Gary Opit: Bunyip, Yowie, and Australian Cryptozoology | ST 55

In this episode of Sasquatch Tracks, the team is joined by Gary Opit, an Australian expert on the continent's indigenous fauna, and a longtime researcher of Australian cryptozoology. Opit is an environmental consultant and scientific member of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for 48 years. He is also a radio broadcaster, teacher, and author of books that include Australian Cryptozoology. Opit has created courses and lectured to university, TAFE and high school students on ecology, botany, zoology, biogeography, anthropology, geography, microbiology, evolution, Australian prehistoric plants and animals, Aboriginal ecology, permaculture, and much more.  Gary has appeared in several North American produced cryptozoological documentaries on Yowies, Thylacines and Giant Goannas, including Monster Quest, Finding Bigfoot and Bogyman. He was also the first person to be interviewed on Yowies by Dean Harrison, and since February 1997 he has undertaken a citizen science wildlife study using a weekly live-to-air wildlife identification radio program, now in its 27th year. The broadcast is entitled ‘Wildlife Weekend’ and can be heard every Saturday morning at 6.50 am on Australian Broadcasting Corporation North Coast New South Wales Radio 94.5 FM and on their internet site. More about Gary and his work can be found in the links below.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Australian Cryptozoology Gary Opit Australian Cryptozoology at Amazon.com Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can’t identify? Submit a report here.

In the summer of 1978, a strange series of events began to unfold for rural residents of northeastern Ohio. While enjoying a quiet evening at their rural home near Minerva, the Cayton family and their grandchildren witnessed a large, hairy, bipedal creature peering through their kitchen window. This creature, described as standing over 7 feet tall with glowing red eyes, sparked fear and curiosity, prompting the family to report their sightings to local authorities. Following the Cayton family's report, the Minerva area became a hotbed of Bigfoot research and investigation. Numerous additional sightings were reported in the surrounding woods and hills, with various tracks and other physical evidence purportedly found. However, that isn't all that this "classic" case appears to have entailed, as a deeper look into the story reveals sightings of mysterious large cats alongside "gorillas" in Ohio's history, as well as alleged connections to UFO sightings made by some area residents, and much more. In this special installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the team takes a deep dive into the story of the Minverva Monsters, which we affectionately refer to in the plural since, according to eyewitness reports, there appeared to be more than one of the creatures observed by the Caytons... but what were they, and what can we uncover about the case after all these years?  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  The Akron Beacon Journal: Thu, Aug 24, 1978 ·Page 1 What was it? Man talks about ‘Minerva Monster’ mystery 40 years later Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can’t identify? Submit a report here.

In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the after opening news that focuses on tales of "swamp beasts" in rural America and also massive reptiles invading the Florida Everglades, the team is joined by John Hickenbottom, the naturalist at Ohio's Salt Fork State Park.  A longtime outdoorsman whose interest in wildlife includes snakes and reptiles indigenous to his home state, as well as Ohio's archaeology and much more, Hickenbottom has worked professionally as a park naturalist for many years. John was born in southeast Ohio, where he also has heard several personal accounts of alleged sightings of Sasquatch in the Buckeye State, as well as having studied the early history of such reports in the region.  John joins the Sasquatch Tracks team to discuss his own interest in the topic and his efforts in educating the public, as well as the unique story of how he came to know the team resulting from a Public Records Act Request his department received one day a few years ago.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Salt Fork State Park Official Website Salt Fork State Park on YouTube Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can’t identify? Submit a report here.

'Tis the season... and so joining the Sasquatch Tracks team for their 2023 holiday installment of the program is Mister Sam Shearon, artist extraordinaire and dealer in knowledge of all things esoteric and hominological. Along with his impressive horror art, Sam Shearon is known for his work in the field of cryptozoology, most notably for cryptozoology book covers, film posters and compiling artists impressions of cryptids from eyewitness accounts. His work can be found in publications of the Fortean Times, Paranormality Magazine as well as the cover artwork for Vesuvian Media, IDW publishing, Boom Studios, Stan Lee’s Pow! Entertainment, Clive Barker’s Seraphim, and also for horror magazine Fangoria’s ‘Trinity of Terrors’. He has created album artwork and merchandise for bands including: Slayer, Ministry, Rob Zombie, Rammstein, Filter, KISS, Iron Maiden, Jason Charles Miller, American Head Charge, Powerman 5000, HIM and many more. Sam spends some time in this episode discussing everything from Sasquatch, to mysterious wolflike cryptids, and much more in a conversation curated especially for the Halloween season. Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Mister Sam Shearon – Official Website Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can’t identify? Submit a report here.

During the summer of 1924, a team of gold seekers alleged that they were attacked by giant, ape-like creatures, measuring about 7 feet tall, who hurled boulders at them. Their story recounts an encounter with these beings in a remote area, where a member of their group shot at one of the creatures, hitting it thrice, resulting in it falling off a cliff into an unreachable canyon. Allegedly, these ape-like entities retaliated later by pelting their cabin with sizable rocks and leaving behind enormous footprints, in a series of events now remembered as the Ape Canyon incident.  The story of the Ape Canyon incident remains  one of the most well known stories in the history of Sasquatch studies, as well as one of its most controversial... but now, additional evidence may help corroborate it. Joining us in this episode is a return guest, researcher Marc Myrsell, along with Braden and Jared  Mitchell, two of the descendants of one of the miners who lived through the incredible experience on Mt. Saint Helens in 1924 who also managed to rediscover the long-lost Vanderwhite mine their ancestor and his friends had been mining when the incident occurred.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Marc Myrsell on Facebook Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.  

In this second part in a special two-part installment of Sasquatch Tracks, veteran researcher Matt Pruitt returns to the podcast to discuss his new book The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon, a tour-de-force of intellectual exploration in the study of the relict hominoid mystery,  In the new book, Pruitt explores the possibility that sasquatches are simply large, rare primates, and delves into the psychological factors that may be at play during people’s encounters with these creatures. Alternatively, he considers the hypothesis that the sasquatch is merely a construct of the human mind that exists only in stories and art. In this thought-provoking work, Pruitt presents a balanced and rigorous analysis, providing readers with an in-depth look into the search for the natural origins of this cultural icon.  Along with his own written works and other contributions, Matt is the producer and editor of the podcast Bigfoot & Beyond with Cliff and Bobo. For more detailed information about previous research, affiliations, public outreach, and production work, visit the links below where you can find his new book on Amazon.com, and visit his personal website.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Matt Pruitt's personal website The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.

In this first in a two-part installment of Sasquatch Tracks, veteran researcher Matt Pruitt returns to the podcast to discuss his new book The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon, a tour-de-force of intellectual exploration in the study of the relict hominoid mystery.  Matt Pruitt has dedicated nearly two decades to investigating the Sasquatch phenomenon. He has gained extensive knowledge of the topic through a combination of conceptual analysis and practical fieldwork. As an engaging public speaker, he has been invited to share his insights on various media outlets and platforms. In 2023, he published The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon, a book that demonstrates his dedication to unraveling the truth behind this intriguing mystery. In the new book, Pruitt takes a multidisciplinary approach to this question, drawing on insights from biology, psychology, anthropology, and other fields. Examining the fossil record, indigenous knowledge, historical records, eyewitness accounts, and physical evidence, Pruitt takes the reader on a journey into the heart of the Sasquatch phenomenon.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Matt Pruitt's personal website The Phenomenal Sasquatch: Seeking the Natural Origins of a Cultural Icon Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.

In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, we are joined by Scott Tompkins, the creator of The Bigfoot Mapping Project, for an in-depth discussion about his mapping, data collection, and analysis of Sasquatch sightings.  Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in GIS from the State University of New York at Cortland. With more than 14 years of GIS field experience, Scott has a well-versed perspective on the value of high-quality geographic data, which he has applied to his ambitious Sasquatch research embodied in the Bigfoot Mapping Project. According to Tompkins, The Bigfoot Mapping Project was created "to address the lack of centralized information and encourage future reporting. This application broadens the scope of reported information by providing functionality such as spatially tagging reports as well as attaching image files to the submitted report. Additionally, users can view the depth of both historical data and recent reports in conjunction, on a map." Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  The Bigfoot Mapping Project Scott's paper in The Relict Hominoid Inquiry Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.

In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, we are joined by researcher and educator Darby Orcutt, who discusses an ambitious new project that is seeking to collect and analyze anomalous biological samples, in an effort that could ultimately help reveal the existence of relict hominoids like Sasquatch.  Darby Orcutt is a faculty member at North Carolina State University where he is a librarian, instructor, and researcher. He teaches and writes about science, technology and society while also building collaborative scientific teams to tackle complex problems and fostering conversation between researchers and the broader public. However, Darby is known for his work at the intersection of science and the strange. Have you found a biological specimen that seems to be unusual? Orcutt and his colleagues are currently seeking to analyze such samples (including genetically), and those who submit their samples will receive any forthcoming results. You can learn more about Orcutt's project by clicking here.  Also, if you are interested in contributing to this study of allegedly morphologically anomalous samples (which could help us to test more samples and conduct deeper analyses), a tax-deductible gift to NC State University can be made here.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Chinese zoo defense of their bears being real, not people in suits Scientists claim to have revived 42,000 year old Nematodes Century-old samples reveal the brain of the Tasmanian tiger Golden tamarins, once close to extinction, rebound Matt Pruitt's Book The Phenomenal Sasquatch The Passing of Peter Byrne Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.

  In this installment of Sasquatch Tracks, the team looks at encounters with relict hominoids in North America reported by U.S. military personnel.  Among reports involving encounters with alleged humanlike primates that remain currently unacknowledged by science, a striking number have been reported by military personnel while in the line of duty. In this episode, the Sasquatch Tracks team examines several collected reports involving members of the U.S. armed forces who say they have observed creatures fitting such descriptions, and examine what the implications of such reports may be in furthering our knowledge and understanding of the phenomenon.  Stories and other links discussed in this episode:  Claims that Homo naledi buried their dead could alter our understanding of human evolution ENEMY UNKNOWN: High Strangeness in the Shadow of the Afghan War A Traveler's Guide To The Galaxy: The Yucca Man & The Cement Monster Follow Sasquatch Tracks on Twitter. Got a news tip or story to share? Send us an Email. Have you seen an animal you can't identify? Submit a report here.