I was watching a show for a few minutes the other night. Expedition Bigfoot I think it was called taking place in Oregon. In it the researchers interviewed a lady who was supposed to be some type of outdoor expert. She said she saw bigfoot and 3 bears while out in the mountains. She said 2 of the 3 bears she saw were definitely grizzlies. Who knew. I didn't know there were any in Oregon. I hope the grizzlies make their way down to California too.
There are certainly no DOCUMENTED grizzlies in Oregon. There are local rumors here and there of bears with humps. My suspicion is misidentification but that's not a certainty. I've spent some time tracking down the sources of some of the rumors. I'm told that ODFW was involved in the release of a problem male grizzly (captured out of state) somewhere near Crater Lake NP. And, just as grizzly / polar bear crosses are rare but exist, grizzly / black bear crosses have occurred. So .. a string of maybes, but not out of the question. The thing that leads me to discount it, more than improbability, is behavior. Bad grizzlies are bad grizzlies. There should be a pattern of torn up cabins and / or encounters with humans if an already bad grizzly were dropped in the area. There is also the possibility of a bear going for a long walk .. similar to the one that wolf OR-7 went on before establishing the Rogue Pack (where DID the female come from, anyway?).
I have a few trail cam pictures of a very blond bear. Unlike the blonde-phase black bears I've seen, this little gal has a very long, shaggy blonde outer coat. (Short black hair on her face and a black undercoat.) She's in the right place if the story about ODFW is true.
So, though I doubt the report is accurate, it is not completely impossible.
Bigfoot .. different story. I sure HOPE they are real, 'cause I've seen 2, almost 40 years apart, and if they aren't real, that creates a serious problem for me. I can tell you for sure there was no possibility of mis-identification in either case, too close, too clear. So if bigfoot doesn't exist, I'm either lying to you or I've got some sort of mental illness. You have 3 choices to pick from.
(I don't really care which you pick, "truth" isn't a matter of vote.)
Tom
