Evolutionary Adaptive Advantages to Sasquatch Mid Tarsal Break

The more you watch/read about Sasquatch, the more you'll see about how the real footprints frequently show what Dr. Jeff Meldrum identified as a "mid-tarsal break," which is essentially a flexibility in a Bigfoot's big foot that allows it to bend upwards in the middle. Human beings like us don't have this bend. We have some flexibility in our feet and toes, but nowhere near what a Bigfoot apparently has.


I was wondering just what kind of evolutionary advantage this might have for these critters when considering their larger size, home environments, and witness and video reports that indicate the famous Sasquatch "float," in which the creature's head remains relative stable and without a lot of bobbing up and down as it walks or runs.

I'm no physiologist, but it seems to me that having a mid-tarsal break would come in very handy if you were trying to run uphill fast, and it could also provide you with additional levered push for rapid acceleration from a standing start on flat ground. It would be the equivalent of Olympic sprinters using blocks at the starting line.


The added angular bend would seem to spread out the force of the push along the length of the entire leg, rather than having it concentrate mostly in the knees and hips. Coupled with the Sasquatch's longer arms, which they also use occasionally as a quadruped for support and propulsion, this would probably allow them to bolt up relatively steep slopes at shocking speed, which has sometimes been reported. The speed gained with this added leverage would also be very useful in overcoming the inertia of their huge mass and running down and capturing deer and other smaller mammals for food. In effect, this allows the front ball of a Sasquatch foot to act as a heel, and indeed many Bigfoot footprints have a relatively narrow heel.

As many of the footprints show, Bigfoots also tend to curl and grasp with their toes when they walk. Try this, and you'll notice how that spring in your step is almost eliminated, and with the extra tarsal bend, it's easy to see how Bigfoots appear to smoothly float or skate through forested areas, again making it easier to both catch prey and clearly monitor their surroundings for human interlopers.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting because if these footprints are mostly hoaxes, as many people believe, then it's curious that the hoaxers would come up with a kind of adaptation that would make perfect sense for an animal like Bigfoot to have given their huge size, where they live, and how they hunt. Pretty good guess.

Interesting post. I would have to assume an upward flexibility would require an insane amount of muscle and/ or tendon strength, which in regards muscle would include vastly more physical impressions in the print.

I dont buy it, they weigh a supposed crap ton, say 800lbs, why wouldnt they evolve along the lines of a goat or a horse , with the inverse aspect of the lower leg to the upper. Horses navigate ravines in excess of 1000lbs.

Bipedals over 250lbs develop a breakdown of the arch and plantar fascitis...I think the premise is bubkus...but hey, im no bigfootologist

My friend saw one up close less then 2 years ago. less then 20 feet. He could clearly see its face and the expression it made. He was very afraid for his life. He doesn't think they are here all the time. Like extra dimensional or something.

Could have something to do with the reports of them switching from bipedal locomotion to quadrupedal almost seamlessly.

originally posted by: BlueJacket
I dont buy it, they weigh a supposed crap ton, say 800lbs, why wouldnt they evolve along the lines of a goat or a horse , with the inverse aspect of the lower leg to the upper. Horses navigate ravines in excess of 1000lbs.

Fair enough. But they are hybrid hominids, after all, and not ruminants, so they had to work with what they had. As for the increased muscles and ligaments, maybe that's why their feet are so big and flat. All of that extra support is hidden under a layer of fatty tissue for protection.

Anyway, you could be right. Maybe somebody out there who is a sports medicine doctor will weigh in.

originally posted by: visitedbythem
My friend saw one up close less then 2 years ago. less then 20 feet. He could clearly see its face and the expression it made. He was very afraid for his life. He doesn't think they are here all the time. Like extra dimensional or something.

I don't buy the extradimensional stuff. The world is big, and there are many places still in it few if any people have ever seen.

But yeah, there are a lot of reports that say these things are downright horrifying because of their sheer size and power, and because they're literally monsters that shouldn't really exist. They make some outdoorsmen afraid to go out into the wilderness again.

originally posted by: putnam6
Could have something to do with the reports of them switching from bipedal locomotion to quadrupedal almost seamlessly.

I have seen one jump to the ground from around 15 foot. It landed solid on two feet without bending at the knees.
It then dropped on all fours and ran like a scalded-ass ape. Unbelievably fast.

a reply to: Blue Shift

This epic and terrifying up close encounter produced a different type of footprint.

Language warning/Sexual content. 😂😂😂

youtu.be...

originally posted by: skunkape23

originally posted by: putnam6
Could have something to do with the reports of them switching from bipedal locomotion to quadrupedal almost seamlessly.

I have seen one jump to the ground from around 15 foot. It landed solid on two feet without bending at the knees.
It then dropped on all fours and ran like a scalded-ass ape. Unbelievably fast.

Ive never seen one, but numerous accounts that Ive read or heard say basically the same thing. Its got to be an remarkable experience, life altering...

a reply to: Blue Shift

no, we have no concept of what they are, if they are at all. Hybrids of 2 things we have no demonstrable data on? I too muse about cryptids, but what are you using to make these claims? The advanced dnd monster manual?

a reply to: Blue Shift

Happenstance you post this, as I had the good fortune of visiting the Bigfoot Museum in Willow Creek just earlier this month. The foot and it’s composite of two large flexible pads caught my eye as well.

What a neat OP. Thank you

Excellent thread. It's something I've pondered too.

I'm not sure its a mid tarsal break.

They seem to walk with a compliant gait where they don't appear to lock their knees like humans do. That would keep their head level and their locomotion smooth accounting for the gliding like walk they have.

I've tried walking with a compliant gait before just to explore what advantages it would have. I too got the smooth glide like walk with no head bobbing. I also found that although it required more thigh strength and stamina it gave me better traction and a longer gait allowing faster more stable movement over rough terrain.

When I stopped to see what my tracks looked like when I did this on soft wet sand I noticed my tracks had what resembled a mid tarsal break from how my centre of gravity rolls from the heel through to the ball of the foot and then levering off.

Also the form of locomotion was easier when I loweredy centre of gravity by slouching and leaning slightly toward. It lent its self naturally yo a more pendulous swing to my arms.

a reply to: Blue Shift

Thats because of their immense size,plus they have bigger feet,and they are built to have extreme running speed,the ultimate preditor

Great thread topic!

I tend to lean that the mid-tarsal break makes for better climbing and running on steep slopes. Dr. Meldrum in a very early Discovery channel video has maintained this stance for years (as he said in the end of the below video).



There's also a good write-up here by Dr. Meldrum (in pdf form) from back in 2004 that is worth a look on the subject.
Midfoot Flexibility, Fossil Footprints, and Sasquatch Steps: New Perspectives on the Evolution of Bipedalism

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: Blue Shift

no, we have no concept of what they are, if they are at all. Hybrids of 2 things we have no demonstrable data on? I too muse about cryptids, but what are you using to make these claims? The advanced dnd monster manual?

I've been reviewing the available data, including the latest videos and audio recordings, along with the many eyewitness reports, case studies and historical accounts. Of course, it would be nice if there was a corpus. Even in the rare instances when a hunter manages to kill one, or one is found dead after a natural disaster, making it public is very problematic. But until that happens, I'm just using the available data as a jumping off point to speculate as to possible reasons this particular often-reported feature might exist from a physiological perspective.

originally posted by: putnam6

originally posted by: skunkape23

originally posted by: putnam6
Could have something to do with the reports of them switching from bipedal locomotion to quadrupedal almost seamlessly.

I have seen one jump to the ground from around 15 foot. It landed solid on two feet without bending at the knees.
It then dropped on all fours and ran like a scalded-ass ape. Unbelievably fast.

Ive never seen one, but numerous accounts that Ive read or heard say basically the same thing. Its got to be an remarkable experience, life altering...

I can only contain my smirk when someone says with some air of personal authority that there is no such thing as Sasquatch.
It's pointless to argue.
I just ask them how much time they have spent in desolate forested mountains.
You will not see this creature sitting on the couch and watching television.
I have spent months living in wilderness.
Not looking for anything in particular, but once in a while you may get lucky.
They are a real thing. I avoid the "do you believe?"
I don't believe anything.
I know based on experience.

a reply to: skunkape23

i am sat wondering what size " impact crater " such a drop would generate in various substrates