Feb 23.06
(Original headline: Footprints get US team all excited )
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysians are not the only ones excited about the reported ‘Bigfoot’ sightings in the rainforests of Johor.
A crew from the Los Angeles-based television documentary, Destination Truth, arrived in Malaysia recently to track down the elusive hominid creature.
Joshua Gates, 28, the host of the programme said the subject would make a good pilot episode for the series scheduled to be aired on NBC’s cable Sci-Fi Channel.
“We have recorded several episodes in the United States, but Malaysia is our first international destination,” he said.
The crew, which arrived here more than a week ago, joined up with local paranormal investigative team, the Seekers, and the Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI) on an expedition to Bukit Lantang on Monday to find evidence of the creature’s existence.
“We found about 10 footprints that may have belonged to the creature during the expedition, but they were mostly nondescript,” said Gates.
“It was around 6pm and we were just about to head back when I stumbled upon a well- preserved footprint in the mud,” he said.
He said the left footprint measured 60 by 30cm and was unusually well-preserved.
Gates theorised that the creature may have tried to grab for support when it teetered off-balance as the 11-foot high tree branches were broken exactly above the spot where the creature’s left heel had sunk into the mud.
A tracker with the Singapore team had estimated that to make such a print, an animal would have to weigh at least 240kg.
“The footprint, which could not have been made more than 24 hours before, does not fit the description of any animals native to the area,” he said.
“Of course, the print does not guarantee that the creature exists, but you have to admit it is an exciting discovery.”
“In the US and elsewhere in the world, new species are being discovered all the time. Even animals which were once regarded as extinct have been found thriving in the remote parts of the globe.
“As such, we have to keep an open mind to the possibility that such a creature could very well exist,” he said.
Gates said the media interest over ‘Bigfoot’ should be viewed positively.
“It can move people to appreciate Malaysia’s natural beauty, and could boost tourism as well,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters at a Press conference at the Seekers headquarters in Taman TAR in Ampang yesterday.
Meanwhile, Syed Abdullah Al-Attas, chief researcher and paranormal lecturer of the Seekers, said they are inviting hospitals and laboratories to carry out forensic tests on the footprint cast.
“The soil on the underside of the cast might contain the creature’s DNA, which may shed some light into its origins,” he said.
He said they hoped to obtain permission from the Johor Government to conduct further expeditions in the area.
The cast, he said, would later be presented to Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman as a token of appreciation.
Syed Abdullah said although there might be enquiries from overseas to obtain the cast for testing or preservation, he would object to any such request.
“It is a Malaysian discovery and it will stay in the country, no matter what.”
JOHOR BARU - Foreign journalists tracking "Bigfoot" in the jungles of Johor have made a plaster cast of a fresh footprint measuring 60cm by 30cm.
