Bigfoot-Giganto Theory: Does an Ancient Giant Ape Still Walk the Earth?

In a 1935 an anthropologist named Ralph von Koenigswald discovered remnants of a genus of giant prehistoric ape in a Hong Kong apothecary shop. This amazing creature came to be called Gigantopithecus. The largest species, Gigantopithecus blacki, stood ten feet tall and weighed nearly 1,200 pounds. Paleontologists believe Gigantopithecus inhabited areas of Asia and went extinct during the Pleistocene Epoch, around 300,000 years ago.

Relatively few Gigantopithecus fossils have been found; what we know of the creature has been extrapolated from fossilized teeth and jaw bones. Based on educated assumptions, it’s understood that Gigantopithecus was a ground-dwelling animal who survived on vegetation, possibly bamboo. Most researchers believe Gigantopithecus walked on all fours like an orangutan, its closest living relative. However, some hold to the idea that Gigantopithecus may have been bipedal. Since there are no fossils of hip or leg bones on record, it is impossible to know for certain.

Several theories exist to explain the extinction of Gigantopithecus, ranging from the inadequacy of its diet, to climate change to competition with early humans, or even predation by humans. However, one interesting theory may not only explain what happened to Gigantopithecus, but solve another of the world’s great mysteries.

During the Pleistocene Epoch sea levels were lower due to ice-age conditions and massive glaciers. This allowed a land bridge to form between Asia and North America: the Bering Land Bridge. Early humans, as well as other animal species, crossed this land bridge some 15,000 years ago, migrating from Asia to North America. Could Gigantopithecus have made this trek as well?

Some believe that living relatives of Gigantopithecus could account for sightings of North America’s Bigfoot. Many theorized qualities seem identical. Both are large primates, both (possibly) bipedal. It’s an easy jump in logic, given the similarities between the creatures.

What assumptions need to become fact for this hypothesis to work? For one thing, there is a huge gap in time between the assumed die off of Gigantopithecus and the estimated window when the Bering Land Bridge would have been negotiable. Gigantopithecus would have had to survive this time period, for which we have no fossil record. Along those lines, there is no fossil record of any large ape in North America. Bigfoot-Giganto advocates argue that this is reasonable, considering the relatively minute amount of evidence that presently exists for an animal that lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Thus, there may well be Gigantopithecus remains yet to be discovered in North America.

Gigantopithecus would have also had to change its diet to exist in its new world. Would it be possible for a species dedicated to a specific diet and environment to adapt to such dramatic changes? Indeed, numerous species that traversed the Bering Land Bridge are shown to have adapted significantly to their new environments. And, if we assume Gigantopithecus was a highly intelligent creature, we can compare its circumstance to that of one of its relatives: Homo sapiens.

Even if one refuses to accept the existence of Bigfoot or Sasquatch, Gigantopithecus still gives some explanation into the pervasive belief in this elusive ape. Sightings of Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Yeti, the Skunk Ape and other various versions of this creature are not a recent phenomenon. Native Americans have known of this creature’s existence long before Europeans ever came to America. If Bigfoot does not exist, then what accounts for this long history with native people?

North American Native American tribes are not known to have used written language before European contact. Many times, Native American stories and traditions were passed on by spoken word. Is it possible that ancient stories of Gigantopithecus were carried on for thousands of years, repeated in the folklore of native people? This would account for the stories of Bigfoot passed on by Native American people, but does little to explain more recent sightings.

Another interesting and slightly more bizarre theory is that of ancestral memories. Ancestral memories are memories and experiences believed to pass from generation to generation. In other words, you are born with certain knowledge and beliefs. Granted, this concept is as hard to swallow as the Bigfoot-Giganto Theory, but it would explain why we are so inclined to believe that mystical creatures still lurk in the dark of the forest. Again, this theory doesn't help to explain recent sightings.

Certainly it's possible, but the theory does have many holes. Even granting the behavioral adaptations Gigantopithecus would have had to make to accomplish such a migration, it seems unlikely that such a large creature could go undetected for so long. Too many questions remain unanswered to appease the unbelievers. Until a body or some other form of undisputable evidence is found, skeptics will not be convinced.

Stories of Bigfoot have intrigued people for thousands of years. Perhaps an ancient, long-thought-extinct North American ape lurks in the depths of the woods. On the other hand, perhaps it’s all in our heads. Maybe we need to consider another explanation for the legend of Bigfoot, particularly since there is no shortage of witnesses, yet camera traps and Bigfoot researchers continually come up empty. For instance, could Bigfoot be a forest spirit of some kind, and not a flesh-and-blood animal at all?

Now that is a question for another day!

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