Palo Alto (ECN) - The highly anticipated Bigfoot press conference proved to be less than shocking.
Tom Biscardi held the press conference in Palo Alto, Calif., in conjunction with Matthew Whitton and Rick Dye, the two hunters who allegedly found the creature.
The men did not actually reveal the Bigfoot, but promised some "fine scientists" will do the autopsy.
"Starting Monday I should have assembled some fine scientists that will do the autopsy to find the origin and death of this creature, and at that point in time we will make it known and hopefully we'll get somebody to come in and film it," Biscardi told reporters, "to show it to the world as it's being done. I want to get to the bottom of it."
Of three samples in a preliminary DNA test, one came back inconclusive, one contained traces of human DNA and one had traces of opossum DNA — probably from something the creature ate, they said.
The press conference didn't do much to ease sceptics who believe the whole thing is a promotional stunt by Biscardi who coincidentally runs a tourism business based on the legendary creature.
"I've had interactions with Tom Biscardi in the past, and based on that history, I would say that anything he is involved in is suspect," Jeffery Meldrum told Scientific American. "The fact that the two Georgian men turned to him and not anyone with scientific credentials is very questionable."
In the photo released by the men, their Bigfoot can be seen stuffed inside a large freezer.
"What they are claiming to be Bigfoot in a photograph doesn't look natural," Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy in the Department of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University, told Discovery News.
"When the photo is juxtaposed next to an off-the-shelf costume, the resemblance is remarkable," added Meldrum, who is the author of the book, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science."
Perhaps U.S. Fish and Wildlife Reserve spokesman Tom Mackenzie said it best
“It’s not on endangered species on any list that we’ve got,” Mackenzie said.
