Is there a Bigfoot in Arizona? Sightings and pictures could suggest yes.
The Mogollon Monster is a legendary, Bigfoot like creature that is reported to exist in the Mogollon Rim area, eastern and central parts of Arizona. Some descriptions of this cryptid vary, but footprints, images and hair samples believed to be from creature have been reported. Some locals from the area claim to have had encounters with it on multiple occasions.
Much like Bigfoot, the Mogollon(mug-ee-yun)’s height is estimated to be over 7 feet and it’s powerful frame is covered with a shaggy reddish brown or sometimes black hair minus it’s face and hands. Another similarity to other bipedal cryptids is an overwhelming odor, like that of a skunk. This seems to be a common thread to these types of sightings.
Other reported behaviors & attributes:
- Loud, terrible sounding scream. Sounds like a woman’s scream.
- While hidden will throw rocks at tresspassers in it’s territory.
- Can be violent due to it’s territorial nature.
- Footprints measuring over 20″ & massive stride between steps.
- Curiosity. It has been reported to have a look at campsites while campers are asleep.
The Mogollon legends from Native American tribes in Arizona are many, from old tales of large, fur covered men who inhabited the region’s canyons and forests to a story of a chief who’s wife was taken by another man. The chief then enlisted the help of a medicine man to turn this man into The Mogollon Monster.
Other legends include an ancient chief being exiled from his tribe and to exact revenge he had the spirits transform him into a creature to harrass those who wronged him. A pioneer who escaped being attacked by local natives and ran into the forrest where he went insane and was cursed by the spirits, and a white man who was flayed of his flesh then hung in a tree where he was stretched to over 7 feet for his crime of murdering a native female.
The earliest recorded sighting could be from The Arizona Republic newspaper. In 1903, I.W. Stevens recalled an encounter with the creature around the Grand Canyon.
“[It had] long white hair and matted beard that reached to his knees. It wore no clothing, and upon his talon-like fingers were claws at least two inches long.” “Upon further inspection he noted ‘a coat of gray hair nearly covered his body, with here and there a spot of dirty skin showing.” He later stated that after he discovered the creature drinking the blood of two cougars, it threatened him with a club, and “screamed the wildest, most unearthly screech”.
In the 1940’s, a cryptozoologist named Don Davis, claims to have spotted the creature while on a trip with the Boy Scouts.
“The creature was huge. Its eyes were deep set and hard to see, but they seemed expressionless. His face seemed pretty much devoid of hair, but there seemed to be hair along the sides of his face. His chest, shoulders, and arms were massive, especially the upper arms; easily upwards of 6 inches in diameter, perhaps much, much more . I could see he was pretty hairy, but didn’t observe really how thick the body hair was. The face/head was very square; square sides and squared up chin, like a box.”
A Whiteriver, Arizona local named Margorie Grimes, says she has had encounters with the the creature on multiple occasions between 1982 and 2004. Other tribal members of the White Mountain Apache Nation have experienced sightings as well. The reports were from respected members of the community, not people who would make hoax calls.
During the mid 2010’s , in the White Mountains, strands of hair, and footprints were discovered. Plaster casts were made by tribal police, and the hair was sent to the Department of Public Safety to be examined in the high tech crime lab. It was determined that the fur sample was animal, but no further testing was done.
Scientific Counter Arguments
As with all accounts of strange creatures, there is very little hard evidence of the existence of The Mogollon Monster. Stan Lindstedt, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University, doesn’t give much merit to the stories of the creature. He believes that it’s more myth than reality. It’s believed that for animal of it’s size to exist without leaving more tangible evidence behind, is highly unlikely. The scientific community at large is in agreement with him in believing that most sightings are simply other natural wild animals… or hoaxes.
As far as the noise the creature makes, the sound that is close to a woman’s blood curdling scream, mountain lions make a sound that is extremely close to that & If you’ve never heard that sound before, it can be shocking to hear.
Fun With The Mogollon Monster
As with most local cryptid creatures, the areas they are famous for find ways to entertain the stories with festivals and events. In the town of Pine, Arizona, there is a very challenging trail race, named “The Mogollon Monster 100” that is 106 miles long and runs all through the Mogollon Rim. It isn’t a race for the feint of heart. I haven’t heard reports of a sighting during the race, but it’s an annual event, so maybe one day!