Yowiehunters Forum

In the book "The Yowie", the authors report that Mike Archer (formerly of the Australian Museum) "is aware of three elephant fossils found as far apart as Western Australia and New South Wales".
This is an astounding claim - I wonder why it's not more widely known and discussed? I'm sure there must be some controversy about this claim. I haven't found anything online about it. Anyone know more?

As the authors note, this has implications for the possible existance of yowies in Oz. If an Asian animal like the elephant made it here - which contradicts most conventional wisdom about the biological isolation of Australia - then why not other creatures?

[quote]is aware of three elephant fossils found as far apart as Western Australia and New South Wales.[/quote]
You are dead right it is an amazing claim if true.!
Now if elephants could only do the following which the yowie appears to be able to do.
1/move through the bush without making a sound
2/travel at amazing speeds in the dark
3/sometimes have glowing red eyes
4/create the "dread" feeling to witnesses
5/leave a consisently odd variety of footprints
6/pop up in most continents on earth nowdays
7/could not be photographed
8/could not be videotaped
9/could not be captured
10/left no skeletons
11/left no fresh bodies
12/leave no fresh bodies
Like all monster ape like forms that appear on most continents there is a problem isnt there.

I think you're missing the point, ozestrange.

I think Beastman was refering to the fact that if elephants could get here, however long ago, it means that Australia was connected to Asia for longer than originally thought, therefore other large animals, (yowies etc) could have come from the same place, or further abroad.

Would love to find out more about it.

[quote]I think you're missing the point, ozestrange.[/quote]
err...no..the point could not have been clearer.
Thats why I just carried the elephant analogy further and pointed out some very basic problems that many yowie "hunters" never bother to consider due to ???using the elephant analogy.
[quote]could have come from the same place, or further abroad. [/quote]
Great, then this mythical place would help yowie hunters solve the "minor" problems I pointed out with my pachyderm prattling.
Of course not...

Right.....I get it.

However, the attributes you listed can be found in other species, so it makes sense that it may have wandered here years ago from somewhere else, where other animals sharing similar features can be found.

[quote]However, the attributes you listed can be found in other species,[/quote]
Great, what species are you referring to then.??
[quote]where other animals sharing similar features can be found[/quote]
Not sure if you are talking elephants or yowie.
Which animals looked similar to either animals in OZ.?

Yeah, I was refering to the yowie.
What animal looks similar to a platypus in Oz?.......

I'm not saying all these features exist in one animal. I just think that they can be explained in other ways.

Big cats can move through the bush without making a sound, and move at high speeds through the dark. I'm pretty sure thats how they catch their prey.

Certain animal eyes have a reflective structure not found in human eyes. Depending on the different types of pigment found in the animal eye, when light is reflected from them, you might see different colours shining back at you. The green glow is typical of deer, dogs, and cats, whereas a crocodile has a chilling red glowing eye.

In regards to the dread feeling, I'm pretty sure if you heard something in the bush and didn't know what it was, or felt you we're being watched in the middle of the night, you'd get the same feeling.

You can never be certain of the source of footprints. Why must it be that all the unknown footprints come from the same creature? Some might be from a barefoot person, some from a large dog with a limp, others may actually be from an unknown hominid..... others may be hoaxed. The possibilities are endless.

Elephants are found in Asia and Africa, and apparently they were once in Australia....

I've seen photos and footage of yowie and bigfoot. There's some on this very site.

As to not being caught or bodies recovered, it's probably just a matter of time. It just hasn't happened yet. And apparently it's pretty hard to find the corpse of other great apes who have died of natural causes in the wild. And seeing as though yowies would have to be at the very top of the food chain, this would be the only way they'd perish.

I don't wan't to argue, and this isn't even neccissarily my point of view. But, you asked...

romeo, long time no see.

Wern't gorillas discovered until some time in the past 200 years or something? Don't quote me on that.
also, elephants? wow. yay!

You stated "where other animals sharing similar features can be found" and I asked you what animals.
You answered??
[quote]What animal looks similar to a platypus in Oz?.......[/quote]
No idea ... could you answer my question please.
[quote]Big cats can move through the bush without making a sound[/quote]
Probably less than 5% of bigcat reports in OZ talk about animals the size of the largest felids in the world, ie Tigers.
Felids have padded feet and appear to weigh about 5-10% of the guesttimated weight ranges of "yowies".
[quote]Certain animal eyes have a reflective structure not found in human eyes. Depending on the different types of pigment found in the animal eye, when light is reflected from them, you might see different colours shining back at you.[/quote]
Sure, But I am talking about reports where there is NO external light source other than diffuse moonlight.
I know of no known animals whose eyeballs can "glow red" in the pitch dark as Is reported in some yowie cases.[quote]
In regards to the dread feeling, I'm pretty sure if you heard something in the bush [/quote]
No, its sometimes accompanied with no external enviromental stimulus at all.I have had first hand experiemce with this phenomena once in a yowie "hot spot".
[quote]You can never be certain of the source of footprints.[/quote]
Rather than throwing out all fooprints with that premise, which is logical,we have to start assuming that some are "real".
If they are found locally, by friends of mine, on private property, then I assume they are "real".
[quote] Why must it be that all the unknown footprints come from the same creature?[/quote]
First off we are talking about non native Australian animal footprints.
What other bipedal animal walks in the OZ bush and leaves 3/4/5 toed footprints.?
[quote]Some might be from a barefoot person[/quote]
Discounting smaller sized ones for that very reason.
[quote]some from a large dog with a limp[/quote]
Canid footprints look nothing like the footprints we are talking about.
[quote]others may actually be from an unknown hominid[/quote]
And the proof other than some footprints and witness reports is ....?
[quote]others may be hoaxed[/quote]
sure
[quote]The possibilities are endless.[/quote]
not really, see above
[quote]Elephants are found in Asia and Africa, and apparently they were once in Australia....[/quote]
Maybe, maybe not.I am trying to find the source of the quote and cannot find a thing so far.
Which is scary because I think i gave the original quote/source to Tony/Paul in the first place.
(smacks head in disbelief)
[quote]I've seen photos and footage of yowie [/quote]
Could you tell us the page reference please.
I have never seen a photo/video of a yowie that was not just 1/fraud 2/simulacyra.
[quote]As to not being caught or bodies recovered, it's probably just a matter of time. It just hasn't happened yet.[/quote]
Of course.After millions of man hours of hunting in America, the same "argument" is used by sasquatch hunters as well.
There is no other monsterous animal that appears in so many continents, that cannot be killed or caught.
How odd.??
[quote]And seeing as though yowies would have to be at the very top of the food chain, this would be the only way they'd perish.[/quote]
Top of the food chain...?
Why, they dont seem to have tools/houses/huts/art etc
Being big and "really good at hiding" doesnt make you top of the food chain.
No doubt all of that will be found one day along with the bodies.
Do you see anything odd with monster ape like forms popping on virtually every continent on earth and never been discovered,even in the UK.??
[quote]I don't wan't to argue[/quote]
we are not arguing, we are discussing.

[quote]Wern't gorillas discovered until some time in the past 200 years or something?[/quote]
100% correct.
But reports of gorilla type animals only came from areas they actually inhabit.And from one continent.
We are talking about undiscovered monstrous gorilla/ape/hominid type forms thqat share the same rough morphology , popping up in virtually every part of the world, and never being caught/shot/dying etc.

I wouldn't say "undiscovered". Plenty of us have seen/heard it before. I'd say, more unrecognised by science.

[quote="Alex"]I wouldn't say "undiscovered". Plenty of us have seen/heard it before. I'd say, more unrecognised by science.[/quote]
Its unrecognised by science because it is undiscovered.
They will never recognise it due to the following
"minor" problems.
No body.
No skeleton
No primate/hominid fossil lines leading to it.
No predation evidence.
No video.
No real photos.
No evidence for use of tools.
Same stories pop up on virtually on nearly every continent on earth with the exact same problems.

Are you arguing (dicussing) that Australian yowies are entirely paranormal and not of this world? Is this the reason for your constant rebuttal? I'm stuggling to understand.....

To answer your question, it appears that no animal looks the same in Australia as an elephant or yowie. But that doesn't mean that they don't have living relatives somewhere else. Thats why I asked about a platypus, they look nothing like anything..... but we know they exist and are closely related to echidnas.

I'm not talking about big cats in Oz, I'm talking about big cats in general.

The Guiness World Record for the weight of a tiger is in excess of 1000 pounds. Thats a friggin heavy cat. The only way and animal could get to this size, would be to be really good at hunting......stalking prey, not making a sound.......you can't tell me a yowie is going to be too much heavier then that. So it CAN be done.

If you have personally seen a yowies eyes glow red in the dark with NO LIGHT SOURCE whatsoever, you have an argument. Witness reports, however helpful, can be misunderstood or exaggerated. I think moonlight would play a part in the reflection.

You've felt the 'nameless dread'? Perhaps it was being in the hotspot in the first place that caused it. I remember walking through the Ormeau bush at night and damn near pissin my pants. Doesn't mean there was a yowie behind the next tree. But the fact was that I knew something COULD be there.

I'm not even saying that footprints aren't reliable. You must read my post more carefully. Most of the prints found are probably real. All I'm saying is that the reason there are so many different ones could be that they come from a variety of sources. Some which might be quite easy to explain. What is your view in regards to this point? That when a yowie gets tired of five toes, he grows new feet with three?

What do you mean "Maybe, maybe not"? Elephants live in Africa. Elephants also live in Asia.

Do you mean that you actually provided the quote for the book, but are now arguing against it?

Yes, I do believe there are other monsterous animals yet to be caught..... I am yet to see a live giant squid in a cage. I bet there's a million other things down there that we don't even know exist. Doesn't mean they're supernatural.....

So your saying that we are the yowies only natural predators.....There are reports of yowies being hunted and killed by aboriginals years ago. Maybe the reason we have no bodies these days is that there are less of them, they are harder to kill, and none have been killed recently....

You have some great points Oze. And I do think it's quite odd that monster apes are appearing on nearly every continent with none being officially discovered.

It's fair enough to have an opinion because opinions are like arses......everyone has one.

Howsit goin, alex. Been kinda pre-occupied lately...

I think there is substantial physical evidence to support the fact of it's existence. But I think it's more 'They will never recognise it DESPITE the following....'

If and when they turn up. Some already have but have been dismissed as inconclusive. Others have gone missing all together.

[quote]Are you arguing (discussing) that Australian yowies are entirely paranormal[/quote]
I believe they exist in some form.
I dont know what they really are.
I was just pointing out the obvious zoological absurdities and blatant lack of evidence.
[quote]you can't tell me a yowie is going to be too much heavier then that. So it CAN be done.[/quote]
Sure, good point, the problem being..its(the tiger) an animal that can be videotaped/shot/caught etc.
[quote]If you have personally seen a yowies eyes glow red in the dark with NO LIGHT SOURCE whatsoever, you have an argument[/quote]
Eyewitness reports.
[quote] Witness reports, however helpful, can be misunderstood or exaggerated.[/quote]
The problem is, then people with different opinions will..and do.. cherry pick what the witnesses say.
[quote]I think moonlight would play a part in the reflection. [/quote]
read cropper/healy new book, the moonlight cannot do that to eyes.
[quote]You've felt the 'nameless dread'? Perhaps it was being in the hotspot in the first place that caused it[/quote].
err..no.
I have lived in the hotspot for 5 years and have spent more time in the area,out in the bush, night and day than probably anyone else here ever will , or is stupid enough to try.
2 "events" occurred in that whole time.
If I had a prediliction to an active imagination then I would claim many experiences.
[quote] I remember walking through the Ormeau bush at night and damn near pissin my pants. Doesn't mean there was a yowie behind the next tree. But the fact was that I knew something COULD be there.[/quote]
Sure, I felt the same unease staying the night up near Kilcoy in the bush by myself in another "hotspot".
But I didnt experience "the dread" which is something different.
[quote]I'm not even saying that footprints aren't reliable. You must read my post more carefully. [/quote]
I did very carefully,thats why I cut and pasted the questions and my answers exactly in sequence.
[quote]Most of the prints found are probably real. All I'm saying is that the reason there are so many different ones could be that they come from a variety of sources.[/quote]
There are no unrecognised bipedal animals(macropods plez sit down) in OZ bush.
What I was simply saying was, if the anomalous bipedal like prints are real, then they show a diverse foot morphology variation not seen in any other animal.
I am not talking about things like"humans have an extra toe sometimes".
The whole yowie foot is often structurally wrong/changing shape.
Have a look at all the variety of casts and you will see what I mean.
[quote]What is your view in regards to this point? That when a yowie gets tired of five toes, he grows new feet with three?[/quote]

I can understand your feelings, I am just pointing out the obvious zoological madness in the shape of the feet and the numbers of toes.
[quote]What do you mean "Maybe, maybe not"? Elephants live in Africa. Elephants also live in Asia. [/quote]
You actually stated.
"Elephants are found in Asia and Africa, and apparently they were once in Australia...."
I was obviously answering the bit about Australia,I am not going to question if they lived in asia or africa.
[quote]Do you mean that you actually provided the quote for the book, but are now arguing against it?[/quote]
I suppsedly gave the quote to Tony a long time ago.
When I have subsequently tried to find the original source I am coming up with a blank.
I hope someone can find it and I have written to Mike Archer to see if he can help.
[code]Doesn't mean they're supernatural.....[/code]
Sure, there are monstrous ape like forms that appear on nearly every continent on earth that cannot be caught or filmed and that means they are flesh and blood.
[quote]So your saying that we are the yowies only natural predators.....There are reports of yowies being hunted and killed by aboriginals years ago.[/quote]
Yes, there are anecdotes.
They are also anecdotes of monstrous snakes,creatures that come down from the sky etc and place crytsals inside aboriginals etc.
Means noght though from a zoological sense.
[quote]Maybe the reason we have no bodies these days is that there are less of them, they are harder to kill, and none have been killed recently....[/quote]
Harder to kill than any known animal on any place on earth where similar shaped monster sized animals pop up and run around.
And in 100 years, yowie/sasquatch hunters will still be saying "the evidence wil appear soon".
Its the evidence you have now which you judge things by, not the evidence that might appear oneday.
[quote]You have some great points Oze. And I do think it's quite odd that monster apes are appearing on nearly every continent with none being officially discovered. [/quote]
why thank you and Believe me, I would love to be proven wrong with the headline"yowie shot dead, body taken to museum".
It aint going to happen though..
20 years ago I said this stuff is rubbish..about 5 years ago I said, yes they must be flesh and blood...then after talking to loads of witnesses/reading all the books/spending a zillion hours in the blue mts/northern territory and queensland by myself..I became shattered.
Talking to Paul and Cropper cemented the whole thing.
[quote]It's fair enough to have an opinion because opinions are like arses......everyone has one.[/quote]

I'm glad we had this conversation, Oze.

You've opened my eyes to a couple of ideas, and broadened my perception on the situation.

I once read a report (took me hours) about that bloke in America that was holed up in a cabin with mates being attacked by a group of.....bigfeet? bigfoots.......anyway, he ends up shooting one, to cut a long story short. Ape Canyon I think.

If you haven't already read it, I think you'll find it interesting. This was the story that first had me asking questions about what they actually are.

Cheers mate.

The elephant info in the book "The Yowie" is sourced in the Endnotes as coming from "The Wollemi Pine" by James Woodford, Text Publishing, page 119.

there was so much text there for you guys to agree. my god, never ever type that much ever again

All kidding aside, i have to get me this book.

1/move through the bush without making a sound


Sometimes they clearly do make a sound. Sometimes - like many other animals adapted to stalk or hide, they are careful to disguise their steps. How many deer hear a lepard coming?

2/travel at amazing speeds in the dark

As above. They are reputedly larger animals than people and can easily outpace us.

3/sometimes have glowing red eyes

Reflections from light sources.


4/create the "dread" feeling to witnesses

Possibly due to our reaction to their pheramones or infrasound - or just our primal fight or flight reaction to being stalked.

5/leave a consisently odd variety of footprints

True.

6/pop up in most continents on earth nowdays

But only in some, with certain habitat, with any degree of credibility and consistancy.

7/could not be photographed

They usually seem to live in densly forrested and inaccesible locations.

8/could not be videotaped

As above

9/could not be captured

As above

10/left no skeletons

None that have been found or identified by people who could recognise them as unusual.


11/left no fresh bodies

None that have been found - not surprising considering the thrickly forrested and remote habitat they seem to prefer.

12/leave no fresh bodies

As above.

[quote]they are careful to disguise their steps.[/quote]
Seriously, how does a 100KG + animal tip toe through dry bush at night without making a sound.
In jungle like setting elephants can move around quietly, but no large,normal animal in our bush could..
[quote]Reflections from light sources.[/quote]
We were talking about no light sources or just the moon.
[quote]Possibly due to our reaction to their pheramones or infrasound[/quote]
smell, naagh, no good in windy areas.
The night I experienced the dread was windy anyway.
The only infra sound I am aware that happens in the animal kingdom, (outside of aquatic animals) is a audio subset of the sound made by the animal.
The question would be what animal makes an infra sound without making another form of vocalisation that we can hear.??
There is none.
I have seen the same argument used when describing the infra sound component of a lions roar, it can supposedly stun animals.
But it is accompanied by the roar sound you do hear.
Lions dont just open their mouths and "force" infra sound frequencies out with no other sound heard.
[quote]or just our primal fight or flight reaction to being stalked. [/quote]
not really relevent to the dreads phenomena where there is often NO external enviromental source.
I experienced the dreads once in my life and I never saw/sensed/heard a thing, but the fear was bizarre, and I ran...
[quote]But only in some, with certain habitat, with any degree of credibility and consistancy. [/quote]
cherry picking...virtually all continents in wooded areas.
see the eend of this post as well..
And now in the UK.
see "3 men chasing monsters".
"7/could not be photographed"
[quote]They usually seem to live in densly forrested and inaccesible locations.[/quote]
Other animals in the same habitat can be photgraphed.
[quote]As above[/quote]
"as above" is not really a valid argument.
Every other animal that lives in remote wooded location can be shot... reductio ad absurdum..

"10/left no skeletons"
[quote]None that have been found or identified by people who could recognise them as unusual. [/quote]
Sure, not many people , when they stumble on to a 8 feet gorilla/ape like skeleton would think it was odd.

"11/left no fresh bodies"
[quote]None that have been found - not surprising considering the thrickly forrested and remote habitat they seem to prefer. [/quote]
Lets kill this "remote/wooded" ideal off as as an often used generalisation.
I live about 1 km from a street which in the 1990`s had over 75 witnesses to claimed encounters with yowies.
The area they were claiming these encounters in, is a strip of land between houses, at best about 200 yards wide and about 1km long.
This is a classic example of not being remote and not being thickyl forested.!!
For recent sightings of monster ape like forms, this tiny area has had more witnesses come forward than possibly anywhere else on earth.!
That has to mean something...

[quote="Alex"]there was so much text there for you guys to agree. my god, never ever type that much ever again

All kidding aside, i have to get me this book.[/quote]



I've been waiting for ages. Can't wait to get my paws on it.

How often have you been walking through rainforest or thick isolated bush and stumbled across a large dead animal or a skeleton? It just doesn't happen very often, even with common species. Why would you be surprised that remains of a reputedly rare and highly secretive animal like a Yowie have never been collected by those in the know (or anyone at all)?
Even if you were lucky enough to cross the path of a dead body, chances are it would have decomposed to such an extent an untrained eye would miss it. You would probably only see it if there was a skull in clear view.

Re infrasound, cassowaries and elephants use it. It's possible not to hear any audible sounds an animal may make if there are a lot of background environmental noises to obscure them.

It was raining at the time of the incident, and was cleaned up before what was realised what had happened.
so what do you make of the witness and the whole families story. : Im talking about the hinze dam before anyone asks me .
Before you call the family nutters, they are the most down to earth people ive known Yes over the last year or so ive got to known them all

[quote]Why would you be surprised that remains of a reputedly rare and highly secretive animal like a Yowie have never been collected by those in the know (or anyone at all)?[/quote]

Why are you not surprised that in the last 200 years there is not one body from any continent of earth where these beasties are reported.And, that body could have come by natural death/car accident or hunter.??
All the billions of man hours hunting in Europe and America...
There is a problem...but not if you dont look for it.

[quote]"highly secretive"[/quote]

Please read my post again where the most prolific number of sightings reports on earth came from.
Every other "highly secretive" animal can be killed.
Please give me some examples of normal "secretive" animals that are impossible to kill.
The old "they are too intelligent" wont wash either.
Show me examples of tools/habitation that have been found that were created by them.
Being "good at hiding" does not = highly intelligent.
I have a mouse I cannot catch at home....

[quote]Even if you were lucky enough to cross the path of a dead body, chances are it would have decomposed to such an extent an untrained eye would miss it. You would probably only see it if there was a skull in clear view. [/quote]

I assume you are making a joke.
I dont know any person with an iq higher than a potato that would not be interested in the skeletal remains or skull, of a monsterous ape like form.
Anyway, i thought your argument was they were so secretive they would never be found.??

[quote]Re infrasound, cassowaries and elephants use it.[/quote]

Yes, they do, your not reading my posts properly about the phenomena.
It is part of the audible sound an animal makes.
Thats it.

[quote]It's possible not to hear any audible sounds an animal may make if there are a lot of background environmental noises to obscure them.[/quote]

Sure, so what.?
If the audible component is not heard then the subsonic component is disseminated as well.
We are just talking about the decompression/
compression of air waves... nothing too profoud.
You appear to be implying that the background noises are removing the audible and letting the infra sound scare the bejesus out of the witness.
If you can show one book/paper or web site that shows this as a known fact or even just a theory can you please show me.
thanx

[quote]It was raining at the time of the incident, and was cleaned up before what was realised what had happened. [/quote]

the rain cleaned it up or did the witness as well.?

[quote]so what do you make of the witness and the whole families story. : Im talking about the hinze dam before anyone asks me [/quote]

the witness reported what they saw.

[quote]Before you call the family nutters, they are the most down to earth people ive known Yes over the last year or so ive got to known them all [/quote]

the witness reported what they saw.
And if this example is true, it sort of puts the "highly secretive" hypothesis in another light anyway.
End of the day,with yowies,sasquatch etc you have good witnesses/some bits of plaster.
thats it.
There is no other monsterous "secretive" animal that pops up everywhere that leaves so little in the way of evidence.

I understand that you think it's not a flesh and blood creature but something supernatural. I remain unconvinced.
But thanks for taking the time to explain your point of view.
As I hope I've made clear, I think there are rational explanations that may counter most of your points.
Repetition isn't going to clear the air any more, and I don't argue for the sake of arguing (especially on the Internet).
So I'll just rest my case.

BACK TO THE ELEPHANTS

Okay, I'll toss my hat into the ring! LOL!

And I think it is fair to start by saying that I do come from a paranormal back ground.

I have sat on the fence for years over the flesh and blood versus the paranormal aspect of the whole Yowie/bigfoot phenomenum, and could never really make up my mind!
After reading many books on both subjects and recently reading Hunt for the Skinwalker, I truely believe that both sides are right!

I think while they are here on our turf they are flesh and blood...but I think the longer they are here the less real they become (I know, now you are all sure I'm insane, but bare with me while I try to get my thoughts accross!)

I think they get here from somewhere else, like a slip or a portal or a window, whatever you want to call it. I think that they can survive for awhile here, maybe the bigger they are the longer they can stay, maybe some are more atune to the vibrations or whatever you want to call it here, than others. I think this is why you can get a spate of sightings in rediculous places like England, where common sense tells you that they just can't possibly be. I think that eventually they either just fade away, or slip back to where they come from.

I think the whole phenomon are entwined....and I mean Yowies, Ufo's Ghosts, poltegeist, lake monsters, the whole kit and kabbodle, spring from the same source.
The same sourse that gave us Dragons and faries and trolls...all those years ago. I think the problem is to work out what the force or point of origin is, then we will "capture" the" monsters"

Okay...I'll duck for cover now! Thanks for bearing with me guys!

Hi Fulcrum
I agree with Dawn on this...


[quote]But thanks for taking the time to explain your point of view.[/quote]

no problems.

[quote]As I hope I've made clear, I think there are rational explanations that may counter most of your points.[/quote]

I have gone down this path asking these questions for years and never had them answered so its not looking good.
And every year with no evidence just strengths my kooky ideas anyway.
I dont know what the wacky beasties are..I just know, on the evidence available..what they are not.

Four stages of acceptance: i) this is worthless nonsense; ii) this is an interesting, but perverse, point of view; iii) this is true, but quite unimportant; iv) I always said so.
B.S.Haldane

See, what dawn said was while they're here, they're flesh & blood.

I've read Hunt for the Skinwalker too, and while there are some kick-arse ideas in the book, I still like to believe they're purely flesh & blood. If they were more of a paranormal entity, that would totally kill the whole thing for me I think. I've seen a few ghosts.. so i'd hate to think something i've wanted to encounter for along time is no more than an extaggerated ghost.

[quote] believe they're purely flesh & blood[/quote]

Sure..but the only way to do that is to go"I dont know" to all the problems I keep pointing out,ignore the massive holes in the f/b ideas and that there is virtually no evidence...continue on for more years...find nothing......
Until what.?

[quote]If they were more of a paranormal entity, that would totally kill the whole thing for me I think.[/quote]

Why, they would still be undiscovered/profoudly weird.....

[quote]so i'd hate to think something i've wanted to encounter for along time is no more than an extaggerated ghost[/quote]

But, as Dawn said, they can be flesh and blood ...sometimes.
What difference would it make to your experience.
You would still have the ?? sacred out of you.