What would BF eat, Discussion about possible food sources Options

[jasonch1112]

I know the answers will vary greatly according to everyone's individual location. But I think this is an important thing to discuss. I have seen discussions about what bait to use, and it seems to me that the best bait would be a natuarlly occuring food source.

What do you think are the best possible sources of food for a Sasquatch?

I think that thier diet would be largely like that of large bears. Although if Grover Krantz was correct about the shape of a BF's hand, I think they would be very capable rock throwers and could take down large game this way. People used to hunt with slings that threw marble sized rocks. A creature with the stength of a BF throwing a rock the size of a human's fist could take down just about anything in the Americas.

[Texas Bigfoot]

Whatever it wants! Seriously. Omnivorous. Berries, plants, fish, game. We may think that certain areas won't support a large animal, but we don't live there and probably don't know all of the food sources available like they do.

[sassfoot]

this has puzzled me to no end ,i have always wondered what and how much they needed to keep healthy.if they are omnivorous i would think that it would be easier for the land to sustain them such as it does the bear.i believe this is why nature has made them a migrating animal making them move on to another location before the area is depleated of its resources.
the u.s. has the largest deer herd now than ever before and in my opinion this is one reason you have more sightings due to the fact that more food sources mean more bfs especially in the southern u.s.for such a large animal with its strength and speed would need a very large food base.as far as what type of plants they would eat would be close to the bear's palate imo.with this in mind the weather would play a great part in their moving about because of the plant life available at certain times of year.

[Ace!]

pancakes, with syrup?

[jasonch1112]

I just read that the larger the animal the less they actually NEED to eat for thier size. Just an interesting thing to keep in mind for future considerations on this subject.

[Sac-squatch]

I am assuming it would really depend on what is available in a particular region. Grubs and berries, I believe are major sources of nutrients in my area.

[dogu4]

Hmmmmm. Sacramento's major nutrient is grubs and berries? Geeze, I remember when it was the most productive agricultural landscape in the world.

[Sac-squatch]

Hmmmmm. Sacramento's major nutrient is grubs and berries? Geeze, I remember when it was the most productive agricultural landscape in the world.

haha... my research area is out of Sacramento

[willie red fire]

Most primates are omnivores so I would assume BF is also.
I’ve been out hiking 5-6 miles a day after the first snow south of Wood Canyon lake on the edge of Mogollon rim of AZ looking for fresh trails. The Elk, Whitetail and Fox tracks I have found are all heading to lower elevation as expected. Interesting how most of the single Elk trails converge into one as they head down the Rim. I chose this area because there are only a few trails per mile that are passable and easy for the 1500ft or so drop off the rim. Most of it is a Cliff and would be a killer if one slipped on the Ice. I wonder if BF heads to lower elevation also when following the game. Do they follow the game? I'm no expert and haven't hunted in 20 years but something has got me interested in this primate. This time of year the Cedar family have seeded from the rim down to lower elevations. Again I assume they are Cedar but they do have small seeds like the Arborvitaes of the cypress family. Some of the other white pines have the lower limbs ripped off them and scattered only in some areas while other white pines are untouched. I assume the Elk or Whitetail are the culprit. I followed black bear tracks and noticed the digging up of the ground and some places really dug deep this guy was really foraging heavy. Trying to think of the food that grows near the base of the fir and white pine trees? The creeks that come off the Rim all have hatcheries and below them the trout are plentiful and someone with half a mind could easily scoop one out of the water. The hatcheries would be a good place for a game cam.
I search this area for tracks because of the history of BF in the area over the years. The Rim area is rugged and has many caves that are almost impossible for the average joe to access. So either this is a migration route or there is a family around.

[Tnwoods]

I would think a family.

But what do i Know?

Keep on keeping on!

[dogu4]

Animals that are capable of doing so will naturally stay in proximity to their foodsource. If BF is an opportunistic omnivore and ambush hunter of deer, elk, and similarly scaled prey animals, which seems likely regardless of the other details, it would be reasonable to presume that their habitat would be the part of any landscape where productivity is typically highest. Regardless of the regional characteristics , it is typically in those areas where forest transitions to open land dominated by grasses and forbes. In many ways it's analagous to the inter-tidal zone along our seashores where the ebb and flow of terrestrial and marine environments create the nursery for a significant portion of the oceans' life. Here the ebb and flow of wildlife migrating in and out of the forest,scrub and grassy meadows is like the mechanism of an engine, capturing the available energy, storing it and making it accessible.

Greater diversity is supported in these productive fringe areas, which is an added advantage to a opportunistic omnivore, it would seem. And the typically moister and cooler forests offer protection from drying exposure, not just to provide a sense of security for a shy creature such as we imagine BF to be, but for a lot of other animals, deer and elk, for example, birds and small mammals that regulate their energy budget by lying low and conserving energy when exposure is too high, and which wait for the time of day best suited for their instinctually guided strategy of foraging in concert with their natually adapted sensory capabilities.

Relatively empty rural, agricultural range, and western range and forest lands offer a lot of places that could meet that criteria, and by some measurements there is an increasing amount amount of this kind of land as traditional smaller operations are being consolidated or liquidated, becoming an almost defacto land trust. When I read reports I will frequently check out the location's proximity to that kind of environment out of curiousity and am satisfied with my informal survey that suggests to me that our interactions with BF are incidental to what the major action in the creature's life-style would be, or at least as I imagine it now.

I think that by attempting to understand that we learn more about how the rest of the natural system keeps itself in such dynamic equilibrium, and even if there were no BF I'd be interested in speculating as to why not and probably not to anyone but myself. How could nature not have created a perfectly reasonable creature such as descriptions lead me to think might have survived with a set of instincts perfectly atuned to avoid regular attention from the kind of fellow apex predators that could do it some damage.That'd be our ancestors, for one.

[Flashman]

Greater diversity is supported in these productive fringe areas, which is an added advantage to a opportunistic omnivore, it would seem. And the typically moister and cooler forests offer protection from drying exposure, not just to provide a sense of security for a shy creature such as we imagine BF to be, but for a lot of other animals, deer and elk, for example, birds and small mammals that regulate their energy budget by lying low and conserving energy when exposure is too high, and which wait for the time of day best suited for their instinctually guided strategy of foraging in concert with their natually adapted sensory capabilities.

Relatively empty rural, agricultural range, and western range and forest lands offer a lot of places that could meet that criteria, and by some measurements there is an increasing amount amount of this kind of land as traditional smaller operations are being consolidated or liquidated, becoming an almost defacto land trust. When I read reports I will frequently check out the location's proximity to that kind of environment out of curiousity and am satisfied with my informal survey that suggests to me that our interactions with BF are incidental to what the major action in the creature's life-style would be, or at least as I imagine it now.

I hear again and again that riparian fringe is the best habitat for numbers of large and small game animals, rodents, and look at the territory around here and into the midwest and see just that, lots of woodlots, some connected, the dots are joined more often than not by wooded in creeks, fields in between, it's ALL fringe. I could swear there's more protein per unit area than in deep dank old growth. But because there are farmhouses, often hobby farms scattered around in this semi agricultural landscape, people will say "Nope no chance of BF here, too many people"... yes there might be too much exposure to risk raising junior here in his first few years, but other than that it looks perfect to me. Wide range of food sources, and in desperate times, human raised food to poach.

I've been on the lookout for Alder stands recently, after hearing that it's one species that Sas is reputed to get his veggie ration from. Turns out that areas I thought that felt "squatchy" have a lot of alder in them, those that I don't feel "squatchy" don't. Though I keep looking in the non-squatchy feeling ones from time to time. I always feel vaguely dissappointed after a trip into those areas, whereas the other ones, there's a lot of those ambiguous clues that have you thinking mayyyybe, mayyyybe he comes in here once in a while...

Anyway, I'd tempt him with some natural "delicacy" type foods. We have a few peach orchards around here, so maybe some bruised up peaches (that have quite a heady smell) would get his stomach rumbling.

I guess the challenge is knowing what he is hungry for "At the moment" many of his foodstuffs will be seasonal and he'll be looking for particular types at particular times. No point staking out a chipmunk colony if it's at a period where larger game is more accessible, etc.

[dogu4]

I'm in full agreement with the riparian zone being the singularly most productive habitat no matter where it occurs, particularly in the East where water is so much more abundant. Riparian Zones in the west tend to be jealously guarded for their water and/or are already inhabited by us and our cows. Water being indispensible for life, and riparian zones water is frequently the sustaining constant for water critical for most of the tree species that quickly colonize any opportunity from disturbance...also creating the very cover that animals with an inbred need for the kind of security that cover brings them.

While these strips of woodlands and weeds make ideal corridors for animals' travelling, those riparian zones which have not already been improved for residential and industrial/agricultrual uses, are also deucedly difficult for humans to negotiate, making them even more appealing to the elusive types if they can endure the mosquitoes and damp shadow that monkeys like us usually avoid as being undesireable, unlike a lot of prey animals and their affiliated predators.
As appealling as riparian zones may be, a predator such as we describe BF, would have to leave the zone to sustain itself, and doing so during periods of lower light make sense from the perspective of its own feelings of exposure, and to follow the patterns of grazing deer that leave their cover to feed when the visibility is lower. I think the focus in looking for deep forests might prove lucky one day but the idea of searching for a creature that is primarily directed to hunt away from the deep forest and in the areas where the prey are susceptible to ambush while out and about feeding is how I would apply my field research when I once agan find myself able.

[Sam Farris]

Big Macs

Attached image(s)

 

[Mangani]

This just in: Bigfoot eats big sacks of Big Macs!

On the other hand, both Dogu4's and Flashman's posts make a lot of sense.

[jasonch1112]

Anything that help to narrow down search areas is a good point. That is the idea after all. If you try to find even a herd of elk in a million acres, good luck. Worse than a needle in a haystack. but narrow it down to 40 acres and you have a much better chance. Narrow it down to 40 acres that is more open than forest and your chances are almost assured.

[willie red fire]

I just finished reading a link to G.C.B.R.O. and followed some others on that site and found animal kills by Mary Green with casts made of 18" prints near by.

On this page you will see graphic photographs of an animal killed by a Bigfoot. Without the help of Mary Green, Mike Ogletree, Dale Berry, and Angela Berry, this report, and photographs, would not have came to the attention of the G.C.B.R.O.

This suggest they eat meat.

Another report with little detail of a young boy with a dog encountered a growling BF that appears to suggest they do not like dogs and will kill them when they get to close.

The Washington 911 call said his dog was killed the night before.

Explain the alder trees? What's the fungi that grows near the roots of some trees? I find many dig holes at or near the trunks of western white pine. So many questions and so little time.

[Backcountry]

I think they eat whatever is avialable at the time & season like nuts , berries , and even meat

[dogu4]

Jasonch1112: Good point. I see your location is Western Washington. I think if you're on the wet side, your observation is accurate which is one reason I think looking around the temperate rainforest is sorta setting oneself up for a hard time of findin' any specific animal with much certainty.
But on the eastern dry side of the mountains I think it could be a bit different. Don't know if you've ever been out to Yellowstone, but its big open meadows, during the right time of the year, attract some pretty good sized groups whose seasonal movements are fairly well understood. I'm not saying that BF are there necessarily in Yellowstone but throughout the intermountain west sightings are reported and the landscapes that support some healthy populations of elk and deer which naturally congregate near and in similar meadows and grassland, aren't too rare. If elk and deer are the prey then watching them where they're more visible would work to the advantage of a researcher with a really big area that could be watched from a nice elevated prospect, frequently focusing on possible food and water sources over many thousands of acres as well as other features that would expose a big animal to a distant viewer's observation.

[jasonch1112]

I am not sure what the correlation is between BF and dogs. It seems to be a recurring theme over many reports. Perhaps they equate them with wolves which would be a big competition for resources. The big difference is that dogs bark and wolves do not. In this case they may just be trying to shut them up. After all, they wouldn't want anything giving thier position away.

[PEPPERSFARMS]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but on one of the shows it was suggested that BF may eat lichen in the NW.

Here is a link to describe the fungus Link.

What other animals use this as a food source?

To answer my own question.

This post has been edited by PEPPERSFARMS: Dec 13 2007, 06:54 AM

[jasonch1112]

Very informative, though I did not read it all. Dr Meldrum suggested in his book that BF might eat lichen for the carbohydrates. It would seem to me that due to the very nature of lichen that they would be quite nutritious as well, especially in trace minerals from the ones that grow on rocks. If that is true, then I can see how lichen would be a very important food source for BF. Now we need to look for signs of lichen scrapings and try to determine if BF would be responsible for certain ones.

[mike2k1]

Wolves do bark:

Wikipedia:

Wolves bark when nervous or when they want to warn other wolves of danger. Wolves bark very discreetly, and will not generally bark loudly or repeatedly as dogs do; rather, they use a low-key, breathy "whuf" sound to immediately get attention from other wolves. Wolves also "bark-howl" by adding a brief howl to the end of a bark. Wolves bark-howl for the same reasons they normally bark. Generally, pups bark and bark-howl much more frequently than adults, using these vocalizations to cry for attention, care, or food.

Ask a Scientist:

While wolves are a well-researched animal, mysteries still surround their behavior and the public holds on to old ideas about wolves. It is a common misconception that wolves do not bark, but wolves actually do bark. Wolves bark, perhaps, less frequently than domestic dogs since it is relatively rare to observe.

Blurtit:

Dogs and wolves have descended from the same species and hence share a remarkable number of characteristics and features like hunting in packs as well as the ability to bark. It has been seen and heard that wolves indeed bark contrary to popular beliefs that they can only howl, though the circumstances in which they use this trait is rare and infrequent. Most wolves give a short warning bark when confronted by any danger to warn their puppies and other wolves.

The trait of barking seen in dogs is believed to be a result of their domestication and seen as a sign of communication between dogs and human beings as well as a sound to indicate danger; often a dog will respond to his master's whistle with a bark. Wolves are also known to growl and bark at any intruders in their territory; a similar trait is observed in dogs.

lichen is a good source of food and many species take advantage of it.

The GCBRO report, where is the link? Some of these reports of deer kill and deer found in trees, I wonder are the results of big cats.

[ponyboy]

you know, lichens are a potential nutrient source I never thought of, but it does make a lot of sense. Lichens have about the equivalent nutrional value to a standard cereal, are edible (people and animals have eaten them for years), and are widely available in most areas of the country. Definitely something to be on the look-out for when looking for potential BF habitats

[Sam Farris]

I am not sure what the correlation is between BF and dogs. It seems to be a recurring theme over many reports. Perhaps they equate them with wolves which would be a big competition for resources.

I would guess/speculate it is in fact, as you say, equating dogs to wolves on the part of the Bigfoot, but for reasons different than yours. Wolves hunt in packs and would, I think, pose a threat not only to juveniles, but adults as well. I suspect they perceive a barking dog as possibly a 'wolf gone amok', and in the din/confusion, destroy (or attempt to) the dog in the process. There are many reports of dogs encountering these creatures with often the dogs coming out on the 'short' end of the deal.

Sam

[Flashman]

Explain the alder trees? What's the fungi that grows near the roots of some trees? I find many dig holes at or near the trunks of western white pine.

You might be thinking of truffles, they are symbiotic with oak, maybe some other trees, fix nitrogen or something. As for the Alder, it was something Meldrum mentioned as being someting native americans had observed, when he was on Coast to Coast AM last.

[willie red fire]

The GCBRO report, where is the link? Some of these reports of deer kill and deer found in trees, I wonder are the results of big cats.

The entire site is COPYRIGHTED so here is the page to access the BF Animal kill link Hopefully I didn't violate anything!

thanks Flashman, Found it late last night while looking up Lichen and other types of fungi. I followed Bear tracks last month and it was digging real deep next to every white pine but never did find anything left over.

Sam, thats a good explanation. In some reports the dog are scared and will not even bark. In no reports I have read the deceased dog has been eaten. They don't taste that bad, in fact its hard to tell what your eating in Korea, it maybe your pet.

[jasonch1112]

I looked up alder and found some interesting things about it, but how they might apply to BF????????? Alder is a popular food for many moth and butterfly larva. Good easy protien source? The young bark yields 16% tannin. Some kind of BF tea chew?? They support a certain bacteria that helps release nitrogen. Can't see how this would apply unless there is a fungus that likes a LOT of nitrogen.

[mike2k1]

The entire site is COPYRIGHTED so here is the page to access the BF Animal kill link Hopefully I didn't violate anything!

Thanks for the link. Providing a link doesn't violate the copyright. Those pictures to me, are more of an argument for a large predator cat than a bigfoot.

[jasonch1112]

I did not spend a lot of time going through the various links there. But if you were looking at the same pictures I looked at I would say it looked more like a bird of prey than a cat. The way the hair was pulled out in tufts and kept close to the kill.

I would expect in any animal that was killed by a BF that the smaller ones would be torn apart and the larger ones would show a broken neck at the least. I do not see a large animal with hands killing with it's teeth when it could more easily snap it's neck and end the struggle much faster.

[mike2k1]

I did not spend a lot of time going through the various links there. But if you were looking at the same pictures I looked at I would say it looked more like a bird of prey than a cat. The way the hair was pulled out in tufts and kept close to the kill.

I would expect in any animal that was killed by a BF that the smaller ones would be torn apart and the larger ones would show a broken neck at the least. I do not see a large animal with hands killing with it's teeth when it could more easily snap it's neck and end the struggle much faster.

Maybe bird of prey, like a turkey buzzard after the fact, but the entry hole near the rear flank, and the neck wounds, looks to me like a big cat. Small calf and deer are prime prey for one.

[jasonch1112]

All this seems to show is that people REALLY need to get to know the local wildlife before making such claims. If a corpse was found that was obviously NOT killed by a known local animal, then MAYBE BF was involved. It really seems there are too many people out there 'investigating' BF who see anything they know nothing about swear it must have been BF ( or whatever as the case may be). Double bear prints, a carcass of any sort, elk rubs, poacher's bedding. So many things are exclaimed to be from BF that turn out to have perfectly simple explanations. It is rather irritating trying to find new stuff on BF like this. It is like wading through miles of sewage just to find a penny.

[mike2k1]

All this seems to show is that people REALLY need to get to know the local wildlife before making such claims. If a corpse was found that was obviously NOT killed by a known local animal, then MAYBE BF was involved. It really seems there are too many people out there 'investigating' BF who see anything they know nothing about swear it must have been BF ( or whatever as the case may be). Double bear prints, a carcass of any sort, elk rubs, poacher's bedding. So many things are exclaimed to be from BF that turn out to have perfectly simple explanations. It is rather irritating trying to find new stuff on BF like this. It is like wading through miles of sewage just to find a penny.

I whole heartedly agree! There are pennys out there IMO, Jason. You gotta ask the questions and see if what you are seeing, hearing or experiencing hold water. I have a saying: Bullsh*@ and steak come from the same source, but there is people out there who will try there best to convince you they both taste the same.