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One Bigfoot, one big footprint(Daily Mail Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)IT has long been local legend, something to terrify villagers in the remote jungles of Malaysia. But after several recent sightings, the idea that big, hairy, manlike creatures may be living deep in the rainforest is starting to be taken a whole lot more seriously. The evidence that something really might be out there has even led the Malaysian government to begin a hunt for Bigfoot - as the creatures have become known. The fever began when wildlife officers spotted a family of the hair- covered beings walking through the thick undergrowth. Then there was the discovery of a large footprint about 17 inches long pressed into the leaves on the jungle floor. Although difficult to make out at first, the three officers who claim to have seen Bigfoot say it is more than enough proof that they have not lost their minds. 'Oh yes, we believe the men who saw these animals,' said Vincent Chow, an adviser to the Malaysian Nature Society. 'I've been hunting for Bigfoot myself for years, and my father before me, so I know they aren't making it up.' Villagers and fishermen who live on the fringes of the Endau-Rompin National Park, 300 miles south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, have been reporting Bigfoot sightings for generations. Mr Chow said even his grandfather had seen Bigfoot, called the 'snaggle-toothed ghost' by locals because of its crooked molars. So what did the forestry workers see? 'They were building a fish pond on the edge of the jungle when they saw two large creatures, covered in hair and accompanied by a young one, come out of the jungle,' said Mr Chow. 'The men ran one way and the Bigfoots ran the other, each group terrified of the other. 'But after a while the men plucked up courage to return and found a number of footprints in the leaves.' The workers alerted a member of the local nature society, who took pictures. They also found brown hair snagged on a branch nearby which reeked of body odour. 'We're definitely on to something-said Mr Chow, who has persuaded the government to set up infrared cameras in the area to try to capture the creatures on film. The recent sightings are certain to excite cryptozoologists - enthusiasts who study phenomena such as North America's Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman in the Himalayas. Although bulging files exist for the Endau-Rompin National Park, sceptics say the sightings are of sun bears, the smallest in the world. But Mr Chow pointed out: 'Sun bears don't have 17-inch feet.' |