Yes, they keep making excuses -just like everyone else who believes in something.

Heinlein said it best: "Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal."

I dont think the characteristics have been tailored, they are that way because thats what makes sense...to them.

I think it all comes down to nature and decomposition. Ever been for a walk and stumbled onto a deer carcass? I know i never have. So imagine looking for a needle in a haystack and you have 10 minutes before it becomes a piece of hay.

My theory on bigfoot. there was 2 races of humans thought to have existed, the meat eaters (us) and the herbivore variety, theorized that the meat-eaters killed off the veggies, but what if they just became really good at avoiding the meat-eaters?

sassafras solved.

Excuses?

Sorry, but most of us say the same thing that we've always said. That wilderness in North America, and Asia covers such a vast amount of area that most anything, much less a small population of intelligent primate, could hide with very little effort.

The critter itself is, assuming it's existance, quite intelligent, with more than a little native cunning...no surprise at all that it's been impossible to definitively prove its existance.

Personally? I believe, having seen one I think, that it exists.

There are some people here on the forum who have concrete intel on B.F. I have also met another member who is highly credible, undeniable sane, a HUGE skeptic (unless it his/her personal experience) and has actually seen one.

Keeping an open mind for your own interest is best when it comes to B.F. Read all you can and listen to what others think, but at the end of the day an open mind will serve you best. You may never see one, or you may, but without an open mind it will never happen and you can just speculate about what others think forever.

Edit to say, it was not the Mod above I spoke of in my post.

[edit on 21-12-2008 by antar]

I don't make excuses because I have NO PROBLEM in finding the Bigfoot people. So the original premise, is FALSE. Bigfoot have been known to be INTERDIMENSIONAL by the US Government, since the Top Secret Lawrence Livermore Bigfoot captivity studies that I believe occurred in 1963 and 1964. Interdimensional means invisible most of the time, because the Bigfoot are not interested in getting shot by gun toting morons. Invisible means that one must listen for them, instead of look for them. Using musical instruments like wood blocks, imitate the branch breaks that Bigfoot make to get our attention. So we can get the Bigfoot's attention by using that instrument. Once they fly in, in a higher dimension, then we can ask them questions. They can provide answers with branch breaks. I use a branch break as signifying a YES answer, and make that clear to them. Once one gets bored with that, then he can progress to requesting them to perform more complicated tasks, like stomping there feet. Once you get a Bigfoot to stomp his feet say 10 times, it becomes fairly compelling evidence to those present, that you are dealing with a heavy bipedal intelligent people that understand English and are interested in playing simple games with us. So Bigfoot are EASY TO FIND.

Good post OP, but you can't convince the believers.
As a Canadian, I can say this:
Our wilderness is quickly vanishing.
With all the reports, of all the big foot sightings- even ones that some "Believers" may bring up from native cultures, there should be some evidence.

As an example:
Dinosaur fossils.
Why is it we can find fossils of creatures who lived millions of years ago, and yet, why have we yet to find a single corpse? Any bones? Not even fossils of Bigfoot.

Next, we can find dead animals in the wilderness, though not common, it does happen. Even with bears.

I would now like to bring up that Bigfoot is a supposed primate. Simply being a primate does not mean they've got exceptional intelligence, by any means. In fact, if Sasquatch exists, they may be LESS intelligent now then they were at a more previous point in their history during the course of their evolution.
Simply because they progress through time, doesn't mean they'll become more intelligent- Evolution is specific.

Next- Why does Bigfoot fear man?
Obviously they've never been killed by man- Otherwise, we'd have some proof, no?
So, why is it that every Bigfoot (Every single member of that species) avoids humans, so freakishly well?
As an example, humans know bears and snakes are dangerous, and yet, a number of us are killed each year by such animals. Hell- Some of us are killed by vending machines.
So how is it, that an entire species of creatures, which are apparently said to be on just about every continent, all "In the know" that humans are bad news- And that ALL Bigfoot are competent enough to lose us?

When I was in elementary school- We would play tag; as children do.
And let me tell yea- Not all kids are created equal.
So, what do the fat Sasquatches do? What about the ones with breathing problems, or injuries, or deformities? Do they all just find a cave somewhere to live out their lives? 'Cause, I always caught the fat kids with asthma, personally.

I find it hard to believe people cling so dear to such beliefs.
The bigfoot population, if it exists (Big if, mind you) would also be dwindling.
As, humans are ever encroaching on their turf.
Keep in mind, Bigfoot lives in the most REMOTE areas. Apparently they don't show up in the semi-traveled areas, which limits his environment further.
Such a lack of space, means that the population has three outcomes:
1) Reduce
2)Expand
3) Cluster

If they've reduced, how?
And where are the bodies? (See above for the 'where the hell are all their bodies going' bit.)
They certainly haven't expanded. I see bears at my cousins cottage, but no Sasquatch in the trash, yet.
And cluster- Yet, they remains completely hidden from any form of detection.

So what gives?
Our conclusion appears to be:
Humans, who've been to the moon, developed prosthetic limbs and organs, who've cured plagues and diseases; who've split the atom- Are constantly out smarted by an 800 pound, biped.
That sounds right, doesn't it?
Oh, and, we've also never found anything to do with Bigfoot in terms of "proof" other than some foot prints, and, hair?

Outstanding. A solid case for Bigfoot's existence.

Between the OPs points and DewMonster, there's not much left to add I think they make some logical points. I've often thought the same as DewMonster regarding the spectrum of differences between animals. Clever, fast, slow, dead. The bigfoot would have this same spectrum. Where's the curious one that finds humans fascinating? Where's the slow or stupid one that becomes roadkill? How can the genepool be sustained by such necessarily small numbers? Inbreeding breeds weakness and death. Primates sleep in temporary nests. They also die. No nests, no bodies. Footprints can be hoaxed. Expeditions cost a lot of money, I wonder if the footprints became a clever tool to attract funding? Just a thought... I'm also dubious about Himalayan villages (always part of yeti mythology) and their anecdotes. Rich western explorers pay well. How many have been paid or rewarded for leading wild goose chases?

I'm not trying to be dismissive of people that believe, these are all questions I ask myself. For the one or two mentioned that have seen one? That's their business and doesn't answer my questions. Maybe they exist in the forests of the Himalayan foothills. Who knows? If they are found to exist they'll be the largest new species in decades.

That's your best response?
They bury their dead?
Maybe you're forgetting about another species of ape who bury their dead too?
We find human burial sites, we can trace our ancestry pretty far back through fossil records- But we've yet to find a single Bigfoot. One, single, Bigfoot.

As I've said before- It would be impossible for the entire species to have the same universal fear of man as each member of the species does. As, every member would undergo different experiences in their lives.
You argue that Bigfoot, should they exist, are clever- Then take a look at modern day chimps, orangutans and gorillas. Humans have found them in the wild, humans have found their dead, humans have found their ancestors, and humans can approach wild groups of these species.

Why can we approach them?
Because they're intelligent.
We can't approach all of them, as they're all different- All unique. They don't share a single, benign consciousness as you would make Bigfoot seem.
They're curious, and so, some die because of it- But it doesn't make them universally fear us; even if we killed everyone of them we've ever come across, they still as a species would not develop a universal fear of all humans and interacting with us.
It simply wouldn't happen to an intelligent creature.

Next, I would like to add, that even other species exhibit such signs of "Intelligence" by allowing human interaction, despite our terrible treatment of said animals.
Here's a small list of examples:
Dolphins
Whales
Bears (*Polar)
Chimpanzees
Gorillas
Orangutans
Wolves
Elephants
Raccoons

But, no, you must be right- Bigfoot, is much smarter than any of these animals; and, must teach classes on how dangerous humans are at the "Y".
Also, humans, must be more foolish than Bigfoot, as we've been enslaving one another for years.
Hell, what about the Jewish families who moved back to Germany?
Not only is it foolish to assume, that all Bigfoot born assume that all humans only desire their blood- But it's also foolish to assume that there would be no exception to this rule.
All life is diverse. It's the simple constant in our world- If anything is true to form, it's that things change.
It's the purpose of evolution. To keep a species diverse- To allow them to adapt.

And yes, there are areas in North America which go relatively untraveled (Don't tell me to take a cross country tour to Nebraska, bud- If you read my post worth a damn you'd have seen I said I was from Canada on the first God damn line.) but the areas are becoming smaller- Which was my point.
Which you attempted to ignore, by simply stating that they were, in fact, there.
No one was arguing that- Which you'd have realized if you'd paid attention.
I stated that they were dwindling- And they are.

But, you know, Flash- You're probably right.
We've never found a single Bigfoot, anywhere, ever- Because they share a single consciousness, which fears humans to no avail; they're no exceptions, and not only do they bury they're dead- But they probably incinerate them first.

Flash!
I think you discovered why the Canadian wilderness suffered so many terrible fires last year!

All jokes aside- Bigfoot, is much like Nessie.
A fairy tale.

[edit on 29-12-2008 by Dewm0nster]

Well there really is no harm in looking for something that you beleive exists?
Jesus and God people do it all the time. They will tell you they found HIM
by reasons of their fatih, or they are looking for hum. But, did they really find HIM?!
If people can beleive a man in the sky answers their prayers and
was their creator, why is it so awkward to look for a biological
specimen on earth.
They beleive it's there. they cant prove it, so they look and look and look.
Excuses are like @$$#0le$, everyone's got one.
What's your excuse?!

I haven't found a Bigfoot cause I'm not out looking for one, Though I did see one once. (I may even be who Antars talking about.)

As for the lack of evidence, I have no idea. It could have a flying saucer or be interdimensional for all I know. It could be the David Copperfield of the ape world, vanishing into thin air like magic.

I don't know and frankly, I don't care.

I believe because I've seen one with my own eyes.

Just because you haven't does not mean they don't exist.

You all believe in Aliens without any hard proof except for the odd fuzzy video of a few lights in the sky.

Same as bigfoot isnt it? Just people pick and choose in things they want to believe in.