime. I am paid nothing. Just what is it I am supposed to be after?

In this video you will see Damina Bravo of Team Tazer describe what he saw in the woods. HE SAW IT - I DID NOT. You will also see us walk up on some prints and hear his genuine reaction to that. Again, am I that cleaver to get all these people to go in on some hoax while I lose YouTube subs? This makes no since.

Bigfoot Research with Damian Bravo of Team Tazer Bigfoot

Easter Sunday was a special day. I had the pleasure of working with Damian Bravo of Team Tazer Bigfoot. We planed the outing after a conference call with Shaun of Bigfoot Evidence blog. Since Damian was currently in Florida, it seemed like a natural thing to do. I told Mr. Bravo that he could take all the video and images he wanted, just as long as he did not reveal the area we were in. He agreed.

I met Damian and we went to the trail head were he interviewed me on camera for about 25 minutes. He set up his lighting gear and cameras right on the edge of the road and again - no questions were off limits. After the interview, we headed for the trail.

It was a beautiful day with clear blue sky's and low humidity. That was good because we had a long hike in front of us.

I was able to show Damian what are strategy is and why we select areas to work. Much thought goes into these decisions. The area we headed for was chosen because it the epicenter of the South West Florida Water Management flood zone area. We the amount of vegetation, water, cover and wildlife, it was perfect for a Skunkape habitat. Damian agreed.

I will have more later as I post the videos. They really tell the story. At one point, Damian saw something moving in the Palmetto field. We ran in and tried to track it down, with no luck. Damian, on camera, told us exactly what he saw. I could tell from his initial reaction that it was genuine. He seems to be an honorable man.

Damian Bravo of "Team Tazer Bigfoot" works with Tim Fasano in the field

It was an honor to work with Damian today. He is a good guy and treated me with respect. I told Damian that he could shoot all the video he wanted and no questions were off limits.

We spent a few good hours in the woods and Damian actually saw something upright moving through the palmetto field. He swears he saw it and it was not an optical illusion. We even found some possible footprints at the trail camera site.

Overall, I do not think this is what Mr. Bravo thought would happen. He did enjoy himself and there are now plans for a camping trip.

Enigmatic Anomalies stands up for Tim Fasano and the Seminole Project

Kevin Thomas Kehl

(A guest post from earshome.com)

Hi, I'm Kevin Thomas Kehl with Enigmatic Anomalies (yes,the spelling is correct).

I founded E.A.R.S. (Enigmatic Anomaly Research Society) several years ago with the explicit mission to study all things strange and paranormal. I/we would never hoax, embellish or stretch any story that we are working on. We don't believe in it and is part of our mission statement.

When I decided to create the webshow "Enigmatic Anomalies" to cover the hard work of others out in the various fields (including our own) I chose Tim Fasano because I had been following his videos on You-Tube for a while,he was local and seemed very knowledgeable on the subject of Bigfoot.
He was our first interview and was nothing short of a perfect gentleman.
Little did I know that it would turn into a working relationship.

Since that interview we have collaborated on several investigations with Tim and have NEVER seen anything that would lead us to believe that he was the hoaxer that everyone was making him out to be.

Since Tim has started his Seminole Project I have personally gotten more involved with his work.

I shot this pig video while on a mission to retrieve a media card from a trail-cam and is what "I" considered to be an anomaly.

Yes, it could have been any number of things that killed this pig, but since we were on a "bigfoot expedition" it seemed fitting to title the video "possible" bigfoot prey. Why not?
Is it exciting to think of it as such?
Sure! That's why we all do this. There is a level of excitement involved in all paranormal investigations but at the same time keeping a level head.

At no time did I or Tim say this is definitive.

Also, Tim did not lead me anywhere.
As a matter of fact Tim had no idea where we going to wind up as I was the one taking him down small unexplored paths and wound up miles from where he thought we were.
There is no way Tim cut the pig and placed it there.
You can lay that misnomer to rest.

I labeled it as an anomaly because of a collection of various reasons:

* Middle of the week, not a soul around. Not even in the parking area when we returned.

*Area off limits to hunters. If it was a hunter that did it, then it was a "poacher" and if so why leave the delicious baby-back ribs and ham? Just for a trophy head?

*The freshness of the kill with absolutely no signs of blood or other body parts. It had to have been killed within 24hrs.

*No tear marks on the upper portion of the body.
It was a clean cut. To me if it was an animal there would be tear marks all over. We were not near a water source so you can rule out an alligator.
Can a bear do that? I don't know.

Again, this does not absolutely make for a bigfoot kill. That's why I asked for suggestions at the end of the video.

I can't speak to experiences anyone else has had but mine with Tim have been nothing but positive.
He is genuinely interested in providing reliable information while at the same time shooting something that is not painstaking to watch.

I look forward to posting more stories and videos of our investigations and discussing the enigmatic anomaly of bigfoot further.

-kk

Our You-Tube channel is www.youtube.com/user/EnigmaticAnomalies.

http://www.earshome.com/
http://www.earshome.blogspot.com/

A primate peers from behind a cypress tree

A fan of mine known as "Deep Skunk" believes he may have found something in my trail cam images.
Something seems to be watching the deer from behind the cypress. Unfortunately, at this point I had the reconyx RC60 on minimum setting of 3 frames per sequence.
The deer was photographed at sunrise. A few hours earlier, a pig triggered the camera in the darkness, setting off the thermal blast. There was nothing on the side of the tree at that time.
I don't claim this is anything other than an interesting series of images. I don't know what it is.

The deer sequence

These images show a deer run of after getting her picture taken. It was at sunrise. So, the camera was on natural light function. The camera makes no sound. I don't know what could have spooked her.