Show Date: February 23, 2005

IN SEARCH OF BIG FOOT AND THE SIXTH SENSE
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep hosted by Jim Sullivan and aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we have a special guest. Join us for exciting news about our old friend Bigfoot and some breaking scientific research on deep ocean navigation. We’ll also have some expedition calls and our science news updates as well as taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight! And don’t forget to log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for all the latest and deepest news.

IN SEARCH OF BIGFOOT

Yeti footprint taken by Eric Shipton in 1951

One of the deepest mysteries concerns the continuing reports of ‘almost’ humans. We are fascinated by these tales of human-like creatures; from the ‘Bigfoot’ of the American west to the Yeti of the Himalayas to the ‘little people’ of Europe and Asia, like the Hawaiian menehunes and the Chamoru duendes. Most scientists tend to relegate these stories to the status of myth, but with the undisputed discovery of the remains of ‘little people’ on the Indonesian island of Flores, perhaps it’s time to reexamine the ‘myths’ again.

The remains found on Flores are not fossils and they have been dated at around 13,000 years. There are many stories in Indonesia about ‘little people’ who inhabit the forest. Racial memory? or is there a possibility that in the deep and unexplored jungles of Indonesia, these tiny hominids still exist?
There have been many reports of larger creatures that tend to be lumped in the category ‘Bigfoot’ or Yeti. In the high mountains of Tibet and Nepal, people have been searching for these creatures. Yoshiteru Takahashi actually spotted three of them on the slopes of Dhaulagiri, or White Mountain. This 26,794 foot tall peak is the world’s 7th highest mountain and the highest mountain located entirely in Nepal. They were the ‘small yeti’ and he estimated they were about 150 cm (5 feet) tall.

They left several sets of tracks above 15,000 feet and Mr. Takahashi and the other members of his expedition saw them more than once. The first time, the people at the base camp looked up in the direction of the A camp higher in the mountain and saw ‘people’ walking along a ridge. They radioed the other camp and were told that no one was outside the tents. They converged on the area but saw no sign of anyone.

This expedition also found footprints in the snow that were very human in appearance and were about 4 by 8 inches. None of the expedition members had walked in that area. The footprint patterns indicated that the creature walked upright and Mr. Takahashi estimated the stride length at 14 inches. This smallcreature certainly isn’t the Bigfoot of southern California, but much mystery remains about what it actually is. CLICK HERE for more on the Yeti Expedition and be sure to join us this week on The Deep as we discuss undiscovered creatures.

THE SIXTH SENSE

Loggerhead sea turtle. Photo by Cenneth Sparby

Although it doesn’t happen often on a small island, getting lost can be a frightening thing. Though getting lost is rarely dangerous here, it can be very dangerous in both urban jungles and sparsely populated areas. And depending on the circumstances, it can be deadly. So . . .. how do the animals do it? How can animals of all types travel hundreds of miles and even thousands of miles without losing their way?
Animals that migrate over land like small birds and large hoofed animals apparently follow familiar landmarks. New studies even indicate that homing pigeons tend to follow roads. The shape of a hill, the smell of familiar plants, the course of a river, all of these probably contribute to helping land animals find their way to familiar summer and winter feeding grounds.

But following roads, hills and rivers is not an option for the travelers of the open ocean and how animals as diverse as eels, whales, turtles and fish find their way in a featureless sea has long been a great mystery.
New research by Kenneth Lohmann at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill indicates that loggerhead sea turtles may use a remarkable ‘sixth sense’ – the ability to detect and follow the magnetic energy of the Earth.

Dr. Lohmann ‘dresses’ new-hatched loggerhead turtles in a vest attached to a monofilament line. Then he puts them in a swimming pool surrounding by a large magnetic coil. He can change the polarity and direction of the magnetic waves in the pool and he’s discovered that the little turtles follow these lines.
His conclusions are controversial, however and to learn more about them, tune in tonight to K-57 at 6:00 p.m. and join us on The Deep for a look at mysterious creatures and a strange new sense. And don’t forget to log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for all the latest Deep News!