Swamp Ape/ Bigfoot... Some compelling video taken in Jan 2015.

a reply to: MrWendal
You can hear the splashing, its a bit muffled by the other noises especially the guy in the canoe, but its there. In the zoomed part you can literally see it turn and look at the guy when he pulls the paddles into the boat and makes noise, then it slaps the water with what looks to be a stick or it could be a snake, then it gets in and walks away making noticeable and heard splashes. And it could be a snake, whatever its got in its hand is flapping around and not really straight like a stick would be while walking around in the water. I dont think it caught it while it was drinking, it probably had it in its hand the whole time before it got there.

a reply to: Ringlerum
Well if what you say has any hint of reality. And if bigfoot existed and if they had a taste for meat. Well I do not think that anybody who ran into one and had up close and personal footage of one would make it back to tell the tale or show the video. Pretty freaky, but who know eh. I have heard anything that there supposed to be the missing link, to they were dumped here by aliens, to there from another dimension.

So really! I think the scariest thing if you came up to one face to face would be that there just another animal in the wild. I do not think one would survive that encounter, they seem pretty big, at probably weigh at least 600 pounds. That one in the vid if it was a real flesh and blood creature well it would not be a lightweight and by the way it trudges through the water it does look like its real. I have walked through, if not a swamp, but at least bogg water, you step in it and you sink half a foot into the mud, after that you literally have to pull you feet out and push with all you got to take another step.

Anyways it would not be something that one would run into one night in a state park and just be able to push around, probably not even run away from either. If it was real and this is not some hoax or something. I mean if you could go there you can at least get to know that area and see how deep the water is, then you would at least know how easy of a time a guy in a monkey suit would have it trying to walk through that area, you know.

Spooky stuff either way.

I am a believer. But out of all the videos I have watched, very few are even remotely believable. Most can be debunked pretty easily, whether its an obvious guy in a suit, or a "blob squatch" This one is very compelling to me. When i first saw this thread I thought "great, another obvious fake" but as soon as I watched it I knew there was something different here. Sure, its possible that maybe potential hoaxers are upping their game. But I don't think anyone is dumb enough to get out in the middle of a Florida swamp just for the sake of a hoax. Perhaps the most compelling thing to me is how the subject in the video appears to be interacting and just behaving naturally in its environment. The subject is clearly drinking, and then the whole snake thing just adds to it. Even ass the creature moves off it just looks very "non human".

Of course I can't say its 100% a bigfoot. No one can. But it is leaps and bounds better than 95% of the other videos we have seen. I read someone talking about it being fake because it is "human sized". Its kinda hard to gauge its heighty and size. It appears to be fairly bulky. Not appearing to be 8 foot tall is a non factor for me. Because if Bigfoot is real, they aren't just born 8 feet tall. I would assume there would be child size and juvenile sized ones as well.

But yeah, all in all, this is a very interesting video.

a reply to: GArnold

Huh........very interesting footage, and it's no bear! What it is, I don't know......

I do have a couple of questions, though, for the video maker. When the creature seemed to come closer, weren't you worried? It's not small, after all, and could be dangerous. When it went underwater, you went closer?!?!?!? I'd have been exiting stage right at warp twelve!

I agree, the sort of area that is wold be a bad one to wade in, for a person. Tons of gators, snakes, spiders, turtles, and whatnot in the swamps. Not a place I'd wade! Certainly not in a costume, which would restrict vision.

Definitely interesting footage, and I don't know what to think. Except that I will read the rest of the responses, and check other opinions. Lots of areas in Florida something big could hide, for certain. Even close to cities.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Here you go...

After viewing, I would say that is VERY compelling. It appears it is drinking with it's hand in the first part of the video then begins to move. One reason I think it is very compelling is the movement of the animal, I also see near the end that it hits a rather decent sized tree and the tree very noticeably moves from side to side suggesting there is some real weight to the animal....nice video!

See the part of the crown of his head comes to a point shortly after that if you pause and un-pause a couple time real fast you can catch the next frame of what appears to be him looking directly at the camera and his eyes are almond shaped and glowing white like that movie Riddick eyes glow. Pretty creepy!

erm... that looks pretty real to me...

Best video I've seen... IF that's a fake the people who did the fakery need to go to Hollywood

Matt M? Is that Matt Moneymaker?

After looking at this video several times, whatever that thing is, is real. Its a real creature. But the question is, what the hell are we looking at? Is that Bigfoot? Is that the Skunk Ape? Something else?

Nice find OP

originally posted by: TXRabbit
do yourself a favor and watch it without sound and without pretext.
Skip through all the "backstory" text in the beginning and start when it shows the actual footage.
Does that change your perspective any? Also notice how the camera pans out towards the end.
Ask yourself this...if you were filming something so extraordinary, would you not be shaking like a leaf and zooming like a MF'er on it?

I've seen enough bull# UFO vids to recognize legit from not. This one falls (in MY opinion) as the later.

To me, just my opinion, you are just one of those non believing debunkers who go out of their way to disprove some otherwise pretty credible footage. Because the camera sway you think this is fake. That's a pretty thin argument if you ask me. People are all different just so you know, not everyone reacts the same in a situation like this. Just because the guy isn't doing what you think he should be doing the way you want him to do it does not mean this video is fake. You also can't compare a UFO did to a Bigfoot did, also since you think you know the difference from "legit from not" could you give us an example of a video you believe to be legit?

originally posted by: game over man
Been reading some of the youtube comments. One person pointed out, if shot in the winter there would be less snakes and alligators out. The same person said the big foot is almost the same size as a human. Another comment suggested the amount of blackness where the big foot walks through is a dead give away to a hoax. He says the actor could be wearing a big bright yellow colored suit (or any bright color), then later delete the yellow out and re-color the person black in the editing room.

I originally thought the Big Foot could have been added in, and created with computer animation software, or taken from a video game or already used animation. Now hearing that it's not out of question for it to be a guy in bright protective fishing/hunting gear then later edited, re-colored, and edges "cleaned up" with video special effects to look like a Big Foot, well that seems feasible too.

I don't think you or the youtube commenter really understand what goes into the VFX process...

You can't just take a sasquatch from a video game or "an already used animation" and insert it into a piece of footage and make it look natural like this, let alone do it and have all of the proper lighting, foliage, shadows, etc. It's possible in theory (if you did everything from scratch), but you really don't understand the process behind it.

This is not CG. It's either a dude in a monkey suit, or it's the real deal.

Here is a good example:

In the following video, most people could tell that the UFO was CG, but many didn't realize the entire scene was CG, and thought the UFO was composited into video footage (which is also possible)



Here is the VFX breakdown of the same scene:



You can see just how complex the entire process is. The process becomes even more complex in the case of the "skunk ape" video because the creature is behind the branches in the scene. It could be done in theory, but there are usually indications of CG when it is used (for people who know what to look for). I see no indications at all that this is CG.

After reading through all of the replies, I want to add a few thoughts.

1. The camera movement does NOT mean this is fake. Give me a break, people. How many videos have you personally made? I make a lot, and most have too much camera movement, especially if I am moving myself. That's on land, too, not in a canoe.

2. It does appear as though something is in one hand; either a snake or a long fish, and there are plenty of those in Florida, as well.

3. The creature does seem to move off after spotting the cameraman. Realistic, and lucky for him,, probably, too, as I am among those that believe these things aren't altogether safe or harmless.

4. As for a guy in a suit, THINK. It's a swamp. All the (should be) obvious dangers aside, the suit would be soaked in moments, and movement wold be very limited, nut just by the suit, and not just by a muddy swamp, but by a waterlogged suit in a muddy swamp. The movement in the video isn't what we wold see from some clown with no sense in a costume. It's too smooth, and too easy.

5. Knowing this is the Tampa area, I am more, not less, convinced. Why? Personal experience. No, I haven't ever seen any sort of Bigfoot-type creature, though I have seen other things. However, I know the area somewhat, and know there are plenty of places, even very close to people, where large animals could and do, hide out there. Heck, my oldest saw a cougar around one place she lived for a time, and they "officially" aren't int hat area. Another thing that makes me more convinced is subjective, but, for me, good evidence. There is a stretch of woods off 275, just past where 75 runs into it (for those familiar with the area), that flat out feels OFF. I have this way of sensing when animals are around, near roads, especially if they are going to cross. Cats are easier, but I can pick up on others as well I figure it's picking up electromagnetic signals or something. At any rate, that bit of woods off the highway feels weird. It has a dangerous feel, almost, but not quite, human. I have said for years some researchers should check that area out. Not at night, though, and please, NOT unarmed. Whatever is there, it isn't friendly. Subjective, like I said, but I know from experience how reliable the feelings are and I don't ignore them. For the poster in the area, check it out sometime, but please be very careful, and don't go alone. 3-4 people would be best, in daylight.

6. I, too, would like to see some of the surrounding video, just to show it's legit. I'd guess a helmet-cam myself, which would mean no easy zoom. The guy has guts, too, not to freak when it went under. I'd have assumed it was headed for the canoe. Then again, I'd never be out there in a canoe; I hate the way they rock! Skiff, maybe. MAYBE. The one time my husband and I got in a canoe, we both vowed was the last, for different reasons. I love boats, but canoes are a whole other ballgame, in my book! On that note, climbing into one in a swamp, in a 'squatch costume? Difficult and seriously stupid at best, more likely impossible. That alone makes this more believable.

7. Swamps are weird places, anyway. During the years we lived in the Tampa area, I saw some weird albino-looking thing, like an over-sized possum, but not a possum, cross the road, and also saw a wolf spider a good ten inches across, and no, SO not kidding or exaggerating on that one! Bad night, that! Sucker chittered at us, too, after I pegged it with a 2x4. So, swamps make for strange stuff, that mainstream science might not accept. I can believe some unknown primate, or some escaped-now-breeding population of known apes down there. Room for both.

I'd like a body, too, but suspect any and all would vanish as had so much evidence of things the establishment doesn't want to discuss has vanished in the past.

The first problem I have is that Matt M. chooses to stay anonymous.

Second, the figure is far enough away that it could be a person in a dark outfit checking their traps.

Note in the video that Matt M. says he didn't identify what it was. Likely a person transversing the swamp for some reason. If a bigfoot can walk through a swamp so can a big man.

I'm not saying it couldn't be a bigfoot, but the footage is just not clear enough to make a conclusion that it is.

a reply to: galadofwarthethird

In March, 1961,
CHARLES VOLZ was on Gilchrist Island in Florida, and walked right up to what he thought was a big tree stump, until it rose up staring at him and was just a few feet away according to what he said. He just froze still and stood there petrified while it looked at him for a bit, then it slowly backed away and finally turned and trotted out of site in large strides. Saw him retell this story on a Monsters and Mysteries episode season2 episode 6 and seemed very credible.

So perhaps some of these things aren't as aggressive as others, but I wouldn't want to test that theory myself

I don't know if this point has been brought up yet, as I am still reading. But how can we be 100% certain that this video was shot in a swamp in Florida? Perhaps this person made this video near a flooded bank in say, the Midwest. That would cast a whole new light on things.

a reply to: GArnold

wow, first impression, looks and feels real.
Maybe not a bigfoot, maybr a young one if so, but looks like an ape for sure.

originally posted by: CagliostroTheGreat
a reply to: TXRabbit

So is it your contention that this is CGI or a man in a monkey suit?

If its CGI, someone give that man a job in Hollywood. They would obviously have to be using MoCap technology to get the movements so precise and life like.

If it is a man in a suit, that dude has cajones the size and weight of your league standard bowling balls. Wading around on the swamp like that is seriously dangerous not to mention incredibly stupid.

Not to mention, if someone was going to hoax this with a suit, nobody in their right mind would pick a swamp area and make the guy in the suit spend ample time down inside of the muck and water like that. Hoaxers are stupid, but they are not THAT stupid.

Suit hoaxers will take the path of least resistance and least work.

Is it carrying something in it's right hand? When the canoe makes the loud noise it seems to jab into the water with a stick or knife of sorts, then when walking around afterwards it seems it is hanging in the right hand as the back is facing the camera.
a reply to: spazze

a reply to: DeadSeraph

Great post...I've looked at this video a lot and without any additional information from the source, you have to question. So upon observing the video, the only thing that looks fake to me is the occasional blurriness, when the Big Foot is traversing through the swamp. In particular where the Big Foot passes by branches.

In this video you can watch it 1080 HD

I'm seeing a lot of pixelation....and surely you can change the transparency of the object you are photoshopping in....

But I guess that is just me!



ETA:

Lettuce Lake Park is a 240-acre (97 ha) Hillsborough County-run park just outside the city limits of Tampa, Florida. It is located on Fletcher Avenue between Interstate 75 and the University of South Florida. The park opened in 1982.
Lettuce Lake Park features several boardwalks that wind through a variety Florida ecosystems; a fresh water wetland and flood plain, an oak-dominated hardwood forest, cypress domes, and the Hillsborough River. The park also contains a visitor's center, an observation tower, nature trails, picnic tables, barbecue pits, restrooms, an open play field, and a playground.

Wiki - Lettuce Lake Park

I don't see why no one has posted a map of Lettuce Lake. If we really think the video is authentic then we can at least figure out an area where the Big Foot might be.

Google Maps - Lettuce Lake

a reply to: game over man

Well yes, you can change transparency in photoshop, but compositing mostly uses programs like after effects or nuke. You can control transparencies in those programs as well. Could you expand on what you mean by occasional blurriness? Blur can be caused by a number of things. Motion, focus, artifacts during encoding or uploading videos, artifacts caused by resizing or compressing footage, etc. If anything, it is more difficult to fake that blur properly in a composited video, as it usually stands out like a sore thumb against the original footage if it isn't done perfectly.

I think if you truly believe this video has been altered in any way, you'd at least have to start with identifying which portions of it you think are altered. Is it the entire scene? Just the creature? The creature and the background? The creature and the foreground/midground?

I am by no means an expert in CG, but I have studied VFX in college and know enough about it that I can usually spot it quite easily (even in extremely well done productions). I honestly don't see any indications that this video has been faked, at least as far as CG is concerned. It's certainly possible it could have been hoaxed in other ways (say a live action set, or guy in a suit out in the boonies, etc).

The interesting thing about the video is when the chain sound happens in the boat (I'm thinking anchor) you can see the "Bigfoot" motion his head fast like something startled him, the he started moving out. To fake that would be pretty hard if someone was wearing a suit, almost impossible. A person would have to ACT like he was startled from a sound about 100 feet away...while walking in water and wearing a suit.

You can especially see this on the zoomed in version. Anyways, my two cents.