Examiner.com writer interviews Cliff Barackman, talks Bigfoot DNA project(s) and Justin Smeja, the Sierra Kills Bigfoot Shooter


Cliff Barackman (right)

As season two of Finding Bigfoot closes in on us, we've been hearing a lot from Cliff Barackman. He's been doing interviews like he's running for President of the United States. Barackman 2012?

On Examiner.com Aaron Sagers, Paranormal Pop Culture Examiner writer, sat down with Cliff Barackman and asked him about UFOs and Bigfoot. Since this was a paranormal writer doing the interview, UFO questions comes with the territory.

Barackman was asked a number of questions and he gave some interesting answers. In one answer he mentions the Sierra Kills story and the Bigfoot DNA project(s). Here are some questions from the article we thought were interesting:

Question: Do you consider this a paranormal pursuit?
Cliff: No, absolutely not. In fact, in my opinion, there is very little in the world that is 'paranormal.' Paranormal, as far as I'm concerned, basically means stuff that we haven't explained yet. Ghosts and UFOs and stuff, there's probably some sort of explanation for those. I don't know anything about those because I found out a long time ago that the more diverse my weird interests are, the less credible I become. So I'm only a Bigfoot guy.

Question: What do you do when you're out in the woods and you encounter this thing? What happens next? Do you capture it?
Cliff: I’m going to say when I’m not with the camera crew because the more people there are, the more devices and electrical do-dads and lights and stuff, the less likely you are to get a close approach. So in my real life Bigfooting circumstances, when it’s just me alone out there, or maybe me with one other person, if one comes close, it depends on what they do. The things is, Bigfooting is not a situation for the mind-state of most hunters with their super awesome guns, wearing camouflage and all that other stuff. Because that kind of person, that kind of mentality is the kind of mentality that tries to gain control. And when you are with Sasquatches, in the woods, you are not in control. These things are super ninjas. That’s the best analogy I have. They can literally be 50 feet from you and you won’t even know. They’ll be belly crawling, they’ll be using their cover. They are intelligent. Probably almost as intelligent as we are. That’s the level of thing we’re dealing with. So when you’re in the woods and they’re nearby, you need to actually let them retain control if you are to have any success, at all. When they’re around and they come in close, they stand off in the woods, 50 yards or so and watch you. And if there’s more than one around, maybe they’re going to knock into each other or clap or whatever they’re doing to make that popping noise that they do. You can hear them. So I think the best you can do is sit tight, look interesting, maybe talk to them even, maybe throw some food out into the woods. And try to record them with a digital/audio recorder. Or if you have a thermal imager, try to catch a glimpse of one in between trees as it darts around. Again, these things are super ninjas. They’re onto us. And they don’t want to be seen. They’re hiding from us, even in the dark.

Question: Is the goal to capture it?
Cliff: No, of course not. How do you capture an 1100-pound primate with hands that’s as smart as you are? You just don’t do that. I think, as far as Bigfooting goes, everyone has their own personal goal. A lot of people’s goals center around ego, in my opinion, and they hide it under things like, ‘Oh we want to protect the Sasquatch.’ Or, ‘We want to prove it’s real to protect it.’ That’s actually ego in my opinion. They’re doing a dandy job protecting themselves now. They don’t need our help. I personally think discovery is the worst thing to ever happen to the species. They’re doing just fine without us. My personal goal is to learn about them as much as possible. Because when discovery does happen, like I said, it’s going to be pretty bad for them. People are going to go out to the woods. Fools are going to go out and try to hunt them. My personal goal is to soften the blow of discovery by learning as much about them as I can now, and then hopefully use this platform that I’ve been given by Animal Planet to educate the public. People are going to be thinking, "These things are covered with hair, so hunt them." But these things are covered with hair and speak to each other in this weird proto-language that they have. I think like this a lot. You only get one first impression. Do we want that first impression of the general public realizing that Sasquatches are real, do we want that first impression to be a bloody, corpse on a slab - or an extended video of a female interacting with its young? What would be better for the species? Clearly, the female.

Question: What is the timeline to discovery? Five, 10, 20 years? When will the really solid proof emerge?
Cliff: We’re closing in on it. I know there’s at least one DNA test going on right now. I’ve heard that there are two independent studies. There’s lots of samples of DNA out there, and there’s new techniques to extract mitochondrial DNA from hair. That job is being done right now. The DNA proof will be here within a year or two probably because those studies have been going on for a few years now. There’s a really large body of video evidence that the owner has been sitting on since 2005. I heard, rumor has it, that there’s up to a dozen, maybe two dozen pieces of footage that show these creatures that he’s going to release in conjunction with the DNA study. Now, of course, the DNA and the movies are not going to convince everybody, but it will help a lot. I think there’s going to be a rising tide of acceptance where more and more academics step forward and start studying this thing until eventually some cold-hearted person would go out and shoot one of these things. Or a trucker would just run one down on a freeway somewhere and we’d just have a body. Actually, a hunter brought down two of these things last year. I think it was last year in the Sierras. People I know have actually interviewed this guy and think he’s on the up-and-up. The bodies aren’t there anymore; what happened to them, we don’t know. But his story seems to check out. It’s really only a matter of time until that happens. I know that’s a long answer but I don’t think it’s going to be two years from now. I think there’s going to be a rising tide in acceptance. Until somehow or another, a dead one is brought in.

Question: Do you ever cringe when you see news media running what you know to be fake Bigfoot stories, or relying on the drunk redneck-type to tell his Bigfoot story?
Cliff: I’ve been doing the Bigfoot thing a long time so I guess I’m a little callous in that way. Like, when that whole Georgia hoax came out, I was following that for months. When I heard a couple of the names in involved, I was like, 'This is fake; I’m going to see how this is going to play out, but it’s fake.' As far as the guy who seems to drink a lot in North Carolina, you know what? People who drink a lot see these things, too. I’m not exactly sure, even though he was great for TV because he was a really colorful character, I’m not sure that he did not see one because he lives in an area with a lot of activity. He lives out in the rural area. Again, I’ve been doing this for 20 years now. I deal with a lot of rural folks. They do seem a little strange on the surface, especially the people who live in cities, but generally speaking, they are good, honest folks. That’s generally my impression of most people: Good, honest folks. Do I cringe when I see the falsehoods coming out? A little bit, but I’m used to it by now. I just chalk it up to they’re just looking for ratings. Everybody loves Bigfoot. Everybody knows it. They’re going to go for it.

Click here to read the rest of the interview.

Comments

  1. Fantastic interview, as always. Cliff and I completely jive on all aspects about BF. I don't think I could elaborate on that. We are coming to a time where we might need to use science to prove our relationship to BF, but ultimately his intelligent behavior proves he's earned a cousin spot on the family tree.

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  2. Great interview and one really gets to know the real Cliff. He seems to feel on all things bigfoot pretty much as I do. I wish I had Cliff for a friend, and would love to go on expeditions with him.

    Chuck in Ohio

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  3. He speaks so well about this creature. He is one of the top on my list as far as bigfoot researchers go. I really like people that don't attack others on what they've done or have seen. Real stand up guy.

    Its also nice to hear him talk about the DNA study in a calm and positive way. So many people talk so much sh** about the people involved in the study, and its nice to hear a "sane" person who is well respected in the industry (not only by his peers but by people that keep up on this through Shawns blog) have a optimistic outlook on the news. The "negative nellies" become very tiresome to hear.

    Great post Shawn! Any news with Cliff involved is great! Keep it comin.

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  4. Great interview. If I had "my" way Cliff would have his own show (sans MM).

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  5. Maybe Cliff will give an interview and explain why he does not release the footage he took at Bluff Creek where he got clear shots of a Sasquatch?

    This is what gets people- why save this footage for another two hour special and not include it in the original?

    I understand analyzing the film to make sure they were not hoaxed but Cliff knows what he is doing and when you have a cameraman getting it and you are fumbling with the back up camera to get more footage you know what you got. Here is the audio: You cant really tell who is saying what because of the excitement and whispering.

    "Down, Down"

    "what"

    "You filming"
    "yeah"
    "did it see us"
    "No"
    "get the other cam and and use that"

    Obviously they got very quiet after this.

    They were coming around a a ridge of huge rocks. Beyond it is a strange type area- one you just dont see. Its like a tiny meadow about the third of a football field. To the side farthest from them is a cliff, to their left and the left of the meadow is an area with a bunch of fallen trees then the beginning of the forest and the gorge they were coming around. To the right is forrest that is extremely thick. The ridge has a "break about a a mile before they reached this spot. It is above the tree line and the Bigfoot was not seen at this time. They saw the area at that time and they were heading in that direction to check it out.

    This place looks like a good potential sighting spot but is misleading. To the immediate left of the area where you can enter the grass area is an area that from afar looks like it could be water. Sometimes it is- a small spring bubbles up and it collects alot of rain water. Atleast I am told there is a spring- certain friends fill their canteens there while other people say dont try it. You can't tell if it is full or dry from a distance because the shadows always make it look full. Hikers often eat lunch there and may leave remains.

    The area is visible from the high ground and I always thought it was a bad spot because of that. It does offer a place that can provide water and the area to the right is very dense allowing for a quick Bigfoot getaway.

    I know they got as much as they could- as much as 3 minutes. They could not move to go after it without waiting a minute or two so it would not see them- by the time they tried to follow there was no sign of it.

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  6. For anyone who saw the Bigfoot Birth of a Legend special. You will see they were joking around about Cliff being alive and Renee hugging him when he came back from his solo expedition.

    I have a problem with keeping a lid on this just to have another special. Release the film and let everyone decide. They are doing alot in the way of having people comparing it to the Patterson film and coming to the conclusion it is the same type of creature.

    Apparently the movement in both films can be compared and then the only way it could be someone in a suit is if two people wore suits of the exact same material, with the human in each being proportion to the suit in the exact way. Basically to where it shows that it being bigfoot is more likely than what would have to come together for them both to be men in suits.

    I say let people see it and do their own tests if they want.

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  7. Postponing the release of DNA results and not letting us see "amazing" bigfoot footage makes me even more skeptical.

    After watching the antics on this blog, I'm reasonably certain the creature does not exist. It's all just a three-ring circus to entertain us.

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  8. I enjoyed reading the interview and it was what I expected from Cliff.
    I've always liked him and his attitude towards Bigfoot.I can see the passion on his face and in his eyes,and that's good enough for me.

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  9. Finding Bigfoot is a huge success with over 1 million viewers weekly. If I were part of the show and my hobby was searching for this creature...add to this recipe the fact that I make a living from keeping viewers on edge about the next episode. Why would I simply just turn my hard earned video work loose for "the whole world to see?" I would atleast use the video to further enhance my television series. Either way, people will get to see the video and decide. Why not use it in the context of the show? This man did the field work, shot the video, put in the labor. This is America, why can he not determine when and where to release the video? If not for guys like this man, many people would not be watching the show in the first place.

    What better way to release the video-than on national television within the context of the way he wants to release it. More people will watch it, and it will be rewarding to him personally and financially.

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