U.S. Forestry Service Responds to Viral Image of Sasquatch Warnings

The U.S. Forestry Service responded to the popular viral image of a forged 'Sasquatch warning poster' on July 9th.

Images of the fake poster have been circulating on various social media platforms for weeks, and the attention gained finally forced the agency to take action.

The response was posted to the Kootenai National Forest Facebook page.

"The Sasquatch poster that is circulating around Facebook and other areas was not created by or coming from the U.S. Forest Service or the Kootenai National Forest," said the statement.

The forged warning poster.

Although the government agency denied any involvement in the posters, some observers were quick to point out that no such denial was made regarding the existence of Sasquatch.

"That’s it, so just a general denial of the fact that they didn’t produce or distribute the poster, but they didn’t address the substance/content of the poster," said one commenter. "Seems like a case where less = more. It’s now common knowledge that there are lots of people that go missing from the national parks every year and this agency, to this day, refuses to release these details to the public. So makes me wonder what else are they hiding...it’s quite amazing to see how many see levity in this article. I guess thinking outside of your comfort zones is a bit too much."

Government agencies do occasionally comment on cryptozoology, and the Singular Fortean Society reported last August on the Greenville, South Carolina police department's issuance of an official public safety warning following a weekend in which a “large bipedal animal covered in hair” was reported in North Carolina’s McDowell County.  

Similarly, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), and NASA's data visualization and cartography lead at Earth Observatory, Joshua Stevens, both posted maps of monster sightings in advance of last year's solar eclipse.

These earlier government references to cryptozoology were treated by their respective agencies with more humor than the U.S. Forestry Service's statement, although none of them involved the unauthorized use of an official government seal, unlike the Sasquatch warning.