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The Ancestors of Bigfoot: An Interview with Author Eric Penz
By Cryptozoology News April 30th, 2014It started when German paleoanthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald walked into a pharmacy in Hong Kong in 1935. What he found there was extraordinary: The tooth of a primate too large to belong to any known past or current species.
Since then, scientists have been able to determine the molar Koenigswald found -and the subsequent fossilized findings - to be about nine million years old.
Now extinct, the Gigantopithecus was a 10 feet tall ape that weighted about 1,000 pounds. It was endemic to South Asian countries, and some researchers believe it walked on two legs.
With flat molars for grinding, its diet mostly consisted of fruit and bamboo. The sugars from these plants plagued the animal’s teeth with the same type of cavities found in giant pandas. In 2011, scientists from China analyzed enamel carbon isotopes from the creature’s fossilized bones and came to the conclusion that the Gigantopithecus “fed on solely C3 biomass, and lived in forest habitats, but not open country or savannas“.
It wasn’t the dental issues that caused the animal to go extinct. The climate change generated by the rise of the Tibetan plateau, added to the territorial competition with the Homo Erectus, were likely the reasons for the giant ape to disappear.
But what if the Gigantopithecus had survived extinction? And what if certain members of the government knew all about it?
That is, in part, the premise of Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark.
Award-winning author Eric Penz has proven he can master the art of historical fiction. In his novel, he transports you to a world of paleontological possibilities, conspiracy and documented scientific research. His style is visual, cinematographic, innovative and, as a whole, an honor to the field of cryptozoology.
One can’t help but wonder what triggers a biology graduate to get interested in the obscure world of cryptids.
We sat in our virtual room with Penz to ask him this and other questions about the release of his new author’s edition book , as he shared some exclusive videos with us.
- An outdoor enthusiast, Eric Penz lives in the great Pacific Northwest where he can “cycle,
mountain climb, and ski all in the same day”.
“So to answer this completely I have to go back to my childhood roaming the woods of Glacier National Park. I spent summer months there with my mom. And I always entered those woods feeling a distinct difference to other wild places. The woods did not feel sterilized like elsewhere. It’s not a coincidence that grizzlies roamed those same woods. I don’t know how to describe the feeling other than that I no longer felt atop the food chain. I was definitely now a link within the chain,” he tells Cryptozoology News.
“Years later I had a strong impression to write a story that gave readers that same sensation. And so I set out to write a story about a creature that haunted the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest. Only my creature couldn’t be fantastic if I were to make the experience authentic for the reader, nor could I use a creature that one might see in a zoo. I had a loose understanding of the bigfoot mythology so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest and thought such a creature would be perfect. To be honest, though, I had no prior exposure to cryptozoology, or really any substantive knowledge of bigfoot. I threw myself into a year long research endeavor to fill the knowledge gap. As a result I have a new perspective on bigfoot and other cryptids. First, I can’t say I have a sure knowledge of bigfoot’s existence, but I do know that there is plenty of evidence to suggest it does exist whereas is there is no evidence to suggest it doesn’t. Second, I am an adventure seeker at heart, which is why I read and write thriller novels. Story is the one realm left to humanity that is yet unexplored and will forever remain so. However, in this over-documented and exploited world, the field of cryptozoology may offer one last field of exploration to those with the patience and courage to venture into the unknown.”
The characters on his book are personal, touching, deep and ripe for the most part, but there is particularly one of them that every person inclined to the study of cryptozoology will undoubtedly fall in love with.
“Dr. Jonathan Ostman is named after Albert Ostman, but as a character he is inspired by the late Dr. Grover Krantz, as is the theory that my character puts forth in the novel,” he explains.
He is referring to Canadian prospector Albert Ostman, the man who claimed being kidnapped by Bigfoot and held captive for a week. He signed a Solemn Declaration under oath stating that the events were true.
Dr. Krantz was the first authoritative scientist to call for a serious study regarding the possibility of a large bipedal primate living in North America. He also used the shape of their fossil jaws to propose a theory suggesting the Gigantopithecus walked upright. Another important development was his reconstruction of a skull based on a large jawbone, showing the scientific community that the size of the Gigantopithecus could match that of the Bigfoot creature reported by people all across America.
Cryptozoology is in a strange state. With the advent of the Internet, things have changed considerably, specially when it comes to reporting sightings. Has this factor helped or damaged cryptozoology as a whole?
“Too much uncurated information can be as much of a hindrance as a help. If I had to say, though, then I believe the internet is a sum positive effect. Certainly the wackos are able to share their craziness at an unprecedented rate and scope—none of which helps the true, honest cause of cryptozoology. But that said, the key to cryptozoological efforts is eyewitness data. Scientists can’t be everywhere at once, but humanity as a whole almost can. And thus the ability to gather data from the four corners of the earth with the ease of the net is invaluable to the effort. At this point, I think it’s fair to say the internet will the one tool that enables cryptozoologists to find success in their field of study,” argues Penz.
Our guest author lives in the Pacific Northwest, home to the alleged Sasquatch. What does he think about the possibility of the great ape living in the area?
“I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 41 years. And in those years I have spent countless days in the backwoods of the Northwest. I have never seen anything that suggests such a creature exists. I have also never seen several other known species in those same woods. My firsthand experience is irrelevant to the truth of any species’s existence. I have met many others, however, who have had first person experience that would lead one to believe the species is legit. If I had to bet, I’d bet on bigfoot being documented in the next decade, IF it hasn’t gone extinct by then,” he replies.
So what if there is, indeed, a Bigfoot roaming the Pacific Northwest? What could happen to the beast once it is discovered and studied by humans?
“My gut feel is that the species, if it exists, is already so few in number that the odds are high it will go extinct before it is ever documented. If we are able to document prior to extinction then there will be a short period of a few years where the risk of extinction will skyrocket due to human impact—possibly hunting it out of fear and ignorance, and other exploitation. If it survives the initial onslaught then the odds of survival will skyrocket as protection under the Endagered Species Act will kick in as we all band together to protect it. It’s a similar cycle that we’ve seen for other similar species.”
An alumni of The Film School, Penz has also created a few short films in order to promote his new author’s edition book this year. But the good news is that the videos are not just a promotional tool, he says, he is open to “investors and/or studio interest for the movie rights to Cryptid”.
The Dean Koontz fan has also written a novella titled Courage Between, based on true events of his life.
“The creature acting as antagonist in this story is not a cryptid, but it’s behavior certainly walks the line,” he explains about the story.
He is also working on a trilogy that is not cryptozoological related, but he assures us that he plans “to return to the subject to write a sequel to Cryptid”.
An excellent literary surprise, the new author’s edition of Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark, opens the door to a large amount of possibilities in the cryptozoological field. You are not really reading a book; the novel is so visual and alive that it feels like you are actually watching a movie. A delight for those fond of cryptozoology.
Eric Penz currently maintains the website Cryptid. You can find the new edition of his book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, available in paperback, hardcover and digital format.
Enjoy now the following exclusive videos that the author shared with us, which were recently screened at a Seattle movie theater:
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