Having nothing to do with BF, an article in weekend's NYT reveals that researchers who have long known that many organisms release "danger" or "alarm" or is it "fear" pheromones, but did not know for a fact if mammals actually did this or how they did it, until recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/science/26obdang.html

Googling "Grueneberg ganglia" brings up a number of other similar articles.

Its relevancy to BF's natural history is to me interesting. I've read many level-headed assessments of BF's talents and abilities basically stating that there's no reason to think that they have supernatural or superhuman abilities and I, and I suspect most who see BF as an intelligent hominin existing in a natural world, would generally agree. So, how do they know how to avoid us so well?

In this article, however, there is an example of what would be an almost superhuman ability (smelling of emotional states) that we've long suspected operates in h. sapiens in a sort-of barely perceptible sub-conscious fashion. If the BF are, as they are usually described, at least partially nocturnal or crepuscular, one could suspect that their olfactory array is more accute than most modern humans' ability which has been primarily adapted for daytime activity where accute color-vision is most advantageous. Subsisting in a nocturnal world of complex chemical clues instead of visual ones, BF may have a more conscious awareness of another animal's intent, emotional state and otherwise suspicion-generating behaviors which could be integral to a strategy that puts them outside of our normal ability to detect them intentionally in a predictable way.

Very interesting, thanks for the find!

And recall really all of the Bigfoot encounters listed on this site, the person that made contact with the creature was almost always in a state of terror just from the sight of the creature, but at the same time did not sense any danger or a threat at all. The native Americans said many years before America was even established that when one allowed you to see it it meant something "special", something positive. This would reinforce your findings and beliefs about the creature I believe, in that like most animals of the world, the Big foot's senses are far more advanced and conscious than most human's senses are, they know you are their hours before you know their there, and have the choice to allow you to see them, or just climb a tree and wait for you to pass IMO.

Also what of the subjects strange and "creepy" sensations that they are being watched? People seem to feel all of the things that other mammals feel, IE like dogs sensing fear, or primates sensing overall intention, just that it is subconscious and does not seem as powerful. Maybe their is more to the horrible scent of these Sasquatch than just a horrible scent.

That's definitely an interesting read. I think it's remarkable that we are still learning and indeed even mystified at times by creatures as common place as lab mice.

I've always thought that sasquatch had not "supernatural" senses, but merely superior ones to ours. I imagine that they can usually see/hear/smell us coming and usually get out of the way.

If sasquatch really does have an awareness of emotion or intention it might explain the stories of why most encounters are with humans that are completely unaware vs humans actively searching them out. Or why sasquatch might choose to visit camps at night when humans are asleep.

It is definately an intersting thing to think about . However if I was ever to be involved in an agressive encounter there would no need to consider pheromones because there would be a specific bodily function that would occur creating a offensive scent all it's own as I was heading in the oposite direction .

TCF

I could of told you guys about this a long time ago, my wife can smell my fear pheremones from a mile away and so can my neighbours 2 dogs and I have the scars(from my wife) to prove it!

When the idea of smelling fear is brought to mind, I suppose we think in terms of our own emitting of a pheremone, but I wonder if the other critters who are watching us set up tents, start fires, make loud noises and act in unusual ways, arent also emitting the alarm pheremone and so that an animal capable of consciously smelling these pheremones would know that something is causing alarm even if it didn't know what or how exactly, thereby pre-alerting the newcomer well before it makes contact with the cause. It would indeed seem almost supernatural. Imagine how it would seem to someone who didn't know about or have the ability to see in colors.