Researchers uncover Bigfoot clues in new Travel Channel series

FIU scientist Mireya Mayor stars in the new Travel Channel series Expedition Bigfoot as she and a team of investigators go in search of the legendary creature in the Pacific Northwest.

Every year hundreds of eyewitnesses log their alleged encounters with Bigfoot. All told, there have been more than 10,000 reported modern-day sightings of the hairy, upright creature that leaves ominous footprints in the continental United States — more than one-third of them emanating from the Pacific Northwest. While many have searched for the elusive beast, no one knows if, where or when this legendary cryptid will be seen next. Nor have they put forth credible, indisputable evidence of the creature’s existence. 

“Expedition Bigfootis where old legend meets new technology,” said Mayor, who leads the Exploration and Science Communication Initiative in FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education.

Mayor is part of an elite team of skilled searchers that will use an advanced data algorithm and groundbreaking science to analyze five decades of Bigfoot sightings and pinpoint when and where one might encounter this elusive beast. Travel Channel’s new eight-part investigative-adventure series Expedition Bigfoot premieres at 10 p.m. Sunday, December 8, tracking the team throughout their harrowing experiences and pioneering endeavor. FIU will host a screening of the show’s first episode earlier that evening at 5:30 p.m. in the GC Pit at MMC. A Q&A session with Mayor and Zoo Miami's Ron Magill will follow. To RSVP, please click here. 

The team includes:

• Mireya Mayor, primatologist
• Bryce Johnson, expedition operations
• Russell Acord, ex-military/survivalist
• Ronny LeBlanc, Bigfoot researcher
• Ryan “RPG” Golembeske, Bigfoot investigator

Throughout their three-week sojourn to an undisclosed, remote location in a 90,000-acre swath of land in central Oregon, the team uses the latest advanced technologies to narrow their search within the target zone. They find possible nesting sites, footprints and vocalizations that lead the team to a hot spot where inexplicable events occur.

“Travel Channel has assembled the very best team of experts in Bigfoot lore and science to give us proof of the creature’s existence once and for all,” said Matthew Butler, general manager of Travel Channel. “The journey is formidable, and the jeopardy is real. Skeptics and believers alike will both agree the trek this team makes is something they have never seen before.”

Mayor is an anthropologist, wildlife correspondent, author, National Geographic Explorer, National Science Foundation Fellow, and Fulbright Scholar who has spent most of her career reporting on wildlife and habitat loss while advocating for solutions to the alarming trends. She recently joined FIU as the director of the Exploration and Science Communication initiative in the College of Arts, Sciences & Education. She is the author of Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer, which chronicles her unconventional career path. Most recently, Mayor was named a fellow at the Explorers Club, and selected to be an insider for O, The Oprah Magazine. The two-time Emmy Award nominee has hosted dozens of wildlife shows, including the Nat Geo WILD series Wild Nights with Mireya Mayor, and starred in Mark Burnett’s Expedition Africaon History Channel. She was also the host of Nat Geo Mundo’s La Cuba De Hoy. 

To learn more about “Expedition Bigfoot,” visit TravelChannel.com for show extras, behind-the-scenes photos and exclusive videos. Follow @TravelChannel and #TRVLBigfoot on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional content and updates. “Expedition Bigfoot” is produced by Railsplitter Pictures for Travel Channel.