WHAT IS HABITUATION:
Habituation is important in filtering the large amounts of information received from the surrounding environment. By habituating to less important signals, an animal can focus its attention on the most important features of its environment. A good example of this is species that rely on alarm calls to convey information about predators. In this case animals stop giving alarm calls when they become familiar with other species in their environment that turn out not to be predators. Habituation is an important component of "not crying wolf" when non-threatening animals come close.
Can this happen in Bigfoot Research? Can we get a Bigfoot to trust us?
Here is a cut from the July 19, 2007 show of the Sasquatch Triangle show on blogtalk radio. If anyone has any problems about this being posted .. just let me know and it will be removed.
There are a few stories out there that point to this happening in the past.
Mike (watch1)
____________________ There's something out there talking and it ain't no man!
The word HABITUATION makes me want to review the works of Jane Goodall and Lynn Rogers (black bears in Michigan, I think I remember). There has been habituation work with bonobos. Food was used as a social lubricant in one case of bonobo habituation.
I think the best chances of accomplishing habituation are by a landowner who's propery happens to be within the greater hunting foraging territory of a particular bigfoot troop or family group. The land ower has the advantage of operation longevity; lots of time to try many different things to intrigue the curiosities of one or more of our favorite varmints. Also, the bigfoots might recognize the landowners home as a territory center of the human family's group, a territory that just happens to overlap a small part of the bigfoots territory. This recognition (by the bigfoots) of the human's home territory might grease the social wheel of HABITUATION
I think it may take years for something like this to take place. Even then..all it would take is for one person to go into the area with a gun and shoot something and then you might be back to the point you started at and have to work on it all over again.
I do think you could get these creatures to "get used to you" coming in area and they might get to the point that they would not run and hide deep in the woods. They might even hang around and watch you.
Several times now me and the wife will get a smell of something down in "Research Area 1" as we are working down there. I keep watching for tracks but see nothing but deer, turkey, racoon, rabbit, oppossom, fox, coyote and bobcat tracks. We have heard strange sounds down there at times like what sounded like small rocks being clicked together. I picked up 2 rocks and clicked twice and whatever was out there clicked back twice. This is in an area that something big came running one night and as soon as it got close enough to see us..it started whistling and went back the way it came. It came to the playing of the whoops recorded on the Sierra Sounds CD and knocking.
Mike (watch1)
____________________ There's something out there talking and it ain't no man!
I feel there are those that can and do habituate. I think many folks won't talk about it for many reasons. Mostly because there are so many out there screaming for a body. I equate habituation to gentle breaking a horse. Trust being the key issue in getting close to any animal, including humans.
The pro-kill side of this issue is much stronger than the no kill. There is no reasoning with many folks when the mind is made up. Just look at the forums on the net. There are people that even make fun of the no-kill side of this issue. If a kind hearted person were habituating and they began to read the different threads what would they see? Would they see someone like themselves? Or would they see someone running around thumping his chest and demanding a body. Wanting to be the famous person bringing in BigFoot getting the monies that would be involved. Which side gets the most attention? What would the person think and do? Share their infomation. Look at the Mary Green situation. Everyone is screaming fake who wants to be in those shoes.
____________________ Teachers can learn much from their students.
Old Crow, IMHO, the habituator would not share anything. I think they would just sit back, pass a cookie to "Eddie the Yeti" and LAUGH at the pro-kills who think they KNOW what they are doing. Habituators are living the reality!
Can this happen in Bigfoot Research? Can we get a Bigfoot to trust us?
Not that I claim to KNOW anything, I am a mere observer but I will give my opinions to your questions: Yes, this IS happening in BF research. I don't believe they will ever completely trust ANYONE.
Last edited on Wed Nov 28th, 2007 05:45 pm by FurBabiesFriend
____________________ "The man with a new idea is a crank until that idea succeeds." - Mark Twain
I wonder what the bf s are trying to do when they leave persimmions,tree branches with other tree branches stuck in the end of it.or squirrel hanging on a limb were you are baiting or a watermelon that look like the ones I grew this past summer ,a gift,peace offering,or just to let me know its them. Something to think about. mg plowboy
A squrrel left like that could be intended as a gift to you, aknowlegment to your gift of watermellon. Make sure you "receive" the gift by taking it with you when you leave.
Maybe I'm trying to be too polite, but don't let them see you placing it in the trash or throwing it away somewhere else. Also leave them something in return.
This is just something I have been trying to do myself. Not sure if it makes
any difference at all. Just being cautious, to any new friends out there.
I always try to remember to treat them as a close friend or a guest.
____________________ I believe that we can learn much more by attempting to communicate and passively study them, than by merely producing a body.
Well, I for one, would love to be the one to get that whole issue kicked off - habituate one or a family group!! Would I tell anyone? Not even those I trusted the most I think. Well, maybe my kids, cause they already know me and how I am about animals. I rescue the wild babies all the time, usually have one or more of some type of wild animal here every spring and summer. Have raised BlueJays, Finch, mice, chippies, etc. I will continue doing that probably until I die. If I had the opportunity to do that with a BF, noone would ever know. I would have to have complete trust and faith in any researcher for me to be able to share that even with them.
So, count me in if any you ever do this and need some help. I have a long history of being able to "talk" to the animals and have always had a special connection with them. Must be the native blood. It's why my husband won't raise our "food" around the house. Once it is here it is pet!
I wonder how much connection theses animals have with Native Americans, did they follow them around or live close to them, maybe its me but it seems were there are sighting its a area were native americans had large villages or burial grounds or were they just living in same area because of water and food.I had several ancestors that were full -blooded Creek (Muskogee)Indians, one was my great-grandmother she once told several of my greataunts and children to stay away from a swimming hole on the river after they heard a loud howling and screaming.great-grandmother said it was a wildman, is because of her native heritage or had she seen one before.
They are called many things by many different NA tribes. As a rule it all boils down to they are the other tribe.
Still today there are many elders and older NA that still know believe that they are to be left alone.
I think most people believe them to be animal to be tamed through habituation. I for one believe the elders and don't believe you will ever tame an ancient people.
____________________ Teachers can learn much from their students.
"I think most people believe them to be animal to be tamed through habituation. I for one believe the elders and don't believe you will ever tame an ancient people."
I think "tamed" is probably not what most of us have in mind. I would love to be able to walk among them without fear. It would take some getting used to on the part of both groups, us AND them. In getting used to each other, we are not taming each other. Simply getting to know one another. I believe we all remember what happened in the early history of our ancestors. Apparently my elders remembered enough not to share who they were, not even to the descendants. At least that is how it went in my family. (I have MANY Native lines, NONE of which can be proven, if I was any other blood it would not HAVE to be proven - OK off that bandwagon)
Maybe BF is familiar with the human species enough to be afraid. If they have in fact been around as long as we have, they have seen the anhilation of many peoples/tribes. This still happens here in our great country, in 2007. So, if they watch us closely, it could be very scary to think WE could invade them. Especially if they are a tribe. And I do believe, after all I've been reading, that they are tribal/group oriented.
Old Crow, I'm with you on that. Habituation isn't about taming...it's about co-existing.
*************************************************
JoJo, if "they" are around your home, your kids may know alot more than you think they do! My kids are very perceptive and detail oriented..they have seen alot more than I have in the woods!..even when they were with me! It is common knowledge that the ShadowFolk are curious and are apt to watch women and children.
*************************************************
Skunkape, you aren't being too polite! It would hurt MY feelings greatly if I left you, or anyone, a gift...flowers, watermelon, deer, possum...and then watched you throw it in the trash. I have heard that when leaving foods, one should not put them on the ground as this is an insult...plates, hanging buckets and pots, etc. work great. Again, I would be insulted if you offered me dinner and slopped it onto the ground.
*************************************************
Plowboy, the ShadowFolk (as called by the NA) had a front row seat to observe the "Trail of Tears." I can imagine their hearts went out to these tribes of NA as they were driven away from their homes. I also think that would have caused the SF to retreat farther into the woods and away from the white man.
____________________ "The man with a new idea is a crank until that idea succeeds." - Mark Twain
"Apparently my elders remembered enough not to share who they were, not even to the descendants. At least that is how it went in my family. (I have MANY Native lines, NONE of which can be proven, if I was any other blood it would not HAVE to be proven - OK off that bandwagon)" -JoJo
JoJo, that is precisely my problem! I have NA blood and believe it to be Cherokee but not for sure. My great-grandmother was NA from eastern Texas. She died when my grand-father was a young child. I believe, because of earlier years of descrimination, that my family ancestry was hidden only to be forgotten. I have no way of knowing for sure who I am. It actually hurts me deeply to know I am part of something so great but exactly what it is I will never know...it was buried with my great-grandmother. (Sorry I jumped on JoJo's bandwagon! Didn't mean to get off the habituation subject!!)
____________________ "The man with a new idea is a crank until that idea succeeds." - Mark Twain
Some NAs believe BF was also affected by the devastating diseases Europeans introduced to North America. If this is true, then the population of BF may have been much larger and not nearly as hidden as it is these days. NA would have been familiar enough with BF to have had a pretty good idea of what they were dealing with, and their admonishments to keep one's distance and leave them alone might well be rooted in a more intimate knowledge of BF than we have.
I suspect habituation is possible under the right circumstances, but contact will probably always be risky. They're large, powerful predators, and they seem to have quite the tempers when something gets them riled. We know very little about how they interact with each other. Until we know more about what they are and how they interact, we have to consider how risky human interactions with other large primates are. I have a friend who was knocked 30+ feet by a gorilla. The gorilla wasn't being particularly malicious. He just swatted the guy in annoyance. The gorilla didn't stop to consider how fragile humans are. People, including very knowledgeable researchers, who have raised chimpanzees from birth and worked with them every day, have sometimes been suddenly attacked and badly injured by those same chimpanzees without even knowing what triggered the attack. Maybe BF has left a lot of that behavior behind in his evolution. Maybe he hasn't.
I think in the question of habituation, we also have to consider whether the gender of the BF and human play a role. More than one researcher has noted that BF seems more inclined to play Peeping Tom and to hang around households made up exclusively of women and children. NA have tales of BF kidnapping human women and children. Would it be safe for a female human or child to become too familiar with a BF, especially a male BF? Consider how conscious most male animals are of dominance and how conscious animals that live in groups are of social hierarchy. Even humans don't escape it. Would this cause problems if a male human tried to habituate a BF? Would we be perceived as similar enough that dominance and hierarchy issues would come into play between the male human and the male BF as they began to become familiar with one another? Would a male BF take it as a challenge if a male human got too close to a female BF?
Lorraine, very good points! And FBF I am learning more every day about these BF. My children are grown, but both intuitive, as I am. They will tease me on occasion, but one of them is a true believer. I think maybe because they share my love of animals.
FBF you can send me a message anytime you want to talk about the ancestors. I do my families genealogy when I have time. It is a long hard job.
FurBabiesFriend wrote: "I have no way of knowing for sure who I am. It actually hurts me deeply to know I am part of something so great but exactly what it is I will never know...it was buried with my great-grandmother. (Sorry I jumped on JoJo's bandwagon! Didn't mean to get off the habituation subject!!)
JoJo, if your grandfather is still alive, a high-resolution DNA test can give him information on his matrilineal DNA. If your great-grandmother had female descendeants, however, those would be the ones you would want to take the test (your grandfather's would only reveal his mother's DNA, though it would reveal his patrilineal line; female descendants would reveal the DNA history of the entire direct matrilineal line). If you entered the results in one of the large data bases, such as Family Tree DNA, it can be compared to DNA of others who have entered their results in the data base. You may be able to discern to which tribe your great-grandmother belonged through the matches you get in the data base.
Last edited on Sat Dec 1st, 2007 02:31 am by Lorraine
...and then watched you throw it in the trash. I have heard that when leaving foods, one should not put them on the ground as this is an insult...plates, hanging buckets and pots, etc. work great. Again, I would be insulted if you offered me dinner and slopped it onto the ground.
, that my family ancestry was hidden only to be forgotten. I have no way of knowing for sure who I am. It actually hurts me deeply to know I am part of something so great but exactly what it is I will never know...it was buried with my great-grandmother. (Sorry I jumped on JoJo's bandwagon!
Didn't mean to get off the habituation subject!!)
