Matt Moneymaker Q & A: Thoughts on Bigfoot from a Decades’-Long Believer

Ranking among the network’s top three series and delivering 1.2M P2+ viewers, the initial season of Finding Bigfoot this past summer found a sizeable audience among viewers, whether they believe in or question the existence of sasquatch.

According to crew member Cliff Barackman, the Animal Planet marketing team is currently ramping things up for Season 2 of Finding Bigfoot. And if you haven't noticed lately, the advertisements are showing up more frequently as the January 1st premiere date nears.

In the Discovery Channel Press Release page, the network posted a Q&A about team leader Matt Moneymaker:

MATT MONEYMAKER Q & A:

-- Thoughts on Bigfoot from a Decades’-Long Believer --

How did you get involved in looking for Bigfoot?

I had an interest since age 10, after I saw the original "Legend of Boggy Creek" in the theater. In my late teens, I met some eyewitnesses who directed me to a remote location in the Ventura Mountains where they had watched a nine-foot tall bigfoot circling their camp at night. I backpacked to the location a few months later and found fresh bigfoot tracks. From that point on, I had an obsessive desire to pursue these animals and figure out how they survive.

How did you meet Bobo, Cliff and Ranae and come together to find Bigfoot?

I met Bobo at a Bigfoot Symposium in Northern California in 2003. He attended all the expeditions in Northern California, and many other BFRO trips in other parts of the West. I met Cliff when he began attending BFRO expeditions in 2005. Eventually he organized and led some of those BFRO expeditions. Finally, I met Ranae by phone initially around 2003. A few years later she attended a BFRO expedition in Washington State and has since become a familiar face on the bigfoot scene in the Northwest. She's skeptical because she has not clearly seen one yet, but she's still very fascinated by the subject. We glean a lot from her biology perspective and her extensive field experience.

What is a Bigfoot/Sasquatch?

There are different schools of thought on this issue, but no one knows for sure at this juncture. Some think they are hairy Neanderthal survivors. Others suspect they are off-shoots of various pre-human lines, like homo erectus. I'm with the school that believes they are survivors of the giant Asian “wood apes,” like giganto-pithecus blacki. "Gigantos" were the largest apes that ever lived, and were thought to be long extinct. There's a list of reasons for leaning toward the Giganto explanation ... One of those reasons: When you map the locations of bigfoot/yeti sightings world-wide, they radiate out of southeast Asia, down where orangutans are from, and wear Gigantos once roamed. They do not radiate out of Africa, as you would expect for an African primate line, like Hominids. There are no sightings in Africa or Europe, for example.

What do you think is its closest relative?

If sasquatches are descendents of Gigantos, then they are basically giant cousins to the orangutan.

Why isn’t there more objective evidence of Bigfoot? (ie. Photos, videos, etc.)

They are rare animals to begin with, and they don't leave much evidence behind, because of the way they live. It also seems that one of their survival tactics to live in a way that conceals their presence or passage as much as possible, probably as a consequence of bad experiences with humans in the past.

Why don’t we find Bigfoot remains in the woods?

They are rare animals, and they live a long time, so they don't leave remains behind very often. Bones of rare animals are almost never found anywhere. Nature disposes of all remains over time.

How many Bigfoot do you think there are?

I still lean toward the most often cited parameters: 2,000 - 6,000 for all of the U.S., Canada and Alaska.

What is the most compelling evidence that you have uncovered while filming the show?

We heard and/or recorded sasquatch sounds several times during the filming of the series -- howls, knocks, screams. We pulled some great track casts out of red Georgia clay too, but the "evidence" that compelled us most on our journey was the continuous flow of credible eyewitnesses we met as we traveled from state to state, and from the U.S. to Canada. After you meet enough good solid eyewitnesses, you'll know that sasquatches exist. You'll know it without having to hold a piece of physical evidence in your hands.

Why does the cast use calls while searching for Bigfoot?

We use squatch calls because I figured out, back in the 80's, that sasquatches will sometimes respond to squatch calls, and will even approach them at night.

What type of equipment is needed for a Sasquatch excursion?

If it's a day-trip then the most important gear is a sound recorder, because you are far more likely to hear a squatch than to see a squatch, especially during the day. A camcorder is a step-up, in a way, but people don't let them run continuously for hours, like you can do with a sound recorder.

Are Bigfoot dangerous?

They'll scare you out of their woods sometimes, but they won't hurt you, usually. They do throw rocks and branches sometimes. And sometimes those things will hit you, but the intention seems to be to encourage you to leave. Note: They are very dangerous to aggressive dogs. They will make short work of a dog of any size.

What are the best spots for Sasquatch excursions?

Your best chance for spotting a sasquatch would be along the upper half of Pacific Coast Highway, just before sunrise. From Eureka, California all the way up to Olympic rainforest in far northwest Washington, people spot them on or near PCH. It's a long, long highway. Squatches probably walk along portions of it in the middle of the night when migrating north-south along the coast.

Are Bigfoot limited to North America?

Bigfoot-like animals are spotted in many parts of Asia and even in Australia.

Why are they so spread out?

They are spread out because they each need a lot of territory to survive. They would exhaust local food supplies too quickly if they lived in groups like gorillas (which are strictly vegetarian).

What do you think of Bigfoot representations on television and in film?

Some are funny, but I don't like all of them. Too many of those representations make people think "Bigfoot" is a mysterious single being, a proverbial monster, rather than a species of animals that is often sighted by people, but only seldomly captured on film or video. Why do those misleading representations occur? Because people want to see a real bigfoot, but bigfoots will not cooperate with that ... so representations are made instead.