The so - called "bigfoot" or Sasquatch is an alleged  man - like primate that reportedly lives in wilderness areas in North America.  Very similar  forms,  such as the so - called Yeti,  have been reported from Asia.  The creatures have been reported to be substantially over six feet tall and sometimes weigh over a quarter of a ton.  Sightings are almost  always reported from the edge of an area of at least a hundred square miles of wilderness,  where no human being normally lives or even travels.

There is a fossil precedent.  Gigantipithecus was a huge primate that was still alive less than a million years ago ( The Coelacanth was rediscovered after over 65 million years ). Although Gigantipithecus is often portrayed as a type of giant gorilla,  the fossils bones are not complete.  The jaw has some characteristics very similar to a human being,  with more of a U shape than an ape,  a shape required to make room for the larynx if the creature maintained an more or less upright posture.

There are many plaster casts made of huge footprints, often found in some highly  inaccessible areas.  Prints have shown dermal ridges ( fingerprints, etc. ) and sweat pores,  which would be difficult to duplicate.  Anatomists have even described the internal bone structure of the foot that made the prints.  One set of prints showed an individual with a deformed foot.  It is said that the authentic tracks show webbed toes.  Although that fact was only recently discovered,  tracks from many years ago also show that characteristic.

The foot prints often shown a stride much longer than a normal human,  made by something over twice as heavy as a normal man. A simple test of the soil can be used to determine the pressure per square inch exerted,  from which the total weight of the creature making the track can be determined.  Based on such data,  some investigators claim to have derived a consistent height - weight chart for them.

Fecal samples have been found, containing unknown species of parasites, which are specific to each species of host.  Therefore, an unknown species of parasite usually represents an unknown host.  Hair samples are also species specific.  Alleged bigfoot hair samples have been analyzed, and found to be have the characteristics of an unknown species of some kind, very possibly primate in nature.

The Patterson film shows what appears to be a female bigfoot.  It is obvious the arms are too long and the shoulders too wide for a normal human being.  The stride is not like a normal human.  When it looks back, unlike a normal human being,  it twists the entire torso around.  An animal with a very short neck would not be able to look back over it's shoulder,  which would be in the way.  An attempt to duplicate the film looked very much like a guy in a monkey suit.  A fake would have to be quite high tech.

If they exist, there has been speculation as to their relationship to to man.   Unlike humans,  their eyes glow in the dark when exposed to light,  due to a reflective layer in the retina.  From hand prints,  it is said to have been determined that their thumb is not opposable like ours.  From many eyewitness descriptions,  it appears they have characteristics that indicate they may be a hominid,  but are definitely not human. If  above is correct,  a hoax would apparently require a clandestine group of scientists,  years ahead of their time, working with large and very powerful humans,  and maintaining the hoax for over a hundred years,  and / or a large group of investigators and witnesses also working together.  This seems very unlikely.