Yowiehunters Forum

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Authorities began searching the jungles of southern Malaysia on Friday for the mythical "Bigfoot" following a reported sighting of three giant human-like beasts, officials said.


Wildlife authorities may set up cameras in the 309 sq.mile Endau Rompin National Park in Johor state to see if the creatures do exist, they said.

Park director Hashim Yusof ventured into the jungle Friday to survey the site where three fish farm workers reportedly saw the beasts ? two adults and a young one ? last month, Hashim's secretary told The Associated Press. She did not want her name used and declined to give details.

The fish farm workers were in the jungle to clear an area for a fish pond. They alerted their employer who photographed what appeared to be footprints measuring up to 17 inches, said Lim Teong Kheng, the chairman of the Malaysian Nature Society in Johor.

He said brown hair reeking of body odor was also reportedly retrieved nearby, and a broken tree branch at the site appeared to indicate the creatures were some 10 feet tall.

The New Straits Times newspaper on Thursday reprinted one of the photographs taken by the fish farmer, showing what appears to be a triangular depression in the undergrowth.

Lim welcomed the investigation by the national park saying "Bigfoot" sightings have been reported for decades in the area but never taken seriously for lack of evidence.

"Nobody dared say anything in case people say they are out of their minds," Lim told the AP. "But sightings have been enumerated by many others before this at the Endau Rompin area."

"Bigfoot" is a popular name given in the United States to giant hairy creatures walking on two legs. Sightings of such beasts are reported in many parts of the world but never confirmed.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051230/ap_ ... ia_bigfoot

This was also mentioned tonight on "The Science Report" on ABC news radio. They had an interview with a Malay scientist, and it did seem to point to the fact that the sightings seem credible.

Z...

Are cameras actually going to be set up? I do hope so, hopefully they will be able to get some credible footage of these creatures, and finally proove the skeptics wrong.

Has anyone heard anything else about this series of incidents? Last I heard was that the Malaysian government was becoming increasingly involved with search parties, scientists and things of that nature.

The whole thing kind of started out with a 'THIS IS IT' feel, but I have not heard anything in recent weeks.

Any updates?

Have they found something?

Have they nearly found something?

Was they whole thing proven to be a hoax, intended to boost tourism?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.




This site provides a photograph of an apparent footprint taken by Malaysian officials.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/do ... 515865.htm

Society Claims To Have Scientific Evidence Of Bigfoot Colony

Mohd Haikal Isa
February 18, 2006

JOHOR BAHARU, Feb 18 (Bernama) -- The Johor Wildlife Protection Society said it has "scientific evidence" to prove the existence of Bigfoot whose reported sightings recently in the Johor jungles have excited the world's media.

Not just one Bigfoot but a whole colony of the giant, hairy creatures which the society named "Orang Lenggor" (Lenggor People) as one was spotted in an area by that name, said the society's secretary Tay Teng Hwa.

"We will make public the evidence soon," he said today.

He said a member of the society had studied the creatures for six years and interacted directly with the colony.

"The adult creatures are between 10 and 12 feet tall while their children are 6 to 7 footers. Seventy per cent of the Orang Lenggor have a human appearance but the rest resemble apes," he said.

Tay declined to reveal the location of the Bigfoot colony or the type of "scientific evidence" in the possession of the society.

The claim by the society followed a statement by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman that he was convinced about the existence of Bigfoot based on information provided by Orang Asli.

Tay said the society decided to reveal its discovery because foreigners armed with sophisticated equipment were entering the Johor jungles to track down Bigfoot without the knowledge of the state government.

"We are worried these foreigners might find Bigfoot and then announce to the world as their discovery," he said.

Relating the background to the society's study of the creatures, he said a member of the society, who was a logger, came across Bigfoot when the creature encroached into the logging company's base camp to look for food.

Since that incident, the member began to study the creatures and went close to their colony.

Tay said the creatures, despite their size and rough appearance, were timid and showed no aggression to humans who approached them.

The "Orang Lenggor" had a covering of black hair on their bodies when they were young but the hair gradually turned brown as they grew older, he said.

"They like to eat fish and fruits they gather in the jungles, including durian. They also have a liking for river water that contains dissolved salt and would walk for miles to get it," he added.

Tay said the society would organise an expedition to the "Orang Lenggor" colony in either March or April.

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=181090

[photo at url]

Bigfoot?s 4am howls?
R. Sittamparam

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 17:

Did residents of Kampung Lukut at the foothills of Gunung Panti wake up over the past four mornings to the call of the "Johor Bigfoot"?

Some believe the spine-chilling howls they heard about 4am could be coming from the creature.

Dicky Darwis Abdul Rahman, whose family owns a 40- hectare oil palm plantation at the foothills of the mountain, said plantation workers had reported the phenomenon to him.

He said they had described it as a cross between the cry of a monkey and a wild pig.

"The workers who regularly go hunting in the nearby jungle know how to differentiate the calls of the various animals in the jungle and they are convinced that the roars were unlike that of any known animal."

Dicky Darwis said some of the workers had gone into the jungle to investigate and found many large footprints, especially at a nearby riverbank and hilltop.

They also found branches and leaves of trees in the area stripped clean up to a height of about 3m.

He added that before his father set up the plantation, the area was virgin jungle, where tigers and elephants used to roam.

"All the recent sightings of the Bigfoot and cases of elephants in this area, which is connected to the Mawai area, could be due to logging activities in the jungles."

He said his father, a former Johor Baru city councillor and retired factory manager, was excited about the new Bigfoot evidence and felt the whole area should be protected.

Dicky Darwis? family had a visit today from a television crew from the British Broadcasting Corporation, which wanted to interview him for a preview of a television documentary.

The crew was led by BBC's Kuala Lumpur-based correspondent, Jonathan Kent.

The crew had earlier visited the adjoining Kampung Temening Lama area where villagers found 50cm-long footprints last month, believed to be that of the Johor Bigfoot .

There were also many footprints found in the jungle, where the creature was believed to have climbed a hill and disappeared into the interior.

The NST had earlier reported Dicky darwis?s account of how a search for Bigfoot conducted in the 1990s at Air Hitam by his late game warden brother had produced faeces samples and cement casts of the creature?s footprints.

He said the analysis of the faeces indicated that Bigfoot survived on leaves.

He added that the search party led by his brother, Abdul Jalil, had found an area in the jungle which was unusually clean with most trees bare of leaves up to a certain height.

Despite the announcement by the State Government that foreign media would only be invited to cover the Bigfoot story after local scientists had established a proper databank on the creature, two foreign media groups besides the BBC arrived here today.

They included a seven-man crew from a United States-based firm producing documentaries for television networks, and a cameraman from KBS 2TV, South Korea.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html
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Fresh 'Bigfoot' footprints located near a stream in Panti Forest
R. Sittamparam

February 18 2006
JOHOR BARU, Sat:

PHYSICAL evidence of what could have been Bigfoot's was today found at the foothills of Panti Forest by bio-diversity researchers and media who investigated claims by villagers that they heard the creature's spine-chilling calls on Tuesday.

Following a three-hour trek into the jungle near Kampung Lukut in Panti, the team saw giant footprints and broken foliage two metres above ground which could only have been reached by a tall creature/s.

It was reported yesterday that residents of Kampung Lukut had been rudely awakened by the howling over the past four days.

Local biodiversity researcher Vincent Chow who led the group, including the NST and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) media crew, said although wild buffaloes in the area had trampled over the tracks found at a stream, the group managed to find some untouched footprints believed to have been made by Bigfoot.

Plantation worker Yazid Jaafar, 29, said he first saw the footprints on Tuesday while investigating the source of the early morning howling.

"We could clearly see the large human like footprints with four toes and big toe bent about 90 degrees away from the other toes like a monkey's foot. The footprint tracks stretched along the banks of the stream.

"The creature appeared to have walked along the bank, probably feeding on leaves growing there before returning into the jungle," he said.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html

Well done, Dawn.

Good find.

I'm programmed to please!

Footprint casts hope of finding Bigfoot
Chuah Bee Kim

JOHOR BARU, Tues.
February 22 2006

Foreign journalists tracking "Bigfoot" in the jungles of Johor have made a plaster cast of a fresh footprint measuring 60cm by 30cm.

Almost three times the size of a human foot, they feel the evidence indicates they are close to finding and filming the creature.

"This is very close to an actual sighting," said Joshua Gates, 28, who is part of a seven-member expedition to the jungles of Kota Tinggi.

Gates, who found the foot, is the host of Destination Truth, a new television programme to be shown over the Sci-Fi Network in the United States.

The Sci-Fi Network is an NBC Universal television network dedicated to programmes exploring the mysterious, paranormal, fantastic and unexplained.

Gates and his crew have been in Kota Tinggi since yesterday to shoot a documentary on the creature.

The group travelled deep into the jungle and found the footprints in Kampung Lukut after searching an area covering 30 sq km.

"One of the footprints, showing five toes, was especially well preserved in the mud. We made several plaster casts of it.

"This is most credible evidence to date that the Bigfoot might indeed be roaming the jungles of Johor," he said.

"We believe we are on the trail of something really big.

"The size of the footprint doesn?t match that of any primate or animal we have ever seen.

"This is bound to stir a great deal of interest in the US when the documentary is shown.

"It might prompt more researchers and journalists to come to Johor in search of Bigfoot."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html

Researcher finds ?Bigfoot trail?

Thursday February 23, 2006

JOHOR BARU: A bio-researcher was startled to find two heaps of uprooted plants, 100m apart, in a secondary forest near Kampung Lukut China in Kota Tinggi.

Vincent Chow, on a personal expedition to find out if Bigfoot exists, said he came across the puzzling trail as he went some 200m into the secondary forest.

?The branches of saplings about 50cm above the ground were all broken,? he said, adding that he made sure he measured all his findings for research purposes.

?Then I looked up and saw the branches about 4m from the ground were also broken.?

Chow said the way they were broken showed they were done forcefully and intentionally.

Chow was further startled when he found a heap of uprooted plants, some with branches 2cm thick. He noted that it would have taken tremendous strength to do so.

?The question is why are they, whoever they are, clearing the forest? It would need a very strong person to uproot plants like that,? he said.

Chow said he believed the bizarre trail was made by the so-called Bigfoot, because the evidence indicated that it could not be made by humans.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation
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?Creature prefers cool spot?
R. Sittamparam

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 22:

The search for the elusive Bigfoot continues to throw up bits and pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

In the latest evidence of the creature?s presence at Kampung Lukut Cina in Panti, a local scientist has found two piles of tree branches and saplings which showed no sign of having been cut.

Bio-diversity researcher Vincent Chow said it appeared that something powerful had pulled them down from a height of about 3m besides uprooting the 3cm thick saplings.

Chow said it was interesting to note that the creature had chosen a cool and shady area for the pile.

The area is where a group comprising an American filming crew from Mandt Bros. Productions, members of Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI), filming crew from Makim Abad Sdn Bhd and the Southeast Asia correspondent for The Independent of London found fresh footprints on Monday.

One of the 60cm by 30cm footprints about 10cm deep was so clear the group managed to make plaster casts of it.

The find will be seen on Destination Truth, a television programme to be shown on NBC Universal?s Sci-Fi Network in the United States and NTV7?s Seekers series.

Jan McGirk, the correspondent for The Independent, reported seeing broken tree branches more than 3m above the spot where the deep footprint was found..

She said it appeared that the creature had grabbed the branches for support when it lost balance as its left heel sunk into a muddy puddle adding that a stick was also seen snapped beneath one of its toe depressions.

"Australian Tony Burke, who was with the SPI, estimated that to make such a print, an animal would have to weigh at least 240kg," she added.

Meanwhile, Chow said the cleared areas were less than 20 metres from the road leading to rubber and oil palm smallholdings at the hills of Panti.

"The clearing work seems to have been done by some intelligent being but for what purpose, we don?t know yet.

"We know of wild pigs making a nest to deliver their young but this is different and looks more like a resting place."

Chow said the only explanation was that the spot must have been a traditional rest stop for the creature which it instinctively returns to, despite the area now being encroached by human habitations.

"This find is important as at this stage of our Bigfoot search, we need to collect information on the habits of the creature.

"Based on the information we have accumulated so far, there is hope we will soon get a good chance to actually sight the creature and photograph it."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html
------

Experts to analyse Bigfoot?s footprint

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 22: A plaster cast of the "Bigfoot" footprint will be sent to the forensics department to be analysed by experts.

The footprint will be examined for the creature?s DNA.

It was discovered by a 16-member international team of paranormal researchers, bio-diversity experts and journalists at the Bukit Lintang rainforest.

"There were other footprints in the area, but most were washed away by the rainfall earlier in the day," said paranormal researcher Syed Abdullah Syed Hussein Al-Attas.

He was speaking to reporters at a Press conference at the headquarters of Seekers, a popular show on paranormal activities.

"To us, the prints seemed to show that the creature was walking stealthily in search of food.

"There were small broken branches as high as five metres from the ground," he said adding that the print measured 60cm by 30cm.

Joshua Gates, 28, who found the print, said ground conditions surrounding the footprint had helped preserve it.

"It was not covered in as much leaves as the other prints that we found. The soil was soft enough for the depression of the footprint to be very distinctive.

"We couldn?t make casts of the other prints as we did not bring enough plaster with us."

Gates, a documentary film-maker from USA, said the footprints led to a deeper and rougher section of the jungle.

"We could not follow the trail as it was getting dark, even though we were tempted to. We were actually about to leave the place when I spotted the broken branches and the footprint."

The team strongly feels that the creatures were beginning to emerge from the jungle because of the thinning vegetation and the intermittent rainfall which may have disturbed its habitat.

Syed Abdullah said the cast would be handed over to the Johor Government after it had been thoroughly analysed by the forensics team.

"We understand that this belongs to the Johor State Government, and we will hand it over as soon as the forensics team is done with it."

Other members of the team were allowed to make a copy of the cast.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html
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Bigfoot blues
R. Sittamparam

JOHOR BARU, Mon

The arrival of foreign media and research groups to check out the Bigfoot phenomenon has received mixed reactions from the people of Johor.

While their presence may boost eco-tourism here, some complain the Bigfoot seekers are being allowed to move about too freely in the jungle.

State Tourism and Environment committee chairman Freddie Long said the foreign groups should not go into the jungle without permission as this was prohibited under the National Forestry Act.

He said these people should only talk to eyewitnesses and check out Bigfoot tracks found on private land.

Asked to comment on a local group?s recent claim of having proof of at least 40 Bigfoot creatures in Johor?s jungles, Long said this was far-fetched, but his committee would check it out.

The NST met a group of 14 local and foreign media representatives and researchers setting out on an expedition to look for Bigfoot, at the Kampung Mawai Lama jetty about 20km from here today.

The group comprised a seven-member film crew from Mandt Bros Productions, two Singaporean paranormal investigators, a five-member film crew from Makim Abad Sdn Bhd, and Southeast Asia?s correspondent for the Independent of London, Jan McGirk.

Mandt Bros chief Neil Mandt said his Los Angeles-based company was here to produce a documentary on the Johor Bigfoot and other paranormal phenomena in Johor and Kuala Lumpur for the Destination Truth slot on NBC Universal?s Sci-Fi Network. He said his crew would complete its job by tomorrow.

Syed Abdullah Syed Hussein Al-Attas, a researcher from Makim Abad, which produces the Seekers series for ntv7, said the Johor Bigfoot story would be featured in an upcoming episode.

At Press time, Syed Abdullah reported that the group had found a fresh giant footprint believed to have been made by the Bigfoot at Kampung Lukut China.

He said the print was clear enough to make several plaster casts of it, despite the rain.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html

Looks like they're getting closer.

It now seems much more like a question of 'when', not 'if'.

Rope in foreign experts to track Bigfoot

KOTA TINGGI, Feb 24:

Foreign experts should be invited to help in the search for the Johor Bigfoot.

Foreign Affairs Minister and Kota Tinggi MP Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said this was necessary as the search had attracted international attention.

Speaking after opening an award ceremony for teachers here, he said reported sightings of the hairy creature had benefited the district, especially in attracting foreign visitors.

Syed Hamid added he was inclined to believe in the existence of the Bigfoot, as there had been many sightings of the creature.

Meanwhile, zoologist Amlir Ayat said it would also help if a common name was used for the Bigfoot.

He felt it would be a good idea to adopt the name "Orang Dalam" used by the Orang Asli, like the name Sasquatch for the American Bigfoot, which originated from the Red Indians. Amlir said there was also a need to clear the confusion among villagers of mawas or orang utan and the Johor Bigfoot.

According to the book Natural History of Primates, mawas is used in the Southeast Asian region to refer to the orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) which can grow to a height of 1.8m.

Villagers in Kampung Mawai Lama in Kota Tinggi said they were familiar with mawas and were sure it was not the same as Bigfoot.

"The mawas? feet are not as big as the footprints that have been discovered so far. I have seen the giant footprints myself and am certain it was not made by mawas," said fisherman Islah Midi, 62.

His nephew, Ariffin Ali, 38, said he had seen a footprint of the Bigfoot measuring more than 60cm in the jungles of Endau while searching for timber a few years ago.

He said he was positive the footprint was not that of a mawas.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/ ... index_html

Johor bans foreign ape man hunt

Jonathan Kent
BBC correspondent in Kuala Lumpur
Monday, 27 February 2006

The southern Malaysian state of Johor has threatened to jail foreigners who venture into its jungles looking for a legendary ape man, dubbed 'Big Foot'.

The state's Forestry Department says Big Foot enthusiasts found on its land without a permit will face up to three years jail or a fine of up to $2,500.

The hunt for Big Foot has gripped Malaysia after a spate of sightings.

Now authorities are determined that if the ape man exists, Malaysians will be the first to find him.

Malaysians are being invited to pay just over $1 for a permit to roam around Johor state's forest reserves, where most of the reported sightings have taken place.

The state also plans to sponsor a scientific expedition, and although Malaysia has few primate specialists, foreigners will again not be invited.

Local tourism industry leaders told the BBC the ban on non-Malaysians entering forest reserves was daft and should be rethought.

The country hopes to lure 20 million foreign visitors next year and its main attractions are its beaches and its jungles.

Tourism bosses say the move will simply confuse and possibly drive away just the people they want to attract.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4754424.stm

The country hopes to lure 20 million foreign visitors next year and its main attractions are its beaches and its jungles.

I find this point very interesting.

Is there more than a slight possibility that Malaysian officials are having a lend of us to boost tourism in the region?

i am not sure of the date of this report as it was just left in my letterbox by my mum and was only a small cut out from adelaide "Advertiser"


Malaysia
Hunt flops
"apparently, nobody wants to meet bigfoot.The malaysian forestry department reportedly said there were no takers for permits to explore Johor,s Endau Rompin park for the mythical creature,despite early excitement over sightings of the beast."

i will try and find a date for this news
ianSA

the story about the bigfoot hunt being a flop as noone wanted to buy the permits was in the adelaide "advertiser" last wednesday the 8th march-this paper is so far out of touch of what is going on its embarrassing!!
ianSA