Bigfoot may have more New Jersey connections than its legend suggests.
A team of investigators is examining reports of Sasquatch activity across the Garden State, where the towering, humanlike creature has allegedly been spotted or heard nearly 80 times.
Although Bigfoot is most commonly associated with the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization has documented 79 reports from New Jersey on its website.
During a recent investigation at High Point State Park in northwestern New Jersey, researcher Mike Familant and his team focused on a strange, animal-like noise that emerged after they imitated an owl, Familant told NJ.com.
The team captured the sound in 2022, but the recording only raised more questions after an expert concluded that it did not match any recognized animal in the area, according to Familant. He chronicles alleged Bigfoot encounters through his online series, “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye.”
A military linguist “came back with a report that said it was outside of human vocal range and wasn’t any known animal from northwestern New Jersey,” Familant said.
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Familant also identifies the Delaware Water Gap and Stokes State Forest as possible New Jersey Bigfoot hotspots.
Jacob Korbel, an investigator with the organization, said he once doubted the creature’s existence. His perspective shifted after joining the team on a 2021 expedition into the Pine Barrens.
“About 100 yards away in front of us, there’s this whoop response,” Korbel told NJ.com. “And right away, I’m like, that’s nothing that I’ve ever heard before. That’s not an owl, that’s not a coyote, fox.”
“And you could hear it slowly getting closer to our position, like it was coming in to check us out. Like we were almost getting flanked,” he recalled.
The reports are spread across the state, with 18 sightings recorded in Sussex County, 16 in Burlington County and 11 in Ocean County.
Still, no conclusive scientific evidence has established whether Bigfoot is a hidden species, an exceptionally elusive animal or simply a long-running myth.
Believers cite alleged footprints, blurry images and even hair samples said to contain unusual DNA as signs that the legendary creature has been roaming North American forests for generations.