What can years of systematic field research actually tell us about Sasquatch?
In this episode of Beyond the Human, we’re joined by Michael Mayes, author of Valley of the Apes: The Search for Sasquatch in Area X and Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors for the North American Wood Ape Conservancy (NAWAC).
As the second interview in our cryptohominid series, Mayes takes us deeper into the evidence emerging from NAWAC's long-term research in Area X. Drawing on the experiences documented in Valley of the Apes, we explore why encounters appear to increase with time spent in the field and what researchers can learn by developing a detailed understanding of an environment and the animals that inhabit it.
We take a closer look at some of NAWAC's most intriguing findings, including Tag 7 and the remarkable range associated with the animal, as well as the group's efforts to document and communicate its research. Mayes also discusses the challenges of publishing research on a subject that remains controversial within mainstream science.
We also turn to the larger questions raised by the research: what would constitute convincing evidence for a biological cryptohominid, and how should researchers respond when years of fieldwork produce compelling observations but no physical specimen?
Finally, we discuss the reception of Valley of the Apes, the divide between academic and popular paranormal research, and what it might take to build a more productive relationship between the two.
From long-term fieldwork and animal behavior to the limits of evidence and the challenges of studying controversial phenomena, this conversation asks a deceptively simple question: after years of looking, what do we actually know about Sasquatch?
Show Notes:
Michael Mayes' website
Valley of the Apes: The hunt for Sasquatch in Area X
Shadow Cats: The Black Panthers of North America
North American Wood Ape Conservancy
