By Dorraine Fisher
Recently I set out to gather some information on Australia’s version of Bigfoot known as the Yowie. I thought it would be easy, but it seems it’s not easy to be a Yowie researcher. And plentiful information on the subject is hard to come by. But slowly, I’ve managed to collect of few details to share. I wanted to find if we’ve been getting accurate information about a supposed flesh and blood creature, or just sensationalized tales of a mythical legend. The truth is less romantic but also more intriguing.
Here in the U.S. bigfoot researchers may suffer a lot of frustration and some ridicule from the public, but they also enjoy many fans and admirers, and our culture is slowly coming to accept the idea that Bigfoot just might be real. Or at least they’d like them to be. And even the TV reality shows that we sometimes love to hate about the subject at least bring the strange world of the hairy ones directly into the cultural sphere. Here, Bigfoot is a star. Kids love this stuff…and so do many adults.
But in Australia… the Yowie hasn’t made it into the limelight. Nor have Yowie researchers. There, the Yowie is considered by most to be a creature of myth, and nothing more. End of story. No TV shows, no celebrity status, no central sightings database like the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Research Organization), and only a scant few tangible internet information sources. Yowie researchers might just be the loneliest of all the researchers.
But just like here in North America, tales of wild men permeate the aboriginal culture in Australia, so the subject can’t be completely ignored. There is almost always some truth to legend. And this is one of the stipulations of modern researchers when they start their searches for any cryptids. They have to ask the question whether all sightings reports are very new, or if they’ve been continual throughout the course of history in certain regions. If stories are handed down from generation to generation by natives for centuries, coupled with modern stories too, we have to believe there might be something to them. At least that’s a place to start.
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| Yowie Stick Formation |
The name "Yowie" comes from the Australian aboriginal word for "yahoo," and there are two known types. The larger and more often noted 7- foot creature is sometimes known as the Dooligarl. And the smaller, lesser known variety is called the Junjudee. But there aren’t too many other distinctions between Yowies and our very own bigfoot. In fact, the similarities are uncanny.
I’d always heard that Yowies are notoriously aggressive, setting them apart from other similar hominids like bigfoot. Movies and fables about the Yowie have cemented this idea in our minds. But according to one researcher this is not generally the case. It is surmised that those who might encounter them, misinterpret the situation guided by their own fear and adrenalin.
However, it has been suggested they are fiercely territorial, with reports of people having been chased, knocked over, stalked, wrestled, placed in the forks of trees, roared at, and spied on through windows at night. But no human fatalities or other such tragedies are reported.
Just like here, a wide demographic of people report seeing them. They are reported more often in the mountainous and forested areas. They are said to perform near impossible feats, including invisibility, high-speed running, the ability to simply vanish and appear from nowhere. They are reported primarily at times in the order of dusk, dawn, night time, and then daytime. They have glowing bright yellow eyes or bright red eyes. They build both stick and rock structures. No bones have ever been found. No clear photos or videos have been taken. They give off sudden and foul, repugnant odors when encountered. Their canine teeth are said to protrude over their lower lips. They have sloping foreheads, broad shoulders, sagittal crests, and their head is set squarely on the shoulders with no visible neck.
Dogs react with extreme barking or extreme fear where they attempt to hide immediately prior to an encounter. Domestic cats have been known to disappear. Dogs have been said to have been viciously attacked. Yet, according to Australians, Yowies don’t even exist.
Does any of this sound familiar?
So how do we not come to the conclusion that these Australian primates are indeed just an isolated cousin of the sasquatch. If I didn’t believe it before, I certainly believe it now.
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| Possible Young Yowie Track |
But what I found most intriguing of all in the whole circle of Yowie controversy are the details in the reports. Australians who’ve encountered them describe the same details over and over again that match exactly the details described in bigfoot encounter reports, including any and all strange behavior that we’ve all scratched our heads over and wondered a tiny bit if these creatures really do have magical abilities. The same details are described by people on the opposite side of the world, on an isolated continent. Most of them know nothing about our bigfoot, and often didn’t believe in them until they saw them with their own eyes. That, to me, is very telling about their existence overall.
But I thought it was important to note one key difference. Some Yowie sightings are compared to some reports of "shadow people." The community of believers in Australia is split among those who believe them to be flesh and blood creatures, some who believe they’re something paranormal, and those that have other beliefs entirely. But, there does seem to more focus on the idea of a paranormal aspect in Yowies by the community. And this may be due partly to the fact that no Yowie hair or DNA has ever been found.
But Yowie researchers are just like Bigfoot researchers. They only want solid proof once and for all. And a little respect wouldn’t hurt either. *******DF
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