I have often been asked by family and friends, “why hasn’t a body been found?” This debate has been talked about by several individuals and still rages on. When asked this question I can only give my point of view. If I knew the answer then I would be that much closer to actually finding one. These questions have made me think even more about the subject. I have jotted down a few of those thoughts.

Remote Habitat: Now there have been sightings in areas that are not remote. My guess would be if there was ever to be a body found in an area like this it would be more of an accident. In other words the animal had an accident or an unexpected medical incident that caused its demise in a non-remote area. For the most part it is my opinion that they die of old age or a condition that permits them to relocate to a remote area or an area of refuge. I have found that when people are sick or in their latter years of life they retire to a place of comfort (bed, home, etc…). I believe that Bigfoot’s place of comfort is a hard to reach remote area. These areas I would think are very familiar to them and give a sense of comfort. That could be one explanation as to why we don’t find any remains or at least reduce our chances. They retire to these places and pass away there. It may even be that a higher percentage of their population may permanently reside in remote habitats or they may not venture out much from these places. What if these animals are like some other known animals that when they get close to dying they find areas that are remote? I also wouldn’t be surprised if it is only younger, more healthy animals that venture out very far on a regular basis. I have noticed while hunting mule deer the older ones are extremely more cautious than the younger ones. Sometime they never move during the day unless an outside presence forces them to. Now when I say remote it conjures up a place you have to hike ten miles through nightmarish terrain, far from the reaches of civilization to get to. That may be the case but I am also thinking of close, hard to reach areas. For example crossing a treacherous river and hiking a steep mountain. It may be close but it is still very hard to get to and most if not everyone does not venture there. Even if they did I would assume they would take the easiest route.

Square Miles: The amount of wilderness areas that are rarely traveled in by humans. Another factor in this is there are fewer humans in the wilderness now than there were 150 years ago to even cover the vastness of our wilderness. We are more centralized now. We don’t have to wander the wilderness in order for us just to survive. How often do people that venture in the mountains leave the beaten path? How many times have you hiked through dense foliage just to get from point A to point B? Most of us find the path of least resistance. The percentage just goes way down especially when you are looking for something that may have a lower population than most larger animals.

Identification: I am in the mountains more than most people I know. I am also off the trails more than most. When I used to go through Yellowstone I was rarely on trails. There are tons of wildlife in Yellowstone. Unless I found fresh remains or a head I had no clue what I was looking at most of the time. I had to find something that clearly identified what I was looking at. Otherwise I was at a total loss and could only guess. Not everyone has a background that enables them to identify remains of animals. I am a lifelong hunter and I don’t. How many of us that find remains actually take the effort to figure out what we are looking at. Let’s say you find some remains and the head is not located with the body. Do you really spend the time to try and find it or just think it is cool and move on? Some people are grossed out by remains and won’t even look especially if there is a smell. They could see a pile of hair and smell the rotten flesh, think it is a bear and move on because it is gross.

Rate of Decomposing: I was talking to a friend of mine that is a member of our local Search and Rescue team. I brought up this question to him one day. He told me of a story where two people lost there lives one fall. They were not able to find their remains until the next spring. The only reason they found them was because of the clothing around some bones. Unfortunately they were never able to find the skulls or most of the remains. If you study decomposing of remains in nature it can happen quickly. In some areas the decomposing happens in a matter of days. Bones are also a great source of food for some creatures of the forest. I know there are mountain lions and bears where I go in the mountains. I have only found one cat corpse in my life time. I have yet to find a bear and I rarely find anything else. Even when I find a deer I rarely find the head. I have also found that remains tend to get dragged off into thickets or dense areas of vegetation. So many variables and I am no expert.

Gathering and Reporting: I have asked almost everyone that inquires of me about this subject a few questions. If you found something would you take it? If you found something would you report it? If you found a dean animal would you check it out to see what it is? What if it smelled? These sometimes lead to other questions but we will leave it to these questions. Some people said they might be afraid to take any remains for fear of another one being around. The interesting thing I have found is that they would probably not report it or even see what it is. It would be a big step to report it. Then you have those who are not interested in proving the existence of these animals so they would do nothing.  There is that one report where someone said they shot one while moose hunting and departed quickly from the scene. Why didn’t they take evidence or tell others where to find it?

Population: If they are a rare animals and they have a small population then your chances just got reduced again. Think of how many deer and elk are out there. How often do you find their remains? I have only found a dead elk once in Yellowstone. I have found a few deer that I could positively identify.

Actively Looking: How many people are actively looking for a dead body? How many people are placing themselves in a situation where they have a higher chance of success? This even narrows it down further. Not everyone out there is combing the mountainside looking for evidence of this kind. Most people go to the mountains or wilderness for other reasons than this. Your activities will have an influence on someone’s chances of finding something.

I am not an expert in any of these areas. I just have life’s experience, the Discovery Channel, History Channel and the occasional book. In my experience I have found it difficult to find something in the mountains that has died.  I have always tried to find dead animals my entire life because I find it fascinating. It has only been recently that I have added Bigfoot to the list of dead animals I am trying to find. Even though I have looked and traveled in areas that I felt would yield more success I have had little success. I know several hunters who can’t even find a downed animal after they shot it and they know the general area where it is at. I think you would need several factors and circumstances to align for a body to be made public. The first I think is the most difficult, actually finding a body that has the ability to be identified. Then you would need a person who is going to take the time to identify what they are looking at and has the knowledge to know that it is not a typical animal of the forest. You would then need someone who is able to remove the body or at least know where they are at so they can find it again. The person would then need to be willing to take the risk and throw themselves out there and report it. How many Class A sightings go unreported? I know of several pictures that are not know to the general public and I have limited experience in this. I think we take for granite that if someone came across a carcass in the wild they would have everything required to make it known to the public. Not everyone is looking for Bigfoot. We are small in number. That even presents another factor. I believe their bodies are out there like any other animal. But…

I imagine if I really took the time to look into this further I would come up with topics I have not even thought of or taken the time to write about. When the time comes I hope the right person is there when a body is found other wise we will continue to ask the question. “Why haven’t they found a body?” Are you actively looking?

Moose Magnet…