Bigfoot Encounter Spooks Utah Hikers [Video]

A group of Utah hikers who thought they were looking at a bear may have stumbled across the legendary Bigfoot, according to Grind TV.

When a group of friends decided to embark on a journey through the Utah wilderness, they anticipated running into a wide assortment of wildlife. In fact, the hikers brought along a camera in case they happened upon something worth filming. Of course, the last thing they expected to encounter in the forest was a very hairy creature walking around on two legs.

The individuals in the video recently uploaded to YouTube thought they were spying a bear hanging out in the woods. However, all of that changed when the creature raised up and looked at them. Instead of sticking around to see what happened next, the hikers immediately ran towards safety.

Beard Card explained the thrilling encounter with FOX 13, explaining that he and his friends initially thought they were looking at a bear.

“But when it stood up and looked at us–and we assumed it was a bear up to that point–but, when it stood up and looked at us, it was this massive animal. We don’t know what it was. I mean, none of us believe in Bigfoot, so… we’ve talked about it over and over again since Monday when it happened and all of us are positive that thing wasn’t a bear,” he explained.

Bigfoot and its ilk are having a very popular year. In addition to the encounter caught on tape in Utah’s Provo Canyon, Spike TV is reportedly preparing an entire reality show around the capture of the legendary creature. The network is currently putting together a show entitled Ten Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty, a program which promises big cash to proof of Bigfoot’s existence.

Tim Duffy, Spike TV’s Senior Vice President of Original Series, explained that the cable channel will partner with international insurance market Lloyd’s of London to bring the concept to the small screen.

“If this series idea had come in without that Lloyd’s of London mark attached to it, I don’t think we would have taken it seriously, but that’s no small chunk of change,” Duffy explained to The Huffington Post. “What it signified to us was an opportunity to attract the best scientists, zoologists, trackers and Bigfoot hunters in the world in an attempt to prove or disprove its existence.”

One individual who doesn’t need convincing is Bigfoot hunter John Reed. In October, the Pennsylvania man was enjoying some quality time with his girlfriend inside their recreational vehicle when the legendary creature started throwing rocks at them

Reed, who described the suspect as “very large, brown in color, and walks somewhat hunched over,” believes Sasquatch is responsible for the damage his RV sustained that fateful evening.

“Something stood up on her side of the truck,” Reed explained. “She seen the eyes glaring in the light of the truck, stood up and walked this way into the woods. Do I believe in Bigfoot? Yes I do. Have I had sightings of what I believe to be Big Foot? Yes.”

Recent bigfoot sightings have not been limited to the United States. A number of yeti sightings were reported in Russia back in September, prompting International Centre of Hominology head Igor Burtsev to embark on an expedition to find the beast.

“We have good evidence of the yeti living in our region, and we have heard convincing details from experts elsewhere in Russia and in the US and Canada,” Burtsev stated. “The description of the habits of the Abominable Snowmen are similar from all over the world.”

One of the encounters in Russia took place on the bank of a river. A local fisherman who stumbled across the yeti was understandably spooked by the creature.

“We saw some tall animals looking like people. Our binoculars were broken and did not let us see them sharply,” the man explained. “We waved at the animals but they did not respond, then quickly ran back into the forest, walking on two legs. We realized that they were not in dark clothes but covered by dark fur. They did walk like people.”

Do you believe in Bigfoot? Do you think the creature spotted by Utah hikers was a Sasquatch or a bear?