by GroundquestMSA » Jan 22, 2016 4:35 am
No doubt you have heard all of the arguments for and against the existence of Sasquatch or similar creatures, so I won't bother you with more of those, and will try to answer your questions as specifically as possible based on my own experience.
Non-troglobitic creatures that I have personally seen in caves or have seen direct evidence of (footprints) include: Raccoons, opossum, rats, cows, deer, buzzards, coyote, foxes, bear and a wild cat of some sort. Raccoons and rodents are the most common. I have only seen dogs in extremely small caves, and in all cases these were used as dens for pups. Bears sometimes hibernate in caves. Birds nest in them. So do rats. Cows like to stand in large entrances to escape summer heat. Clearly, animals use caves; they provide some protection from predators and extreme temperatures, and are sometimes a food and water source.
Animal trails leading into caves are common, and in Ohio I have found more than one cave by following these. I look for footprints constantly, not because I'm worried about what I might meet in a cave, but out of general interest in what's around me.
Once inside a cave, the potential for animal and human visitors to leave their mark increases greatly. The path of travel narrows, surface erosion and vegetable cover are non-existent. Active stream-ways erase evidence of traffic, but many other types of cave passage can act as a sort of time-capsule. I recently surveyed a VA cave which contained a single set of boot prints leading to the back of the cave, where the explorer had scratched his name in the rock, in 1968. This presents a bit of an obstacle to the Sasquatch-in-cave theory unless you believe that such a creature is actively hiding its tracks. This brings me to a couple of questions. Answer via PM if you don't want to talk about it here.
Why do people want to believe that sasquatches exist? I know people who have never seen a shred of "evidence" for themselves, but who still form strong opinions on this topic. A man I know, a local sheriff's deputy, is passionate about sasquatch. He goes into the woods constantly in hopes of seeing or "feeling" one. He tells me that his heart has to be pure before sasquatch will appear to him, and that he talks, even prays, to the sasquatch to show itself. I have found gifts in the woods that he has left behind for sasquatch and it is only by mustering all of my compassion that I have resisted taking them and leaving him a "sign". Now, this guy may be an especially unstable sort, but there does seem to be some sort of widespread mystical quasi-religiosity among people who hunt for sasquatch. It seems to me that this is an almost necessary part of a sasquatch obsession. Such a creature would need to have mystical properties in order to escape detection. Is this part of your theory?
My earlier suggestion that you check out some caves for yourself was a serious one. You are younger than lots of cavers, and there are thousands of caves that do not require rope, expensive gear, or great physical condition. You might find that caves are more interesting and mysterious (albeit in different ways) than you realize. I do not personally think that you will find anything to confirm the theory that sasquatches use caves, or exist, but if you are as realistic and skeptical as you claim, that shouldn't scare you off.