Wednesday, June 3, 2015

How Many Bigfoot are there?

How many Bigfoot are there? Of course, no one knows. The BFRO states that informed estimates put the number at  2000-6000 for North America, including Canada. I know there are a number of methods and variables involved in estimating the population sizes of species. However, most don't apply to a cryptid. So, I devised my own method of estimation.

One assumption I made was that Bigfoot breeding populations are borderline insufficient to sustain themselves. I think we all hope that's not true, but if they were a known species, I believe they'd be on the Endangered Species List.  I suspect there has been a lot of inbreeding among Sasquatches. This may have resulted in some physical deformities, such as feet with three four or six toes, maybe even albinism. These characteristics have been reported. However, I did find some research that indicated that mountain gorillas, another great ape, were known to have been inbreeding when their populations dipped to dangerously low levels. However, they did not suffer any detectable genetic problems as a result of inbreeding.

The second assumption I made was that each breeding population inhabited a limited, albeit large area, say the size of a large state, a Canadian Province or two, or several smaller states.

Lastly, I used the number of 200 as the minimum number in a breeding population. This is approximately the number of mountain gorillas which existed at their lowest population level before awareness of their situation caused conditions to change and their numbers to rise.

These groups of states might be thought of as habitation areas for roaming groups of Bigfoot. You can agree or disagree with the numbers or how they are broken out.
Florida
Texas
Oklahoma-AR
Ohio-Penn
Mich-MInn
Canada ~5 Provinces
Wash
Oregon
Calif
New England
KY-TN-VA
NC-SC-GA
AK-BC
UT-ID-CO
So, that makes 18 large areas perhaps accommodating 200 Bigfoot each.

So, 200 x 18 = 3600.  Although I didn't mean to, I sort of confirmed the BFRO 'informed' estimate. Doesn't mean it's right, but it's a reasonable starting point.

Ways to Buy the Book

Silvapithecus Americanus is available from the Apple iBook store, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, Smashwords and others.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Silvapithecus?store=allproducts&keyword=Silvapithecus
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/535464