In the spirit of getting eastern Canada postings properly filed on the forum, I wanted to start with a question on one locality which doesn't get as much airtime (at least in several circles): Québec reports.

There are a few scattered sighting reports, but some are available in French only. My concern here is less of the language barrier and more of whether that barrier is creating a hole of research data that otherwise would support data available from other provinces and border states (like Vermont, for instance). It came to mind the other night when driving through Rouyn-Noranda, Duparquet, and Rollet, all which are just east of several Cobalt/New Liskeard reports, and nearby the Lake Timiskaming and Lake Abitibi watersheds. Having an integrated place for all this inter-provincial data seems to be missing, and that the reporting ratio between Ontario and Québec seems to be on the order of 10-to-1 is questionable.

Does anyone know of Québec incidents that might not be readily available online, or know of French-only sites with report clearinghouses for the province? Thanks!

Bigfoot Au Québec is an all-french site that has a some sightings documented...

I will be on a remote lake for a fishing trip this fall in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region in Québec and plan to keep my eyes open...

hey sasquatched & fellow researcher good morning wow your both very welcome for posting those very inportant above new replys about sasquatch activity in ontario & quebec forests very interesting indeed.... please keep us posted definetly ok.... bill green great new sasquatch thread as well.

I've been wondering about that for quite some time. At first I thought that the general Qc environment was not as favorable. Now I'm not sure anymore. For sure, the lack of French speaking resources to turn to certainly doesn't help.



Never been able to talk to the guy. He never answers. But it looks like the site has been revamped "recently", although the reports are, for the major part, rather old

Apart from that, there's not much. There was one "newer" case on Bigfootencounters that took place in the Parc de la Verendrye.

There's Yvon Leclerc that you could maybe talk to for that particular matter. I mailed him a couple of times, but I've never had the time to talk to him over the phone. He's probably the best resource here in Quebec.

This past weekend, I thought of where I would look first for clues. I would certainly try my luck around Notre Dame du Nord if I had some spare time (which I don't). Ah Fatherhood....

Good luck and keep us posted on your findings if any!

The author of that site himself acknowledges that there are few BF sightings in Quebec. He thinks one of the reasons for this is that people who witness something unusual refrain from talking about it by fear of being ridiculed. Also he says that people don't know where to report sightings. Admittedly, the groups/organisations in Quebec that deal with the paranormal are mainly linked with UFOs and don't have a good reputation so I can understand the people's reluctance in contacting them.

The site "Bigfoot au Quebec" reports a 1985 sighting in western Quebec Abitibi-Témiscamingue, near a mining town called Cadillac which happens to be where my father grew up. That part of the province was "colonised" in the 1930s after gold was discovered in the area. I have asked my dad about BF and other strange stories but he has never heard of such things. The area was sparsely populated at the time (still is), except for a few nomadic Indian tribes who had little or no contact with the settled population. The area was new so there was little or no local folklore. I am aware of the Indian legends about the Windigo but do not really see the link with BF...?

I also have a friend from Rouyn in Abitibi and he has never heard anything about a BF in the region either.

I would be tempted to explain this by saying that Abitibi is huge and sparsely populated - so you have to be very lucky to see something. However, other parts of Canada are equally vast and sparsely populated yet there are BF reports.

I have also noticed the scarcity of BF sightings in Quebec, especially since there have been a few in Ontario, Vermont and in Maine... I was born in Quebec City and was surprised to read about the Sept Chutes creature (www.haveyouseenthiscreature.com). The Sept Chutes parc is a nature reserve located about 50 km from Quebec City. I'm not an expert so can't say whether that thing is a hoax or not. In any case, I have never heard of BF legends in Quebec. Early French settlers have never, as far as I know, reported any sightings of a BF. French Canadian folklore does not include BF in its repertoire (again, as far as I know). For Quebeckers in general, BF is more associated with the Pacific North West. My older brother is a keen hunter and fisherman and he says he has never heard any story relating to a bigfoot in all his years of hunting and fishing.

There are many "pourvoiries" (hunting lodges) in some very remote areas of Quebec - it would be interesting to find out from those who went fishing or hunting there if they witnessed anything.

Glad to hear from a Quebec City original. I'm myself from Limoilou; une fleur d'asphalte transplanted in Montreal. Out of curiosity, what brought you to Ireland?

My understanding is that Wendigo's meaning was somewhat stretched to include Sasquatch, although the true description of the Wendigo has nothing to do with it. BTW, if you have time, check Quebec's toponymy for Wendigo/Windigo related places... I get at least 22 entries.

I'm nothing more than an enthusiast, but to my knowledge, there is certainly not much in terms of oral tradition w.r. to Sasquatch around here. There is the Gougou and perhaps Radisson's standing bears (although not encountered in Quebec per se). And a loup Garou here and there. But the smell of sulfur is never far away....

Anyway, I too wonder why there is no account of the old Yellow Top roaming around in Abitibi. Maybe a little research in the region would yield something who knows....

This past saturday night, I was driving back from Lac St-Jean through the Parc des Laurentides. Every time I keep on telling myself: "What a nice Sasquatch play ground! Why barely no activity????"

As for the beast of the Parc des Sept Chutes, well, everything is possible. I highly doubt this thing is genuine, but hey, Mr Sas roams around in places where you would not expect to find him. For sure, nobody I know from St-Georges ever heard of anything remotely related to a creature standing on 2 legs. Except maybe the Bonhomme Sept Heures

Salut

To make a long story short - it started with a student exchange between Universite Laval and Dublin City University. I returned to Ireland in 1995 to work in software localisation.

I know the parc des Laurentides - there is nothing but the road so it would make perfect BF territory indeed. I read on another site that BF may be nomadic by nature and it may travel considerable distances to find food. Perhaps BF make their way to the eastern provinces during the summer months... Winters are very harsh compared to the Pacific NW.

Salut

Did anyone else notice though that Francophone areas have more "werewolf" sightings, Loupe Garoux or something like that. I beleive the native americans that were in the francophone sphere of influence derived the term rugaru or similar to describe hairy bipedals.

The reports of werewolves or loup-garou in French were common in Europe in the middle ages until the 18th Century and it would make sense that early French settlers brought their beliefs with them. French trappers, or coureurs des bois, roamed the forests of NA and many settled with Indian tribes, possibly passing on their legends and beliefs to the indians, hence the term rugaru.

It is obvious here that there was a mix at some stage between an furry an ape-like creature and furry but bloodthirsty one. But I do not recall any French Canadian legends about werewolves and I am not currently aware of any such sightings. Perhaps Larryk would agree with me on this.

Still can't explain the scarcity of sighting of squatches in the eastern provinces.

I'm also a graduate of Universite Laval. Got my eng diploma there in the early 90's. Sure miss the Festival des Sciences et Genie....

BTW, forgot to say in my previous post: "Bienvenue au BFF!"



Me thinks you are correct.



There is this one event reported in the Gazette de Quebec in 1766, that was probably more of a spinoff of the Gevaudan beast than anything else. Check it HERE.

With the beast of the Sept Chutes, that would make it two.



Bigfoot doesn't speak french. That probably why.

Something else occurred to me, I get the impression that the native american tribes around that area were more organised, better at making weapons, and dare I say it, civilised than tribes elsewhere, I see them as having villages rather than nomadic encampments. I think this had been going on a couple of hundred years before the french and british turned up. Ergo it's possible that a.) they were not as close to the woods anymore as their kin in other areas, b.) that they had driven off BF from these areas long ago, and forgotten about it. I'm surprised that there's not more reports from south of the St Lawrence though, where quebec meets the woods of maine and vermont. There's some Iroquois legends about battling the giants and decoying a contingent of them such that they were trapped against an escarpment and buried in a rock fall.

Yeah, I remember reading about that as well. Incidentally, the indians who currently live near Quebec City are originally from Lake Huron, hence their names. They were brought over by the French missionaries after the Iroquois beat the cr*p out of them during the 7 Years War. If I'm not mistaken, the area around Quebec City was originally a gathering point for various indian tribes - there was no permanent settlement.

I'll do a bit of research on the Quebec side. I'll check with larryk as well. If I find anything interesting, I'll post it.

Hurons from Wendake are originally from the Georgian bay area if I'm not mistaken.

The Quebec region, from what I can remember from my brief impromptu in History, was inhabited by Iroquois who lived in semi permanent villages at the time of Jacques Cartier. I think they were not as nomadic as the Hurons. Strangely enough, when Champlain came back to Canada to "found' the city 60 years later, they were all gone.

Has any of you read the voyages of Radisson? I've always wondered if "Bears" could have been something else (although the story itself is a bit incredible, speaking of unicorns and stuff). Check it HERE

"There comes out of a vast forest a multitud of bears, 300 att least together, making a horrid noise, breaking small trees, throwing the rocks downe by the watter side."

Dunno bout you, but this reminds me of some other purported Sasquatch encounters.

Much of Quebec and parts of Northern, ON were home to the the Algonquin First Nations.

The Algonquin tribes, in addition to being prolific in this region, were also responsible for spreading their language to other tribes along the eastern seaboard and parts of the midwest - many non-Algonquin tribes spoke what is now considered Algonquin dialects... would seem that their language may have become somewhat of a universal tongue that may have allowed other tribes to better communicate and trade amongst each other... The most notable exception is the Iroquois First Nations of NY/North East, which maintained and used their own distinct language.

Also interesting, I had heard reports from an associate of some vocalizations (recorded in OH I believe) that included some audible, syntax-like phrases... Last I heard, the possible phrases were phrases closely matched as Algonquin dialectal phrases... I don't recall exact specifics on who, what, where, when and/or how that was recorded and analyzed... so consider it conjecture... I will follow up with my friend, however, and see if he has any more info.

Greetings,

Just to add my two cents . . . there certainly is a lack of evidence of Sasquatch-like creatures within the written record, but that should not be confused with the conclusion that there are no intereactions with the Sasquatch and First Nation's in Quebec or the eastern provinces. It is likely that the oral histories of the First Nations do contain accounts of Sasquatch-like creatures, but may not have been shared with non-First Nation people.

Based on my research in collecting the oral histories of First Nation relating to Sasquatch, it is a long process where honesty and trust is a must before Elders, or other knowledgable individuals will share oral histories with "outsiders", especially "outsiders" from the dominant society that has cause so much destruction to their culture, of which oral histories are an important component. I find that if an "outsider" presses for information in a non-respectful manner, they will either be met with silence or "stories" to placate the "white-man".

I am Mohawk, and currently living in Northwestern Ontario (which is much further north than Sudbury ) and it has taken a number of years for a certain amount of trust to be built up with some of the First Nations so that members feel comfortable sharing their oral histories with me. However, in some instances in sharing their oral histories, I have promised not to disclose it to any one else, and hence I do not. Yet, for those who do not mind, I share freely.

I hope that this is helpful, and perhaps explains why there may not be a lot of First Nation accounts in the written record.

Sakohianisaks

Can I ask what is the position of the Elders in relation to the study of the sasquatch. Do they think it should be left alone or that it should be studied further?

Interesting comment.

I've studied a little bit of the First Nations' history at the University but it was only scratching the surface. I'm not aware of any physical representations of the Sasquatch from the Eastern provinces. I guess there must be some something. Do you know any? How about the Wendigo? Do you agree that it was likened to the Sasquatch by extension?

Thanks
Larry

Greetings Genral Goya and Larry K,

General Goya: the Elders that I have spoken with differ in their opinions on the study of the Sasquatch, and go from end of the spectrum to the other. Some are of the opinion that no such "study" should take place as it is a very significant spiritual entity that should be left alone. On the otehr hand, some are of a more pragmatic nature, and consider to be just another creature that inhabits the natural world. With that said, I have never come across an Elder falling within this end of the spectrum that has advocated for the killing or capture of a Sasquatch - the attitude is that the Sasquatch exists, and go chase it if you want but do not harm it. Although Elders are a significant aspect of almost all of the First Nations in Canada, it must be rememberd that they are individuals, that will have experiences, idiosyncracies, prejudices etc. just as any other individual would, and therefore influence their thinking processes and belief systems.

Larry K,

I have not seen any physical representations of the Sasquatch in the eastern provinces either. However, I have seen some pictoglyphs here in Northwestern Ontario that show a large dinosuar-like creature which was unusual. There are many, many other similar pictoglyphs out there in this region that are not readily known by non-First Nation people, and are apparently kept that way because of previous defacing of such pictoglyphs when their locations were shared. I have not had the luck to see any of these "hidden" pictoglyphs, but I am hoping that I will some day; whether a Sasquatch like creature will be depicted is open for debate, but if there was to be a physical representation, this would be the medium.

As to the Windigo, I too feel that it was likened to the Sasquatch by extension. I have spoken with Cree and Anishinaabe friends on a number of occasions, and from what I have heard, the Windigo is more of ghostly or spiritual entity than our furry friend. Not being an expert in the area, I would hazard an uneducated guess that when the non-First Nation people heard of the Windigo, those with an understanding of the Sasquatch would have likened the two as the same creature in order to understand the Windigo in a familiar context - I am probably talking out my @$# on that, but if I was trying to pick a Sasquatch out of a police line up of creatures, I likely would not point the finger at a Windigo . . . descriptions of the Windigo and Sasquatch do not add up.

Sakohianisaks

Greetings to you too! Thanks for the answer. There are certainly some canadian petroglyphs and pictograph that would be worth studying in more details w.r. to Sasquatch.

While checking for more info on the subject, I stumbled upon an thing that I would like to clarify. Do you know anything about Memegwashio?

Cheers!
Larry

Larry K,

Unfortunately no, I have no first hand knowledge of that or have heard anything. I did some internet research and it certainly sounds interesting. The name itself sounds Cree . . . where did you hear of this name?

Sakohianisaks

As per THIS MASTERS THESIS,
Memegwashio are part of the Algonquin mythology. They are small creatures that live in cliffs or caverns and that are covered with hair. They are often referred to as “monkeys” in modern versions of traditional stories because of their facial hair. According to references from the above document, they would account for many of the anthropomorphic pictographs of the Canadian Shield.

Thanks Larry . . . the Thesis seems really interesting, but alas, I cannot read French. Any chance there is an English translation somewhere?

Excuse me sakohianisaks, I missed your reply.

I will have a look but I doubt that the thesis could be available in English.

Cheers!
Larry

Hi general Goya,
there is also a (called) Sept chutes area beetween St-félix de valois ans Saint-Zénon in the Lanaudière area, i drive by there from Longueuil everytime i go to my moose hunting spot.
The Beaver

Would like to correct my previous post.
Its not even called or refered to as Sept Chutes, threre is a road sign on the side of the road refering to... Sept Chutes.
As for the Sept Chutes creature well to me its another buch of leaves and branches that we call a blobsquatcht.

The Beaver,

Are you from Longueuil?

Guess the place your are talking about is this: Sept Chutes

Never been there but I've been fishing in the ZEC of St-Zenon and Pourvoirie Trudeau. Nice spots, but I went too late in the season.



I agree. Anyway, "downtown" St-Georges de Beauce albeit a small one, is a pretty unlikely location.

Yes Longueuil



Yes, that is the Sept Chutes area im talking about and your probably talking about zec des Nymphes.

Hello

I'm rather new to this sight, today actually. I've been intrested in Bigfoot and Sasqatch most my life. I'm not sure if this is the place to have posted this but please bare with me for a moment. I go to school in N.B Canada. I will not say the school as I do not wish to appear foolish but I was wondering if one may help me.
See last school year (Feb 4th 2007) My roommate, whom I will also not mention due to respect from for him, were woken by a rather odd sound. eariler in the day we had been joking and talking about things we counted as weird when I mentioned bigfoot. I asked to borrow my friends computer and went onto youtube to show them the "Bigfoot lives" trailer and several videos people have osted from home movies or news clips dealing with Bigfoot. One the trailer for "Bigfoot lives" had a vocalization on it of what the creature sounds like. My roommate at the time told me that he wished to never hear that sound again. That night, as mentioned befor we were woken by that very sound. In all truth that is the sound to which we heard. We both looked towards each other and wondered as to what was going on. It was kind of a mornful howling/wailing. He asked me what that was and I told him I was unsure. He inturn said he knew what he hoped it to not be.

Also and I do not say that either of these events were or are bigfoot sasqatch related, but that I felt it best to post them here and seek the nswers of another. Also on Feb 18th and 27th I did come across several wierd human like tracks. They seemed human but not at the same time like kind of apeish. On the later (Feb 27th) I was with 3 other guys at the time hunting squirrels. I sadly do not have a picture or a tae of either for evidance only my word. If other wish to contact me to learn more thats okay. Though I am a little nervious as I am unsure as to what they may have been from. I would also like to point out when the tracks were found there could be no sound of any wild life found. Only a distant snapping of twigs and branches coming from ahead of us.

I thank you for you time, and look forward to hearing back from you.

Hello and welcome to the BFF!



That's quite a coincidence! What was the general environment where this took place?

One of the problem with purported sasquatch vocalizations is that, unless someones can prove without a doubt they are made by a sasquatch, we are in pure speculation. This does not mean that I would not spoil my underpants if I ever hear some of them screams - made by a sasquatch or not - alone in the dark.




What makes you think they looked ape-ish?

That is certainly too bad that you could not get some evidence. How large were the tracks from what you can recall?

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Larry

The Beaver,

Since you are from Longueuil, are you aware of any BF enthusiasts/organized group in the Montreal area? In Quebec?

The only "active" guy I know from here is Yvon Leclerc.

What makes you think they looked ape-ish?

well the shape. the way the "big toe" was.
They had a long heal like a human but the toes and ball were kind of like a hand. like the big toes were set more of to the side like on a hand. also the toes were kind of long. as for the size the heal to ball was about the length of my hand, maybe a bit bigger. I know it sounds weird but no animal track I have ever seen has looked like that. as for the placeof where it was in Sussex new brunswick Now againI don't call this a bigfoot sighting or anything just fiured you people might be able to help me on this one.

as for coincidence. I can tell you that it sounds it but I don't think it was. I mean we listen at around 10 in the morning andthen we heard it like 3 am. I know sounds weird but I'm serious. We thought it a trick of our minds but then we also heard others talking about a scream in the night.

Just FYI, the scream included in the clip you mention has been used in a large number of related documentaries, and is usually referred to be an authentic field recording.

In fact it was made by Roger Patterson as an approximation of alleged Sasquatch vocalizations. Its creepy as hell, but definitely man-made. If it was that -exact- sound you heard later in the evening, I think your friend might have been having a little fun at your expense.

Doubt my roommate cause I woke up before him an looked over at him first as he was waking up. But you do make a good point that it could have been somebody just playing a prank on us. I had thought of that and for the most part left that as a possiblity. Thanks for the insight.

AFAIK (I'm no specialist) in a nutshell, most purported bigfoot tracks look similar to large, flat, human feet. Big toe is pretty much "inline" with the rest of the toes. I know some exceptions (like for purported skunk ape tracks) but that's my general understanding on this. Check this LINK for a good comparison of some primate feet w..r. to human. See any ressemblance?



I do not doubt your seriousness. But as MadAxe said, maybe somebody tried to pull a trick on you, considering the circumstances. Maybe.

Hi Larry, no im not aware of any Sasquatch or Bigfoot reaserch groups in or around the Montreal area, the only Québec based reserch organization or whatever im aware of is bigfoot Quebec but the the guy seems to take long breaks now and then, think he's a school teacher with many other things on his mind (shortage of theachers in this province you must you know what i mean).
I was one of the five founding members of NESRA but had to take a few steps back to settle some things here at home, since then the sky has cleared a little and im starting to get back into the roll of things and keeping an eye on what's hapening in the bigfoot world.
Yes i know of Yvon Leclerc, from what he told me he's writing a new or his first book on the subject.

Take care.

Are you sure you weren't looking at bear trakcs?

Are you sure you weren't looking at bear trakcs?

I'm pretty sure it wasn't. these did not seem bear. I'm not saying they weren't bear but they didn't look like any bear track I've ever seen or heard of. still the weather could have deformed them.

thanks Larry for the link.

This might sound weird but the closest track I can find is like the baboon one. Last time I checked a baboon isn't a native animal to N.B or N.S. Which makes me wonder to just what it could have been

I really am greatful for all of your help on this. I just am wanting to know what it was. What you guys say makes sense. I'm looking forward to seeing and reading about your own encounters.

Cheers mate! That's the information I had.

In any case, I'm not of great help to the subject, being too busy with my personal life. Maybe later I'll be able to spare some CPU time for something else than armchair activities; but certainly not at the present time.

A bientot.
Larry

Hey. Just as an aside to this discussion about sasquatch activity in Québec, the last reported sighting I seem to recall was one happening nearer to Val d'or:

Thought it might be worth mentioning, since there's probably a lot more going on in Québec that we're not aware of yet.

Yes, I saw that report some time ago and I contacted Bobbie Short on it. Unfortunately, I lost the mail thread thanks to a HD crash

Anyway, the map from the site is really misleading. The sighting most likely happened around a place called Le Domaine in the Réserve faunique La Vérendrye (not the Park des Laurentides!). Pretty remote location that's for sure.

From the comment at the end of the report, apparently Thomas Steenburg was contacted for a follow up. I dunno if he was able to gather some more info on it. As I said earlier in this thread, if I had the time, I would start my research in the Abbitibi region.

I also saw that report some time ago but in my case it pops a few red flags.
If this guy is a trucker who travel's all over northern Québec he should know the name of that park and its quite easy as there's only one highway no. 117 that crosse's that park.
Secondly,most truckers always keep an eye on what mile or kilometer post there at when whatever situation happen's to warn other trucks going the opposite way, this should of been mentioned in his report...or maybe someone is holding that info.
Thirdly, if he stopped for coffee near Val-d'or he was out of the park and to my knowledge theres only one place to do so in that park wich is called
''Le Domaine'', then your on your own for the rest of the ride and for a few hundred miles with no gas or food, only outfitters.

Just my two cents.

Not directly related to reports, but there is a small article (in French) about bigfoot in La Presse today. It talks a little bit of Yvon Leclerc's finding in Monts Valin.

Article in La Presse

Apparently, he has some 20 credible sightings on files. I would love to hear more about that....

As usual, the article has to end with some references to the Bionic Bigfoot. Oyoyoye!

This isn't related to the article in La Presse and it's not even related to sasquatch, but I love your poutine neon avatar.

And the poutine available in most of Ontario (except for the places touting "Montréal-style whatever") is a grave disappointment.

Did you mean to say "gravey" dissappointment?

Thanks. I thought this avatar gave a little Quebec "flavor" to the board....


Having been transplanted in Montreal and having grown up on Asthon's poutine in Quebec City, I'm kind of desperate to find a joint around here that serves something similar. Lafleur is probably the best one I found so far.

Anyway, if you ever drop by Montreal soon, got check one of the places listed in the review section of this site for some of the best poutines.

Cheers!

You guys are making me hungry , if you are ever on the south shore of the island Larry you should try a jumbo poutine from Benny's B.B.Q.

I work on the south shore but never tried it. It's on my list for this week. Thanks for the tip!

quote name='accozzaglia' date='Apr 1 2007, 04:28 PM' post='378523']
In the spirit of getting eastern Canada postings properly filed on the forum, I wanted to start with a question on one locality which doesn't get as much airtime (at least in several circles): Québec reports.

There are a few scattered sighting reports, but some are available in French only. My concern here is less of the language barrier and more of whether that barrier is creating a hole of research data that otherwise would support data available from other provinces and border states (like Vermont, for instance). It came to mind the other night when driving through Rouyn-Noranda, Duparquet, and Rollet, all which are just east of several Cobalt/New Liskeard reports, and nearby the Lake Timiskaming and Lake Abitibi watersheds. Having an integrated place for all this inter-provincial data seems to be missing, and that the reporting ratio between Ontario and Québec seems to be on the order of 10-to-1 is questionable.

Does anyone know of Québec incidents that might not be readily available online, or know of French-only sites with report clearinghouses for the province? Thanks!
[/quote]

Regarding the reasons for the small number of BF reports in Quebec, let me risk some hypothesis herein:

Looking at the map of Quebec, (look at Encarta, type "Quebec" then "see map of Quebec" you see it well) there are two major geographical constraints for the BF which would like to migrate to this lovely "distinct French society". I try to include this map herein with roughly the four zones known for the few sasquatch reports but cannot do so. So please see Encarta or another map of Quebec province, it is quite enlighthening:



These two formidable barriers to sasquatch west-east or south-north expansions are:
1. The huge St-Lawrence river, which is 2 miles large at the level of Montreal and gets much wider going east to the Atlantic Ocean. Impossible for a BF to swim thru.
2. The tandem of James Bay and Hudson's Bay, which is extremely wide and covered with ice from November to April.

It is well known that the population of Canada is all cramped close to the border of the USA on 45th parallel, and that the density of our population in the North is less than in Siberia! This is also true in Quebec. Quebec areas close to New-York state, Vermont and Maine are densely populated, if only by large farms, and contain very small and scarce forests. The province attached to Quebec's Gaspesia peninsula on the south is New-Brunswick. NB sees its population concentrated on the sea shore; there is one road crossing the province north-south, in the middle, in a large and dense forest area. I crossed it on a motorcycle this summer; every 5 miles is a huge post warning us of the numerous moose population. I met a very pale American on a Harley who told me he had almost run into one, and barely braked on time. This forest is also loaded with game, from foxes to wolves, to deers, wolverines, etc. So the sasquatch coming from Maine has a large border with NB and a very small border with Quebec, and finds a dense forest full of food in NB, but a series of inhabited farms and not much forest area in Quebec. No wonder sightings in NB are more frequent than in Quebec.
Another BF area to the west is in New-York state & Southern Ontario, close to Lake Ontario. Again look at the frequent (relatively) BFRO reports in this area. There is even a report close to Ottawa, our national capital!! Look at dense forests and lack of roads in this area close to the Great Lakes; its a natural BF habitat.
The third area for BF is in mid-Ontario and on the Quebec border, this area called Témiscamingue in Quebec, including the towns of Val-D'Or and Rouyn-Noranda talked about herein. These are mining areas where BF are being seen both on the Ontario and Quebec sides of the provincial border.
The fourth area of BF activity is in Northern Ontario.
If you compare the forests that we find in Northern Quebec and in Northern Ontario, you find that our Quebec northern forests trees are mostly the black spruces, which take about 40 years to grow to a height of about 20 feet. Branches are scarce, the trees are far from one another, you can ride a Hummer at full speed in most of that forest! Animals in that forest of the north are very few; mice, a few lost foxes, some beavers around lakes, a few mooses but not too much North of James Bay. In fact, north of James Bay, the only moose I have ever seen was a chocolate mousse I brought with me!! (OK, OK, it's a bad pun for those bilingual folks herein... the word moose in English is pronounced exactly like the word mousse in French cuisine... forget it...). Seriously now: our forest is cold and isolated north of James Bay. Not only the bay itself would stop a BF from migrating west-east, but the incentive is not there: he cannot hide in that open forest, and there is very limited food supply. Contrary to that forest, the northern Ontario forest has a milder climate due to Hudson's Bay and its distance from the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans. It is the center Canada. It therefore contains more food for a carnivore, and even more berries for a BF. So sightings are more numerous there in that fourth area!

So this is my theory about BF in Quebec: it cannot cross James and Hudson's bays, cannot live in our densily populated area near the US border on the south, it can only live in closeby Maine-NB forested and loosely populated areas, and on Ontario-Quebec borders. Just a matter of habitats, food supply, natural borders, and density of the human population. Also, Ontario in the north is more mountainous than Quebec in the north. There are exceptional reports that you see from time to time and which beat the odds, like that report in Kuudjjuuak (previously called Fort Shimo) in Hungava Bay at the north end of Quebec. It might have been a report from a drunk French settler... (oh that French wine!!).

here is the map that goes with my previous post on areas of BF activities in Quebec. Read it concurrently

Click to view attachment


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I'm considering going to the Gaspe Ntl Park area mts next summer. Any comments on that?

Maps indicate that N of the St Lawrence, roads go to zero in a hurry.