Grover Krantz, the scientist who believed
Washington State University anthropologist Grover Krantz (1931–2002) was one of the few academics to argue openly that Sasquatch was real, proposing it descended from the giant ape Gigantopithecus.
1992 CE · 46.73, -117.17 · status: claim
The account
Krantz wrote more than 60 papers on human evolution and four books on Bigfoot, including 'Big Footprints' (1992). He named the hypothetical species Gigantopithecus canadensis and championed the Bossburg 'cripple foot' casts and Paul Freeman's dermal-ridge casts. At his request his skeleton, with that of his dog, is displayed at the Smithsonian.
The sceptical view
His Bigfoot work was criticised for accepting hoaxed evidence, and the Gigantopithecus idea fails because that ape was most likely a four-footed relative of orangutans known only from teeth and jaws.
Connections in the atlas
- A giant ape's tooth in a Hong Kong pharmacy
- Bossburg 'cripple foot' tracks
- Jeff Meldrum and 'Legend Meets Science'
- Blue Mountains dermal-ridge casts