Ask A Genius 1357: Cryptozoology Debunked: Rick Rosner on Why Bigfoot Likely Doesn’t Exist
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/04/15
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Any initial thoughts on Bigfoot, or just doing my usual shtick? Let us talk about cryptozoology in general.
Rick Rosner: Cryptozoology is the study of animals rumoured or reported to exist but not recognized by mainstream science. These include creatures like the Yeti and, in your case, Sasquatch. They are essentially regional variations of the same myth—significant, bipedal ape-like beings said to live in remote wilderness areas. It is doubtful they exist. There have been cases where animals once thought to be extinct or mythical, like the coelacanth, were later discovered.
Is that how you pronounce it? I think so. We have confirmed giant squids’ existence, and deep-sea fish are pulled up from thousands of feet below the surface. However, a 7- to 10-foot primate living undetected in North American forests? No.
Due to the ocean’s vastness and inaccessibility, it is easier to hide large animals—megafauna—in the ocean. This is much less plausible on land, especially in heavily mapped areas like North America. Today, satellite imaging, camera traps, drones, and extensive ecological surveys make the existence of an undiscovered large terrestrial mammal extremely unlikely. So yes, I think belief in Bigfoot is unfounded.
Jacobsen: Now, regarding public belief:
- The 2007 Baylor Religion Survey (Wave 2) included belief in paranormal phenomena but did not report a specific percentage for Bigfoot.
- In 2012, an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found that 29% of Americans believed in Bigfoot, with the highest concentration in the Western U.S.
- In 2020, YouGov reported that 11% of U.S. adults believed Bigfoot definitely or probably exists.
- In 2022, CivicScience found that 13% of Americans believed in Bigfoot, up from 11% in 2020. Again, belief was highest in the Western states, particularly in places like Washington, Oregon, and California.
Preliminary thoughts?
Rosner: People believe things. Compared to something like flat-Earth belief—which requires rejecting almost all modern science and a global conspiracy—Bigfoot belief is relatively benign. All you are doing is saying, “I think there is a large ape-like creature hiding in the woods and managing to evade detection.” It is unlikely but not logically impossible.
Why would someone choose to believe in Bigfoot instead of, say, ghosts or UFOs? I do not know. Do most Bigfoot believers also believe in other paranormal or pseudoscientific ideas? I would need to see cross-tabulated survey data on that.
Will you ask me in another session about Area 51 and whether it supposedly holds an alien spacecraft?
Jacobsen: That is a broader topic but one worth discussing separately. Should we go through the arguments now? One quick point—why do you think belief in Bigfoot is more common in the Western U.S.?
Rosner: Probably because people in those areas are more familiar with the stories and regional folklore. Bigfoot is part of the Pacific Northwest legend, particularly in Washington State. When people are exposed to something more often—whether through local lore, tourism, media, or cultural identity—they are more likely to consider it plausible. You must be exposed to a belief system before adopting it.
Jacobsen: All right, Argument One: Numerous, inconsistent sightings. Thousands of eyewitness reports across North America describe a large, bipedal, hairy creature. The sightings have occurred over many decades in different regions, and some descriptions are consistent—such as height, gait, and behaviour—but there is still wide variation and no reliable physical evidence.
Rosner: People can be mistaken—and also, people can be full of shit. Like I said, I have known people who claimed to believe in ghosts to get on TV.
Jacobsen: What about physical evidence? Footprints, dermal ridges, hair samples, visual records like the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film?
Rosner: Okay. That film is bullshit. I have seen it. It is ridiculous. I have not analyzed it scientifically, but I think it is fucking ridiculous. As for footprints, if there is a convincing footprint, I am more inclined to believe it was fake than if it is evidence of Bigfoot. People mess around. People hoax things.
Remember, we are talking about 40 million Americans who believe in this. If there are hair samples, then run the DNA. If they do, it will be from some known animal—not a giant ape-man.
Jacobsen: What about Indigenous folklore? Native American tribes such as the Salish and Lakota describe similar creatures. Some argue that this lends historical or cultural credibility.
Rosner: Sure, but Native American folklore is full of mythical figures—none of whom exist. You have stories like the crow who stole the sky or the trickster fox who walks as a man. They are metaphorical or symbolic. They are not zoological evidence.
Jacobsen: Vast wilderness—places like Olympic National Park—are remote, heavily forested, and capable of hiding an elusive, rare species. Some large mammals, like the mountain gorilla, were only discovered in 1902. Couldn’t such regions still hold an undiscovered primate?
Rosner: Not anymore. That was 1902—123 years ago—before satellites, drones, remote sensing, and humanity spread across almost every part of the planet. It is just not likely today.
Jacobsen: What about forensic evidence? Some experts, like anthropologist Jeff Meldrum, claim that physical traces—like footprints—are worth scientific consideration.
Rosner: I do not see why we must go through every argument.
Jacobsen: I want this to be a one-and-done conversation.
Rosner: You do not need to refute every single claim point-by-point. All these arguments boil down to someone being mistaken, lying, or engaging in misinterpretation. Every aspect of this mythical creature’s existence falls apart under scrutiny. None of it holds any fucking water.
Jacobsen: None of it is a surprise.
Rosner: No.
Jacobsen: But on the flat Earth discussion, you did give almost individualized answers—some of them were personalized reactions or swearing—but still.
Rosner: Yeah, but it seems like a waste of time. Go ahead.
Jacobsen: The following argument: Jeff Meldrum has found foot casts and other traces he claims point to anatomical consistency.
Rosner: I do not care. I do not believe it. I do not fucking care what the guy found.
Jacobsen: The final argument: there is no definitive evidence that Bigfoot does not exist—so this leaves room for possibility in the minds of believers.
Rosner: That is not even an argument. No shit. “It is not disproven; therefore, it might exist”? That is not how logic works. It is not my job to fucking disprove the bullshit that some assholes believe in.
It is like this: You go on Twitter and get into a minor exchange with someone. You say something like, “Trump is…”—something critical—and then someone replies, “Prove it.” Moreover, I do not have to fucking prove it just because some random person says, “Prove it.” I can mute them and move on with my life—and I do that more and more.
If some jerk on Twitter with run-of-the-mill MAGA beliefs and fewer than 10,000 followers comes at me, I am just going to mute them. They are not going to teach me anything new. They won’t offer some novel thought that deepens my understanding of MAGA ideology. They are just one more fucking jerk yelling into the void.
Moreover, yeah, it is depressing. No matter how many people I mute, there are always more—dozens, hundreds—saying the same dumb, reflexive defences of the indefensible.
Jacobsen: And Bigfoot?
Rosner: Any final thoughts on Bigfoot? No.
Okay, one thought—you’re running me through all these different flavours of bullshit. Moreover, the more conspiracy theories you throw at me. Eventually, you might hit one that turns out to be true or semi-true because there is a non-zero chance that some of this could be true.
With Bigfoot? There may be a one in five thousand chance.
Flat Earth? Zero. No chance.
Ghosts? Maybe—very generously—a one in thirty million chance that, according to the laws of physics, some spiritual essence could manifest. Actually, I think the odds are way worse—like one in trillions.
However, if you run enough mythical creatures past me—Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, whatever—each has a one in five thousand chance of somehow escaping detection for all of human history. Out of 5,000 of them, maybe one turns out to be real. That still does not mean it is likely that any of them are true. It just means that some of them, technically, have the tiniest sliver of a chance. I have got to go.
Jacobsen: I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Second—UFOs, tomorrow. What do you think?
Rosner: All right. Thanks.
Jacobsen: Enthusiasm is… exceeding. We are wasting time—but at least UFOs have some relevance.
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