The most popular candidate for the true identity of Bigfoot is the giant ape GIGANTOPITHECUS BLACKII, which presumably went extinct some 100,000 years ago. Its range, though, in eastern Asia, would have put it in a perfect position, believers point out, to cross the Bering Strait land bridge into North America, the same means by which the ancestors of today’s Native Americans reached the continent. And the size parameters are right: Gigantopithecus would have stood somewhere between nine and twelve feet tall or better, which fits with Bigfoot’s profile. In terms of the Sasquatch creature reputed to haunt the Pacific Northwest American coast and the shadowy forests of Canada, at any rate. Those versions of Bigfoot are described by eyewitnesses as being really honkin’ BIG.
If Gigantopithecus did NOT survive into modern times, though, to assume the identity of Bigfoot, scientists think they know why. By studying the teeth (also big) of these prehistoric giants, they failed to make the transition from leafy flora to grasses as the climate changed and lush forests slowly became savannahs. That’s right, folks. According to Science, Gigantopithecus was strictly a vegetarian. This is comforting news, if there ARE any of the big critters still around, isn’t it?
