Case file · Cryptid
Bigfoot sightings match black bear range (2009 study)
A 2009 study in the Journal of Biogeography by J. D. Lozier and colleagues used ecological niche modelling on reported Bigfoot sightings and found that they closely matched the habitat of the American black bear.
2009 CE · 45.50, -122.60 · status: explained
The account
The authors meant partly to show how niche models can mislead when the input data are doubtful, but the result became a widely cited argument that many sightings are misidentified bears, especially bears walking on their hind legs.
The sceptical view
The study supports misidentification of black bears as a major source of Bigfoot reports.