What did early American pioneers see when they traveled into the uninhabited wilderness of the early 1800s? They may have seen a black bear standing momentarily on its hind legs or it was actually what we now call Bigfoot ("The Canadian Encyclopedia"). The origin of Bigfoot goes back even further to Native American myths that portray an aggressive great ape like animal that walks on its hind legs eating children and animals ("New World Encyclopedia"). Since then there have been thousands of reports of alleged Bigfoot sightings, including footprints, photos, videos and the actual carcass of a deceased Bigfoot. For over 80 years scientists have discredited the idea of ​​Bigfoot's existence, but over time scientists have begun to adjust to the fact that there may be a possible large, unidentified animal walking in our wilds today. The fact that there may be a Bigfoot-like animal walking in our forests today stretches the imagination, but there is enough information to conclude that there is an animal that has not been identified. The name Sasquatch comes from the native names of the word "Sésquac", meaning "wild man" for a creature found in the coastal area of ​​the Pacific Northwest (Lindemans). There are over sixty different Native American terms for Sasquatch. The Cherokee call it Kecleh-Kudleh which means “Wild Hairy” (Franzoni, Glickman). Evidence for the Sasquatch's existence is based on references in Indian legend and myth, in passages from journals kept by early travelers, and in modern sightings (Columbus). Early travelers to North America invented various different terms such as "skookums" and "mountain devils" ("What is Bigfoot"). Bigfoot, the t...... middle of paper ......n North American Bigfoot, most scientists still believe Bigfoot is a hoax and question why Bigfoot has not been captured, alive or dead (Lovgreen). While Bigfoot has not been captured dead or alive, Bigfoot advocates note that it is even rare to find a bear carcass in the wild. Although in thousands of Bigfoot sightings around the world there is still no credible evidence of its existence. “It's the same kind of eyewitness accounts we see for the Loch Ness sea monster, UFOs, ghosts, whatever,” he said. "The monster is a universal product of the human mind. We hear such stories from all over the world." (Dennett). While there is no hard evidence of its existence, there is enough documentation of Bigfoot to make you wonder, is there something out there? Although the hunt for Bigfoot will still be open in the years to come.