File picture - 'Bigfoot Crossing' sign (iStock) (JLFCapture)
Leave it to a small town in upstate New York to adopt an urban legend as its "official animal."
The village of Whitehall, population 2,556, has adopted Bigfoot as its "official animal" in a measure that passed 4-0, according to The Whitehall Times, the town's newspaper.
The measure is seen as nothing more than a publicity stunt, according to former trustee Mike LaChapelle, but it is likely to get people talking one way or another.
POSITIVE SHE SAW BIGFOOT, SHE'S SUING CALIFORNIA
“It can’t hurt,” said trustee George Armstrong. “It’s very well written by the way.”
The resolution came from Dave Molenaar, who identified himself as a member of the Bigfoot Tourism Council of Whitehall to the Albany Times Union.
The town's mayor, Phil Smith, said every last Saturday of September will "be officially known as Sasquatch Appreciation Day and that Sasquatch shall be the official animal of the village of Whitehall.”
It's a curious decision for Whitehall to adopt Bigfoot as its official animal, even though the town already has multiple statues and an annual festival for Sasquatch, according to WTEN.
In 1976, three people reported that had they seen “a large, ape-like creature between 7-feet and 8-feet tall, darting toward their car,” according to CryptoZooNews.com. It's unclear if the creature that was seen also starred in "Harry & the Hendersons," but you never know.
BIGFOOT SPOTTED IN NEW JERSEY?
According to The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, there have been 103 sightings in New York State, most recently in June 2015, when a married couple claimed to see it while boating on Lake George.
The legendary Bigfoot has had a whirlwind couple of years, most likely because it is trying to become an Instagram influencer or go glamping, like any good millennial.
In October 2017, Bigfoot was reportedly spotted in Northern California, but only because he had gotten greedy and tried to eat a pig.
Jeffrey Gonzalez, a self-described paranormal expert, said he heard about the sighting from a local farmer who said he saw the creature and five others running on his ranch near Avocado Lake.
“One of them, which was extremely tall, had a pig over its shoulder," Gonzalez said in comments obtained by Fox 26, a Fox News affiliate. "The five scattered and the one with the pig was running so fast it didn’t see an irrigation pipe and it tripped, with the pig flying over."
In March, the residents of Wapum, Pa. held their annual Bigfoot hunt, but surprisingly came up empty-handed.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.