Some Thoughts triggered off by the Kosovo Sighting

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By Dmitri Bayanov, Moscow Russia June 2005

Robert Kinion, of the U.S., was stationed at the FOB (Forward Observation Base) in Kosovo as a civilian contractor, and while driving to Camp Monteith to do a distribution run and pick up laundry and such, in the morning of February 15, 2005, sighted a hairy biped, that he calls "hominid", coming down a fairly steep slope and then crossing the road in front of the vehicle. For details visit http//www.cryptozoology.com website.

The witness was, in his words, "afraid of ridicule" from his work mates and feared for his security clearance, "so kept quiet about it", but after talking to his wife felt that he "can share it with like minded peeps."

How to evaluate the sighting? I call it a "legitimate marvel". We have lots of oldtime "wildmen" information from Western Europe but only few, no more than half a dozen present-day sighting reports west of Russia. Now it took an American (!) to add one more. He was observing and reporting possible unlawful actions of humans in the area and ended with observing and reporting the "unlawful" presence of a relict hominid. What a marvel!!!

Why legitimate? Because, being familiar with the BF problem, the witness knew how higly such information is valued by those who are after it, and he knew how to bring it to the attention of interested researchers. Imagine scores of daily sightings around the world by those who lack such knowledge or even have it but do not report what they saw for fear of ridicule or something worse. This indicates that relevant information is an absolutely vital factor for the existence of hominology. Progress in the means of information is responsible for the appearance of other legitimate marvels in recent years.

Ever more hominologists recognize now that habituation of homins is the hightroad to victory. But a permanent problem here is that people who regularly observe and habituate the creatures are reluctant to make public their achievements. A marvelous breakthrough in this respect happened in America in 2002 with the publication of "50 Years with Bigfoot -- Tennessee Chronicles of Co-Existence" by Mary Green and Janice Carter Coy. The authors tell all those who would listen of an unprecedented case of bigfoot habituation at a local farm (the Carter farm) in Tennessee. The pioneering book includes both the known and lots of quite novel and unheard of facts of BF anatomy and behavior, including their sex life. Researchers Will Duncan, Dr. W.H. Fahrenbach, and others have examined some evidence of this case and found it trustworthy.

So what prevented winning victory? The lack of another absolutely essential factor -- adequate financing. Mary Green, Janice Carter Coy, and Will Duncan supplied us with enough information to arouse our keen interest in the Tennessee habituation case. So we managed to gather and invest just enough money for Igor Bourtsev to fly to America, reach the Carter farm and, thanks to American hospitality, study the case on the spot for five weeks. Having spent all his money, he had reluctantly to leave for home. He did not see bigfoots - the time was not long enough for that - but he saw their tracks, made a cast of one, saw their tree "markers", their sleeping nest and found their hairs. A Russian exploring and collecting BF evidence in America is another legitimate marvel of the current situation.

I informed two famous primatologists about the Carter farm case and appealed to leading BF researchers to try and raise funds in order to continue research on the spot. All in vain. Most BF researchers take this case for an illegitimate and therefore unbelievable marvel. And this because they don't realize how closely homins, including bigfoots, are related to humans.

Pressed with financial problems, Janice has now sold her "haunted" farm. If this means that the best habituation chance is lost forever, the blame is to be placed squarely at the door of the BF community. Some consolation is in the fact that there are other, still cryptic, spots of BF habituation in North America.

I believe hominology could become a fullfledged science even before coming into possession of a hard proof. What could make it would be a regular flow of photographic evidence, resulting from the habituation, and a scientific journal of hominology, one on a par with CRYPTOZOOLOGY. Both conditions would require a sufficient investment of money. Knowledge monopolies and research cartels of academic science will never offer us a helping hand. So I keep daydreaming of meeting and winning over a Tom Slick of the 21st century.(For young researchers: Tom Slick of the 20th century was a Texas millionaire who financed Yeti expeditions in Nepal and the first BF expedition in N.A).

The crying contradiction between hominology's ever expanding database and ever missing moneybase is becoming ever more unbearable. This is truly an illegitimate marvel. Let's think all together how to get rid of this depressing condition.

Dmitri Bayanov
International Center of Hominology
Moscow, Russia
June 2005