Bigfoot real and the result of human women mating with an ‘unknown hominin,’ claims U.S. study

National Post Staff | Nov 28, 2012 1:03 PM ET | Last Updated: Nov 28, 2012 2:58 PM ET
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Chambers 1967 frame from film of Sasquatch (bigfoot)

 

Bigfoot is real, says a new genetics study out of the U.S. And not only that, but the creature known as the Sasquatch is the result of human women mating with an “unknown hominin” species about 15,000 years ago.

“The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species,” said team leader veterinarian Dr. Melba S. Ketchum in a news release. “Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.”

When reached for comment through his official biographer, Graham Roumieu, Bigfoot had the following to say:

Q So apparently a researcher down in Texas has conducted DNA testing that proves you exist. Care to comment?
Bigfoot What? Had not heard about this until now! Have feeling this all part of grander scheme to blackmail Bigfoot with threat of paternity tests.
Continue reading…

Dr. Ketchum is a research scientist who specializes in forensics and genetics and is a published participant in the work to map the equine genome. She began testing on purported Bigfoot hair samples provided to her five years ago.

Obviously, there are many open questions about the study. It has not yet been peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal, meaning that the pure science behind the analysis is not yet known.
Additionally, as the L.A. Times points out, just because there are anomalies in the DNA does not mean that the DNA isn’t human.

“Human DNA plus some anomalies or unknowns does not equal an impossible human-ape hybrid,” Yale neurologist Dr. Steven Novella said on NeuroLogica Blog. ”It equals human DNA plus some anomalies.”

DNA DiagnosticsDr. Melba S. Ketchum in a grab from the website of her DNA Diagnostics website

 

There is also the open question of where the DNA samples came from in the first place.
Of course, this hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm from the Bigfoot team.

“Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a ‘license’ to hunt, trap, or kill them,” Dr. Ketchum said in her release.

So far, the U.S. government has not responded to the study.

THE FULL TEXT OF THE BIGFOOT RELEASE
A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” living in North America. Researchers’ extensive DNA sequencing suggests that the legendary Sasquatch is a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.
The study was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX. In response to recent interest in the study, Dr. Ketchum can confirm that her team has sequenced 3 complete Sasquatch nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid:
“Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples. The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.
Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which includes all members of the genus Homo. Genetic testing has already ruled out Homo neanderthalis and the Denisova hominin as contributors to Sasquatch mtDNA or nuDNA. “The male progenitor that contributed the unknown sequence to this hybrid is unique as its DNA is more distantly removed from humans than other recently discovered hominins like the Denisovan individual,” explains Ketchum.
“Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA.”
Ketchum is a veterinarian whose professional experience includes 27 years of research in genetics, including forensics. Early in her career she also practiced veterinary medicine, and she has previously been published as a participant in mapping the equine genome. She began testing the DNA of purported Sasquatch hair samples 5 years ago.
Ketchum calls on public officials and law enforcement to immediately recognize the Sasquatch as an indigenous people:
“Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry. Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a ‘license’ to hunt, trap, or kill them.”
Full details of the study will be presented in the near future when the study manuscript publishes.