Professor to discuss ‘Bigfoot’ legend on Discovery Channel Feb. 1

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology in the Idaho State University department of biological sciences, is scheduled to appear Feb. 1 on the premier episode of the Discovery Channel series “Best Evidence.”

    The episode, titled “Bigfoot,” includes an interview with Meldrum in his ISU lab. He discusses his research into what some believe may be footprint evidence for Sasquatch. The episode also depicts his work in progress at ISU’s Idaho Virtualization Laboratory, directed by Ralph Chapman.

   Duplicate casts of footprints found at the site of the controversial Patterson-Gimlin film clip, alleged to depict a Bigfoot encountered in northern California in 1967, were obtained from the Smithsonian Institution and virtualized in 3-D.

    Meldrum also traveled to the Motion & Gait Analysis Lab at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University in Calif. to confer with Dr. Jessica Rose, researcher and director of the lab, and Dr. James Gamble, affiliated orthopaedic surgeon. They conducted a re-examination of the Patterson-Gimlin film with particular attention to details of the film subject’s gait, or pattern of walking.

    The Discovery Channel notes, “‘Best Evidence’ examines the film creature’s costume, posture and gait, frame-by-frame against the movements of an actor in a suit. The results will surprise even the most skeptical viewer.”

    The program is scheduled to air Feb. 1 (check local listings for times).

    Meldrum recently published the book, “Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science” (Forge/Tom Doherty Associates, 2006), which examines whether evidence indicates a real primate species lies behind the legend of Sasquatch, or Bigfoot.