Bigfoot is a legendary creature that lives in the Pacific Northwest, though he has also taken to sometimes visiting Florida, and apparently Pennsylvania, according to the Huffington Post. He has also recently been spotted in Pennsylvania, according to John Stoneman, who took photographs of what is either Bigfoot or tree roots. You can decide.
This is according to a project by Josh Stevens, a follower of Bigfoots activity, who has tracked his locations, mapping out every Bigfoot sighting compiled by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (yes, that's a real thing - go on, click the link to see their Twitter account) between 1921 and 2012.
The rise in sightings of Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, since the 1970s could be more related to the release of many Bigfoot B-movies, according to Stevens, who is a doctoral candidate at Pennsylvania State University. However, he also says that the distinct regions where the sightings have occurred are interesting.
Why is that, one might ask?
"Right away, you can see that sightings are not evenly distributed," Stevens write on his website. "There are distinct regions where sightings are incredibly common, despite a very sparse population.
"On the other hand, in some of the most densely populated areas, Sasquatch sightings are exceedingly rare," he adds. "The terrain and habitat likely play a major role in the distribution of reports."
His assessment is likely correct, though probably not because of the types of terrain preferred by Bigfoot. One possibility that Stevens doesn't seem to have accounted for is that sparsely populated areas may be less educated, while densely populated areas may be more educated, making the act of filing reports less socially acceptable in those areas.
Stevens mapped out 3,313 data points that show sightings across the United States, with his findings indicating that the Ohio River Valley, central Florida and the West Coast appear to be the favorite places for Bigfoot to spend time.
As Bigfoot is unlikely to be taking a plane or bus, it is unclear how he would be moving around such a large area, something Smith acknowledges, saying he doesn't know if there is actually an ape-like creature wandering around the country.
However, the fact that Jane Goodall believed in Bigfoot is "at least worth putting on the map."
Video of a recent Bigfoot sighting.
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