Researchers believe they have sequenced Bigfoot's genomes, and new footage is always turning up of the elusive beast wandering through the forest.
The team sequenced the North American monster's genomes over the course of five years, a news release reported. They were able to s sequence 20 separate whole mitochondrial genomes and obtained three whole nuclear genomes from "sasquatch samples."
The researchers believe Sasquatch is "a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species," according to the news release.
They found that the Sasquatch's mtDNA is identical to modern day Homo sapiens, but the mysterious monster's nuDNA is unique. The Sasquatch is most likely a hominin related to primates and humans.
"Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens," Dr. Melba S. Ketchum , said in the news release.
Hominins are members of the taxonomic grouping Hominini, which encompasses every being in the Homo genus.
"The male progenitor that contributed the unknown sequence to this hybrid is unique as its DNA is more distantly removed from humans than other recently discovered hominins like the Denisovan individual," Ketchum said. "Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA."
Ketchum hopes to have the Sasquatch recognized as an indigenous people, and has already spoken to law enforcement about the issue.
"Genetically, the Sasquatch are a human hybrid with unambiguously modern human maternal ancestry. Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a 'license' to hunt, trap, or kill them," she said.
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