Wildlife biologist Phillip Buser brings over two decades of scientific expertise to the contentious subject of Sasquatch in his debut book What in the World is a Sasquatch? Released by Defiance Press and Publishing, the book aims to present readers with comprehensive evidence surrounding the legendary creature.
Drawing on his professional background and extensive research, Buser devoted a year to writing the book, meticulously reviewing documentaries, literature, and podcast interviews. “The research process revealed numerous facets of the Sasquatch phenomenon I had previously overlooked,” says Buser. “That process of discovery was truly fascinating.”
As an active wildlife biologist who views his scientific knowledge as divinely inspired, Buser brings a unique perspective to the subject. Rather than advocating for a particular position, he presents readers with often-omitted details about Sasquatch evidence, empowering them to draw their own informed conclusions.
The book challenges conventional approaches to Sasquatch research, with Buser noting, “We’ve been searching for Sasquatch diligently for over half a century…and are no closer to proving it’s an undiscovered primate.” This observation sets up his critical examination of traditional Sasquatch investigation methods.
Currently in production as an audiobook, What in the World is a Sasquatch? marks the first of several planned works from Buser, who aims to continue publishing while maintaining his wildlife biology career.
Excerpt from What in the World is a Sasquatch?
Chapter 1- Introduction
There have been hundreds of reported sightings and encounters of Sasquatch across North America. Many reports come from ordinary citizens. Others come from police officers, civic officials, and people with a professional reputation on the line. But the one thing these people have in common besides Sasquatch is
that they are willing to be ridiculed by their peers for saying out loud what they encountered.
It’s hard to imagine that all these people would make up a story in order to be shamed by others. These people encountered ‘something,’ so what did they encounter? When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, the term ‘Bigfoot’ had become mainstream and most everyone knew it referred to a large-footed creature hiding in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. Before the term ‘Bigfoot’ became part of culture’s lexicon, reported encounters described a wild man, a hairy man, and even a forest monster. The descriptions often were similar to the famed ‘Abominable Snowman of the Himalaya’ that was popularized in Nepal in 1921. The original explorers that attempted to climb Mount Everest told reporters about seeing large footprints in the snow during their climbing expeditions. These initial reports to the Western World were then supported by Sherpa folklore of the Yeti. The stories of the Yeti began to inspire reports of Sasquatch encounters as the abominable snowman of the Americas.
The term Bigfoot was originally coined by a pair of reporters in northern California in the late 1950s. The original rise in popularity occurred in large part due to the Patterson-Gimlin film which became public in 1967. Remember the grainy, jarring video of Bigfoot walking across a rocky creek bed in Northern California? With this lone piece of video footage, a Bigfoot, or now more commonly referred to as Sasquatch, was still considered something of a myth—a little more real than unicorns, and about as likely to be seen as the Loch Ness Monster. I also grew up under the notion that the Sasquatch was seen by extremely few individuals in the most remote parts of the Pacific Northwest. And the odds of being able to see a Sasquatch was about equal to the odds of seeing the Loch Ness Monster.
When I was in college, I majored in Wildlife Biology. I would occasionally hear other students and professors talk about the myth of Sasquatch. From their skepticism, it became clear to me that the scientific community did not accept the possibility that Sasquatch was anything more than a fairy tale. Thus, from that influence, I accepted the same notion. It wasn’t until I was in graduate school that I began to hear stories of sightings occurring in other parts of the country and throughout North America. I heard about the 1970s documentary/movies The Legend of Boggy Creek and The Legend of Bigfoot. I also learned that sightings occurred at a frequency much greater than the lottery-jackpot winning chances I had been led to believe. At this point I began to take a more curious interest in the subject matter of Sasquatch. However, the amount of publicized information regarding Sasquatch was still rather limited. There would be the occasional ‘Bigfoot Special’ on various television shows, but that was still before everything imaginable could be found on the internet as is the case today.
I would have to say that it wasn’t until the television show Finding Bigfoot began airing on television in 2011, and the sixth season of Survivorman—Bigfoot, that more information became readily available and easier to access for someone interested in learning about Sasquatch. Websites, podcasts, documentaries, docuseries, and television specials had newfound opportunities for people to share their experiences, information, and theories. The internet had grown in popularity and availability, so that people can ‘surf the web’ at any time. And streaming services began to provide an economical method of viewing a wider variety of documentaries and special interest shows. I can’t fathom a guess as to how many hours I have spent watching, listening, and reading various media outlets about a Sasquatch subject. From all that, I found that the various theories which attempt to answer the glaring question, What is a Sasquatch? and the attempts to argue support for these theories, tend to come up short, or they blatantly leave massive gaps in their evidentiary analysis. A number of great books argue the existence of Sasquatch and detail the physical evidence to support that Sasquatch is in fact something real. Books like North America’s Great Ape: the Sasquatch by Dr. John Bendernagel, and Sasquatch – The Apes Among Us by John Green give compelling evidence to conclude that Sasquatch isn’t just a myth or fairy tale. And great websites and podcasts highlight many of the various encounters that people have had with Sasquatch. But what is a Sasquatch?
The search for information about Sasquatch has led to the rise in a new branch of science termed cryptozoology, which is the study of species not yet fully recognized. The scientific community has not fully recognized Sasquatch because there is a lack of evidence. There is not a deceased body to study in a lab. There is not a captured specimen in a zoo for researchers to observe. No one like Jane Goodall and Diane Fossey has been able to live among a group of Sasquatches to learn their behaviors. Therefore, Sasquatch is often referred to as a cryptid—a species that is not yet fully recognized by the scientific community.
Other creatures around the world have characteristics similar to the Sasquatch—a large, hairy human-like being that walks on two feet. Most notable is the Yeti of the Himalaya region. But there is also the Russian Almas, or Almasty. Reports of the Yeren occur throughout China. In Southeast Asia, the Orang Pendek is the hairy wild man that people encounter. In Iraq and the Middle East, people report encounters with the Dev (short for devil—frightening!). Even in Australia, reports of people encountering the Yowie which has its roots in Aboriginal history.
I have been a professional wildlife biologist for over twenty years. I have been an avid outdoorsman my entire life. And I am truly fascinated with the discovery process of knowledge that is science! I am not a Sasquatch hunter per se, as I have not gone out in the woods to specifically try to find Sasquatch. I have had some unexplainable experiences while out in nature, and I have found Sasquatch to be interesting subject matter on multiple levels. If you want to call me a skeptic, so be it. In the following chapters, I will give my critical review of the primary theories for the existence of Sasquatch, the support for each theory, and the glaring gaps in evidence for those theories.
This book is not intended to read like a doctoral dissertation, but rather a plain, practical discussion of the known evidence regarding Sasquatch. I want everyone that reads this book to be able to discern for themselves what a Sasquatch is, or isn’t. Whether you agree with my analysis or not is irrelevant. The point is that you can follow the scientific method for yourself:
Make observations—What shows have you watched? What books have you read? Have you had experiences in the woods? Can you draw from any of these experiences?
• Ask questions—Does that make sense?
• Formulate a hypothesis—Do you agree with other theories, or do you have your own theory?
• Test your hypothesis / gather evidence and data— Continue researching.
• Draw conclusions based on your evidence—Are your results repeatable for others?
• Share your conclusions with others—Let others critique your process and findings. A scientist’s greatest role is to critically review the published results of others. Then, and only then, can you critically look at any point of view regarding Sasquatch (and any other topic); know the pros and cons of the various theories; and make an informed decision for yourself.
