Editing Bigfoot (section)

==Description==
[[File:2016ShawneeBigfoot.jpg|thumb|upright|"Sassy the Sasquatch" [[roadside attraction]] statue in the [[Garden of the Gods Wilderness]] within the [[Shawnee National Forest]], Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shawnee Forest Bigfoot |url=https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explore/listing/shawnee-forest-bigfoot |website=enjoyillinois.com |access-date=April 12, 2021 |archive-date=April 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412010031/https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explore/listing/shawnee-forest-bigfoot |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

Bigfoot is often described as a large, muscular, and [[Bipedalism|bipedal]] human or [[ape]]-like creature covered in black, dark brown, or dark reddish hair.<ref name="skepdic">{{cite web|url=http://www.skepdic.com/bigfoot.html |title=Bigfoot [a.k.a. Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, Mapinguari (the Amazon), Sasquatch, Yowie (Australia) and Yeti (Asia)] |publisher=The Skeptic's Dictionary |access-date=August 17, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080914040152/http://skepdic.com/bigfoot.html| archive-date= September 14, 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2008 |title=Sasquatch |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/524755/Sasquatch |access-date=April 7, 2013 |archive-date=May 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515045710/http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/524755/Sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> Anecdotal descriptions estimate a height of roughly {{convert|6|-|9|ft}}, with some descriptions having the creatures standing as tall as {{convert|10|-|15|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sasquatch |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Sasquatch |website=merriam-webster.com |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424085438/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> Some alleged observations describe Bigfoot as more human than ape,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boivin |first1=John |title=Bigfoot or moose? Possible sighting shocks, excites residents of small B.C. community |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7581006/bigfoot-or-moose-possible-sighting-shocks-excites-residents-of-small-b-c-community/ |website=globalnews.ca |publisher=[[Global News]] |access-date=December 21, 2021 |date=January 16, 2021 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221171512/https://globalnews.ca/news/7581006/bigfoot-or-moose-possible-sighting-shocks-excites-residents-of-small-b-c-community/ |url-status=live }}</ref> particularly in regard to the face.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aziz |first1=Saba |title=Bigfoot in Canada: Inside the hunt for proof — or at least a good photo |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8070027/bigfoot-canada-photo-video/ |website=globalnews.ca |publisher=[[Global News]] |access-date=December 21, 2021 |date=August 14, 2021 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221171512/https://globalnews.ca/news/8070027/bigfoot-canada-photo-video/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title='No joke': B.C. minister laughs off lawsuit claiming proof of Bigfoot |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/no-joke-b-c-minister-laughs-off-lawsuit-claiming-proof-of-bigfoot-1.3656876 |website=ctvnews.ca |publisher=[[CTV News]] |access-date=December 21, 2021 |date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221171512/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/no-joke-b-c-minister-laughs-off-lawsuit-claiming-proof-of-bigfoot-1.3656876 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1971, multiple people in [[The Dalles, Oregon]], filed a police report describing an "overgrown ape", and one of the men claimed to have sighted the creature in the [[telescopic sight|scope]] of his rifle but could not bring himself to shoot it because "it looked more human than animal".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cahill |first1=Tim |title=Giant Hairy Apes in the North Woods: A Bigfoot Study |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/giant-hairy-apes-in-the-north-woods-a-bigfoot-study-242257/ |website=rollingstone.com |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=February 25, 2022 |date=May 10, 1973 |archive-date=February 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225223630/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/giant-hairy-apes-in-the-north-woods-a-bigfoot-study-242257/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Common descriptions include broad shoulders, no visible neck, and long arms, which many skeptics attribute to misidentification of a bear standing upright.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brulliard |first1=Karin |title=Is bigfoot just an upright-walking bear? We asked the experts. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/07/05/is-bigfoot-just-an-upright-walking-bear-we-asked-the-experts/ |access-date=March 18, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=July 5, 2016 |archive-date=November 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104145406/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/07/05/is-bigfoot-just-an-upright-walking-bear-we-asked-the-experts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some alleged nighttime sightings have stated the creature's eyes "glowed" yellow or red.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hodgin |first1=Carrie |title=Glowing Red-Eyes: Bigfoot Sightings Reported At Night In Mocksville |url=https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/glowing-red-eyes-bigfoot-sightings-reported-at-night-in-mocksville/83-2cac1b3e-c842-4f43-949d-764f0dad5c97 |work=[[WFMY-TV]] |access-date=March 18, 2021 |agency= |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=January 11, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523104012/https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/local/glowing-red-eyes-bigfoot-sightings-reported-at-night-in-mocksville/83-2cac1b3e-c842-4f43-949d-764f0dad5c97 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, [[Tapetum lucidum|eyeshine]] is not present in humans or any other known [[great apes]], and so proposed explanations for observable eyeshine off of the ground in the forest include owls, raccoons, or opossums perched in foliage.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nickell |first1=Joe |title=Bigfoot Eyeshine: A Contradiction |url=https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/bigfoot_eyeshine_a_contradiction/ |website=centerforinquiry.org |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |access-date=March 18, 2021 |date=September 28, 2017 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616050935/https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/bigfoot_eyeshine_a_contradiction/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Michael Rugg, the owner of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum, claims to have smelled Bigfoot, stating, "Imagine a skunk that had rolled around in dead animals and had hung around the garbage pits."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Michelle |title='We know it's a Bigfoot because of the scream and the smell': The man who saw Sasquatch |url=https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/bigfoot-discovery-museum-michael-rugg-16710725.php |website=sfgate.com |publisher=SFGate |access-date=December 21, 2021 |date=December 20, 2021 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221025645/https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/bigfoot-discovery-museum-michael-rugg-16710725.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The enormous footprints for which the creature is named are claimed to be as large as {{convert|24|in}} long and {{convert|8|in}} wide.<ref name="Britannica" /> Some footprint casts have also contained claw marks, making it likely that they came from known animals such as bears, which have five toes and claws.<ref name="SI_Nickell">{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/mysterious_entities_of_the_pacific_northwest_part_i/ |title=Investigative Files: Mysterious Entities of the Pacific Northwest, Part I |first=Joe |last=Nickell |author-link=Joe Nickell |date=January 2007 |access-date=October 20, 2009 |publisher=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |archive-date=August 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828034302/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/mysterious_entities_of_the_pacific_northwest_part_i |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=May 24, 2010 |title=SDNHM – Black Bear Sign |url=http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/mammals/bearsign.html |access-date=January 25, 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524154832/http://www.sdnhm.org/fieldguide/mammals/bearsign.html |archive-date=May 24, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>