Tickle Your Brain

Bigfoot
A yellow caution sign with a black silhouette of Bigfoot posted on a snowy tree.

Bigfoot is said to be a large, hairy, humanlike creature.  Stories say it roams the forests and remote areas in North America.  Legends of a Bigfoot-like creature exist around the world, and they all are different.  Each place has a different name for the creature.  Several Native American tribes have Bigfoot legends.  In the United States, the creature is often called Bigfoot or Sasquatch, which comes from a Canadian Native American word meaning ‘wild man’. 

Legends describe Bigfoot as tall and strong.  Most stories say Bigfoot is between 6 and 15 feet tall, and covered in hair.  As you might guess, Bigfoot is said to have large feet.  Some people claim to have found Bigfoot’s footprints, which measure up to 2 feet long.  Other people have claimed to have caught Bigfoot on video.  Much of this evidence has been debunked, but there are many people who still believe that Bigfoot is real, and go on looking for him.

These articles are written by library staff using library resources such as books, eBooks, and databases. Information can vary from book to book and database to database. Tickle Your Brain is meant to be a jumping off point for starting conversations about new topics of learning. It is not to be used as an authoritative resource.
 

One of the most famous pictures of Bigfoot getting ‘caught’ on camera.  He is striding behind a bunch of driftwood in front of a forested background. , A man’s foot pictured next to an impression of Bigfoot’s footprint to show the size comparison.  Bigfoot’s is bigger.
Did You Know?
  • The first set of alleged Bigfoot footprints were discovered by David Thompson in 1811.
  • Other legends similar to Bigfoot are the Yeti from the Himalayas, and the Yowie from Australia.
  • Legend says that Bigfoot smells really bad.