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Is Bigfoot Real?

For decades, people have claimed they’ve seen a mysterious creature lurking in North America’s woods.

April 27, 2026
By Catherine Schmitt

As You Read, Think About: Why are so many people fascinated by Bigfoot?

What’s that stomping through the dark forest? It’s big and hairy and kind of looks like an ape. Could it be Bigfoot? 

For decades, people across the United States have reported seeing the creature. But so far, no one has found definitive proof that Bigfoot is real.

Some researchers have spent years looking for solid evidence of the creature. One of them is Cindy Caddell, who works for the U.S. Forest Service. She has been fascinated by Bigfoot since she was a kid.

Last June, Caddell led a Bigfoot expedition in Oregon. One night, her group recorded loud, strange calls echoing through the forest. 

The noises were “similar to what some people believe are Bigfoot calls,” Caddell says. Experts haven’t yet directly linked the sounds to any known animal.

So is Bigfoot just a myth—or does the creature really exist?

Myth or Monster?
Watch a video to learn about mysterious creatures around the world.

Legendary Tales

For centuries, people around the world have told stories about giant apelike creatures. Native American tribes have long told tales about a beast some call Sasquatch. Some stories describe it as a scary monster, while others say it’s gentle and shy. 

The name Bigfoot was first used for the legendary creature in 1958. That’s when loggers in Northern California found huge footprints in the mud near their worksite.

Some people claim to have seen Bigfoot with their own eyes. In 1967, two men, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, traveled to Northern California. They filmed what many people consider the most famous Bigfoot video ever. The minute-long clip shows a tall, hairy figure walking on two legs in the woods. Nearly 60 years later, people still debate whether the video is a hoax or clear evidence that Bigfoot exists.

Interest in Bigfoot has only grown in the years since the video was released. Park rangers, teachers, and even scientists have claimed they spotted the creature.

Since 1995, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has investigated thousands of possible Bigfoot sightings across the U.S. The group has determined that many of them are credible, or believable. 

Over just five days last month, people reported eight possible sightings in northeastern Ohio. Bigfoot believers say that’s a good sign that the legendary beast is out there.

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

An image from the 1967 Bigfoot video

Not So Fast

Still, skeptics say there’s no strong evidence that Bigfoot is lurking somewhere. They explain that large footprints could have been made by bears and that strange sounds could’ve come from coyotes. And those giant footprints workers found in 1958? They turned out to be a hoax. Two brothers secretly placed them there as a joke.

Most experts agree that a key piece of evidence is missing. No one has ever captured Bigfoot or found a body. 

“If we don’t have this piece of evidence that we absolutely need to prove it exists, at least according to science, what do we have?” asks Laura Krantz. She’s an author and a podcast host who studies Bigfoot. 

Even Caddell agrees that unless that proof is found, Bigfoot will remain a mystery. Researchers will continue to investigate. In the meantime, the Bigfoot debate lives on.

Solving the Mystery

Here’s what some experts have to say about whether Bigfoot is out there. What do you believe?

Say Cheese!

Shutterstock.com 

Skeptics say that if Bigfoot were real, we’d have clearer photos by now. But others argue that Bigfoot comes out only at night, making the creature hard to film.

Big Feet

Shutterstock.com 

Scientists have studied hundreds of huge footprints. Most are too big to have been made by humans, but they don’t belong to any known animal.

Have Patience

Shutterstock.com 

No one had seen a giant squid living in the wild until a 2004 photo showed one. So finding clear evidence of Bigfoot may just be a matter of time.

1. What is Sasquatch? How is it connected to the Bigfoot legend?

2. What kinds of evidence do people use to support the idea that Bigfoot exists?

3. Why do many experts argue that the evidence of Bigfoot’s existence is weak?

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