Mountain devil. Bigfoot. Sasquatch.
Whatever the name, the mystery remains: Is there a Bigfoot, and how is an 8-foot hominid covered in hair so wily?
Jim Lansdale, Vietnam veteran and co-founder of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization (GCBRO), aims to bag a Bigfoot in order to prove its existence.
"The body of one adult male is the only way our government will admit these creatures do exist," Lansdale said in "Killing Bigfoot," a Discovery Destination America special that aired Oct. 24.
"Killing Bigfoot" chronicles the members of GCBRO gathering intelligence and checking out reports of sightings in Texas and Louisiana. "We're the first line of defense to protect people and their farm animals from Bigfoot," Lansdale said.
There are those who do not believe in Bigfoot and those who swear to have crossed paths with the elusive man-like creature. There are also those who believe, but think killing the living being is taking it too far and possibly creating a safety threat.
"To me, hunting and trying to kill a sasquatch is rank insanity," said president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, John Kirk III, according to CNET. "What gives you the right to do that? You know, the police, law enforcement agencies, conservation officers, I don't think they take kindly to the notion of people running around forests with guns trying to stalk a bipedal, hairy hominid. There are dangers to other people."
"Killing Bigfoot" was a one-night special, but it ended with gunshots and a cliffhanger. So far, no Bigfoot Corpse-a-Palooza has been announced. No tour of the body as the public was duped into hoping for first in 2008, then again in January 2014, by self-proclaimed Bigfoot trapper Rick Dyer, according to Snopes.
Could "Killing Bigfoot" turn into a series? Director Peter von Puttkamer is not only an award-winning "filmmaker with special interest in wildlife/travel/adventure and environmental issues, as well as Native American/First Nations and indigenous peoples worldwide," according to KillingBigfoot.com, but he also directed the 1999 film, "Sasquatch Odyssey" as well as developed the TLC series "Monster Hunters," according to Mass Media Distribution.
The short answer: maybe.
How has Bigfoot gotten away from hunters so many times?
"The hunting in this area has to be on private land with the land owner's full permission to hunt for harvest," Lansdale told CNET in an email. "Technology has come a long ways the past few years and we have some excellent equipment to hunt at night, which is the time we generally go to make sure no one else is on the property. Getting a good shot can be a challenge in the thickets where we hunt, and it always gets back to having the right target remain long enough for a debilitating shot."
Lansdale thought he had the kill shot 10 years ago when GCBRO shot something that later was categorized as a "great ape" after DNA testing.
"With any sort of species discovery, scientists always need an actual dead specimen to test everything for it to be accurate. DNA samples can be unreliable. This means we're looking for something specific, a male in the 7 to 10-foot range," Lansdale said.
Sounds like the GCBRO plans to continue shooting at tall, hairy men. Or apes. Or Bigfoot.
