Since 1958, thousands of large bipedal footprints have been found throughout North America. These footprints are said to be tracks left behind by Bigfoot. Footprints are the most common form of evidence to support their existence. A plaster cast or photograph of the prints are often taken. The footprints come in a variety of sizes, with the average length being 16 inches long.
Many of the plaster casts have been looked at by professionals and are said to contain dermal ridges. Dermal ridges are are similar to fingerprints, and all known primates have them. They are also found only on primates. Some argue that these dermal ridges can be easily faked. In 2005, Matt Crowley reported that under certain conditions plaster casts will form to resemble having dermal ridges.
Midtarsal break
Many prints found have a feature that is referred to as a midtarsal break. This occurs when the foot bends before taking the next stride. This is common in most apes, but is not found on humans.
Footprint Spacing
The spacing between prints is often referred to as the creatures stride or gait. This distance is often in excess of three feet. Experts say this distance would be difficult, if not impossible to hoax.
Mistaken Identity
It has been shown that tracks of other animals can be mistaken for Bigfoot tracks. Often people will find bear tracks that look similar to that of large human footprints. Multiple tracks can also be pressed together forming what looks to be one big track. Another common instance is animal tracks being munipulated from the melting of snow that causes them to appear bigger and a different shape.
Jeff Meldrum
Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum is an Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State University. He is cosidered to be one of the world's foremost experts on Bigfoot and is best known for his scientific approach to the Bigfoot phenomenon. Meldrum has looked at thousands of prints and has found features such as dermal ridges and a midtarsal break.
Jimmy Chilcutt
Jimmy Chilcutt is a fingerprint expert that formerly did police work for 18 years. His interest in Bigfoot came after seeing a documentary with Jeff Meldrum talking about dermal ridges. He soon began to examine the tracks for himself and soon became a believer. Chilcutt is highly respected in his field and has fingerprints from every known primate.
