Friday, February 8, 2008

So why is North Georgia such a hotspot of Bigfoot activity?

For the past year, I have been researching Bigfoot sightings in Georgia. While there are reports of sightings in Middle and South Georgia, a good many of the reports come from North Georgia, especially in the Ridge and Valley Region and the Northeast Georgia Mountains and foothills. Taking a look at the most popular Bigfoot sightings databases, as well as local newspaper reports, one can see that many sightings come from Paulding, Coweta, Fayette, Oglethorpe, Oconee, Clarke, White, Rabun, Floyd, and Walker Counties. There are certainly reports from other areas, but these counties are in the geographical areas I mentioned above. It makes one wonder what these areas have that might attract these creatures and then produce a lot of sightings. If one looks at the map of these areas, two things jump out immediately: they are or were heavily forested at one time and human activity is on the increase there. In the case of the North Georgia Mountains, there is a lot of dense, thick forested areas, for example, the Chattahoochee National Forest. While humans live in the vacinity and there is certainly a number of tourists and vacationers in the area, the forest is so large and spread out that there is ample room for an animal to hide and live in such a place. Perhaps the sightings in these mountains stem from the increase in tourist activity there, as well as the number of homes being built on previously unsettled mountain property. Even with the vast unsettled region there, it is inevitable that humans would run in to these creatures as humans continue to move in and explore a region that is still largely forested.
In addition, the sightings that come from the Northwest Georgia area and the southwestern part of the Atlanta metro area stem from the same idea. A look at Paulding, Coweta and Fayette County of the last decade or two will reveal that the areas were, and in many places, full of forested rural areas; however, more and more development is springing up there and this may have an effect on the creatures that might reside in the woods of those areas. One need only to look at Paulding County to justify that theory. The databases online that collect sightings have more than their fair share of Paulding County stories, as well as incidents in nearby Coweta and Fayette Counties. These areas are hotbeds of human activity now, especially with the growth of communities like Fayetteville, Newnan, Peachtree City, Tyrone, and Dallas. Perhaps humans are interupting these animals' feeding and migratory habits in these areas with our building, traffic, and business activities. If the forests in these places are the homes of these creatures, perhaps we are causing such a disturbance with our development and other activities that they cannot help but to run up on humans and cross paths with the occassional travelers, hunters, and land developers. What are your thoughts? Do you live in one of these areas and have a perspective or even better, a sighting to report?

6 comments:

JSwey said...

As a resident of Tyrone i can testify as to the rapid growth. I would be interested to see some of the specific locations in my area where people have reported sightings. Is there a site that reports these sightings?

The Professor said...

Oh yeah, several actually. I would first check out the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. It can be found at bfro.net on the internet. Also take a look at gcbro.com, which is the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization. Both of these groups have regularly maintained databases. In addition, and for more insight on the Elkins Creek sighting in nearby Pike County, take a look at Georgiabigfoot.com. Your area and vacinity produces quite a bit of activity, whether it really is a bigfoot creature or not.

Lady Em said...

I'm from Oconee county, born and raised. I personally never heard of any sightings in the county. I would like to hear about the sightings in Oconee and Clarke county.

Captain Steve Monk said...

I can really identify with the expansion in rural areas of Georgia, particularly the North Georgia area. I live in Pickens County and things have been expanding rapidly here. Still, there are a lot of wooded mountain wilderness left up here.

Bigfoot is definitely still in the North Georgia area, in fact, I have one source who tells me that he thinks their populations are on the increase. He lives on the outskirts of the Chattahoochee National Forest not far from here and tells me that he has established somewhat of a habituation type relationship with some of these creatures, putting out food for them and trying to learn more about them. It's a touch and go process that takes a lot of time and patience, years in fact.

I've worked hard to establish contact with people like this person through my work here at the Georgia Bigfoot Society. There is more that I could tell you but not on an open forum such as this. If you are interested I can be contacted at GeorgiaBigfootSociety@yahoo.com. I am always interested in talking with people who have a serious interest in learning more about these mysterious and illusive creatures. And my door is always open to anyone who has had an encounter with one and wants to talk about it.

By the way, I loved your book, Bigfoot In Georgia and am looking forward to any updated edition you may happen to publish.

K. Steven Monk
Georgia Bigfoot Society
http://GeorgiaBigfootSociety.webs.com

Jan C Allen Sr said...

I am the Owner/Director Of the GEORGIA BIGFOOT RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION and have worked Investigations in Coweta, Heard and North West Georgia for years.
The G.B.R.I Team has been in existence since 1962.
We are now working Bigfoot Activity in Heard County and have an Expedition planned for North West Georgia in April where we documented 7 of these creatures from 1987 to 1996. Expeditions resumed in April of 2010 to this area where we have found evidence that these creatures are still in the area Our web site is located at www.wix.com/JCAllen/Sasquatch

Unknown said...

I live in Jackson County, just outside of Jefferson, Ga. My son burst through our front door one early morning scared to death and was saying that he thought he had just seen a bigfoot. He had been waiting on his bus, He said he glanced up at the neighbors yard and he saw a large dark figure moving across the yard. He said the figure was walking on two legs and was as tall as the wood fence in the back of the house, the fence is eight feet tall. I did not find any footprints. I know whatever it was scared him to the point he would not stand at the road in the early morning, he always would sit on our porch from then on.