SC EP:519 John Bindernagel Tribute

Feeling a little down and thinking about the Doc.

John Albert Bindernagel (December 22, 1941 – January 17, 2018) was a wildlife biologist who sought evidence for Bigfoot since 1963. He published a book in 1998 entitled North America's Great Ape: the Sasquatch (ISBN 0-9682887-0-7). His second book, The Discovery of the Sasquatch – Reconciling Culture, History, and Science in the Discovery Process, was published in 2010.

Bindernagel grew up in Ontario, attended the University of Guelph, and received a PhD in Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.He moved to British Columbia in 1975largely because the region was a hot spot for Bigfoot sightings. Over the years, he collected casts of tracks that he believed belonged to Bigfoot. He also claimed to have heard the creature near Comox Lake in 1992, comparing its whooping sound to that of a chimpanzee. Bindernagel believed that the Bigfoot phenomena should receive more attention from serious scientists, but remarked, "The evidence doesn't get scrutinized objectively. We can't bring the evidence to our colleagues because it's perceived as taboo."

Bindernagel was a true pioneer in the field of cryptozoology and was a regular on the classic History Channel show MonsterQuest. Bindernagel and Dr. Jeff Meldrum often appeared together on the show and had a real-life friendship. Together they formed the bedrock of the Bigfoot Research Community. Bindernagel was a familiar face on the History Channel appearing on a number of their specials.