Jacobs figure
From squatchopedia.com - All things bigfoot and sasquatch
On 16 September 2007 a camera trap owned by a Rick Jacobs captured at least two indistinct images of a dark-colored animal in northwest Pennsylvania. In both pictures, the head of the animal was oriented away from the camera or otherwise obscured from view, even though the animal itself was standing in the open.
Uncertain as to the identity of the animal, Jacobs’ brother, according to various news accounts, encouraged him to submit the photos to sasquatch investigators. Among those contacted was the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO).
Securing rights to the images, the photos were displayed on the BFRO website on 19 October 2007 and identified as depicting a juvenile sasquatch. A third photo was included that clearly showed two young bear cubs, photographed about 28 minutes before the “Jacobs creature” (as the BFRO dubbed the subject). Based on photo time stamps and comments from the Jacobs family, other pictures were apparently taken by the trail camera, but they were not initially made available for public viewing.
The BFRO discussion accompanying the photos claimed that, according to sighting reports, young sasquatches are quadrupedal. By the BFRO's account, U.S. and Canadian bear and primate experts, including someone at Idaho State University (by implication, Dr. Jeff Meldrum), had supposedly offered tentative opinions supporting the unknown primate interpretation, but no one identified with this position was named then or in the following months.
Perhaps because of the timing of the release of the Jacobs photos with the fortieth anniversary of the filming of a sasquatch at Bluff Creek, CA, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, or the proximity of the story with Halloween, a traditional time for bigfoot related newspaper articles and television programs, the Jacobs photos story captured the attention of the public and was picked up worldwide by the media. No small part of the media’s attention was drawn to the debate raging among sasquatch researchers.
Within an hour of the appearance of the photos on the Internet, opinions appeared on bigfoot-related websites to the effect that the Jacobs creature was nothing more than a young black bear. In an interview, and later during a presentation at the Texas Bigfoot Conference on 10 November 2007, Dr. Jeff Meldrum stated the subject was in all likelihood a black bear. Renowned black bear researcher Lynn Rogers, Ph.D., identified the figure as a juvenile black bear (as discussed by Alton Higgins during the 2008 Texas Bigfoot Conference). At a later date, 21 January 2009, Rogers reportedly wrote that to be absolutely sure the Jacobs figure was a bear or a primate he would have to had been there at the time the photo was taken. Pennsylvania Game Commission biologists identified the subject as a black bear with mange.
Support for both the black bear and juvenile sasquatch views focused on arguments pertaining to leg lengths. Sasquatch proponents stated that the leg lengths were far too long for a black bear, but that they were consistent with what would be expected for an undocumented species of great ape. Conversely, bear proponents argued that the leg lengths, visible body proportions, and anatomical features were perfectly consistent with a young black bear interpretation.
In the face of widespread criticism regarding the identification of the Jacobs photos subject as a sasquatch, the BFRO soon ameliorated their statements and assigned “Unclassified Primate?” captions to the pictures. However, they continued to assert that unnamed experts supported the possible juvenile sasquatch interpretation. Writing with reference to “Image 3” (showing the animal bent over with its head between its front legs), the BFRO stated, “The people we have spoken with so far who have spent a great deal of time with both primates and bears (mainly zoo people) say this figure looks much more like a healthy primate smelling the ground than like a skinny bear smelling the ground.” No one with applicable credentials has publicly supported this position.
[edit] Timeline of key events
Sources for this timeline are The Bradford Era, Bradford Pa., unless otherwise noted.
- September 16, 2007: Elk county deer hunter Rick Jacobs captures two images on an automatic camera mounted to a tree on a game trail in the Allegheny National Forest. Jacobs was attempting to locate deer in preparation for the fall deer season. He retrieved a variety of animal pictures since he installed the camera in August, that included deer, coyote, raccoons, and bears. He could not identify the last two images taken on Sept. 16 and never recorded anything else from that camera at that location for several days after. Source: The Daily Press, St Marys, Pennsylvania 11-03-07
- October 19, 2007: Securing rights to the images, the photos were displayed on the BFRO website and identified as depicting a juvenile Sasquatch. A third photo was included that clearly showed two young bear cubs, photographed about 28 minutes before the “Jacobs creature” (as the BFRO dubbed the subject).
- October 26, 2007: The Bradford Era found out about the sighting and interviewed Rick Jacobs. The Bradford Era ran the story in the areas local news paper along with the pictures. They released the story to the Associated Press where it was distributed to television and news agencies all over the world. The controversial images started an internet firestorm of debate of just what they are of and quickly became the top story on Yahoo and MSN. They soon began to appear in books, magazines and television programs including CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Fox news and the Ellen Degeneres Show.
- October 27, 2007: The Bradford Era was contacted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission who demanded equal time on the story and believed the photos were of a bear with a severe case of mange. They were furious over the unnecessary panic the photos were causing local people living in the area. They had to shut down their phone lines from a surge in concerned callers. Conversely some formed the opinion that it may be the Pennsylvania Game Commission that has misinterpreted the photos. They interviewed Cryptozoologist Scott Corrales who stated "they just want to call it a bear and go from there."
- October 29, 2007: One of the nation’s largest broadcast news organizations MSNBC said the hunter’s picture revive the lively Bigfoot debate. Their Kieth Oberman interviewed Bob Kiviat “Worlds Greatest Hoaxes Exposed,” who didn’t believe it looked like a bear and said it was “truly a mystery”. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21518056/
- October 31, 2007: During an interview on Earthfiles podcast, Dr. Jeff Meldrum discussed his initial thought regarding the Jacobs photos.http://www.earthfiles333.com/earthfiles/Episode27mp3.html
- May, 28, 2008: Bushnell, the makers of the game camera used by Jacobs, offered a one million dollar reward for a verifiable photograph of a sasquatch. This supposedly came after they had a group of wildlife photography experts, along with a zoologist and a biologist, who couldn't positively identify the creature in the pictures. http://www.fstrailcamcontest.com/
- November 2008: Vanessa Woods, a scientist from Duke University who specializes in bonobos, didn’t rule out the possibility of the creature being a sasquatch. Scientriffic issue# 58
