Incident #1000359
Orleans, Del Norte Cty, California
Sep 1963
Account
Two or three miles of tracks were found, probably by Manuel Matts, Hoopa, going south on the Bluff Creek road from Notice Creek, in deep dust and estimated four or five days old. Typical "15-inch" Bluff Creek track. Casts made. One kept by Al Hodgson measures 15 3/4" by 6". Most tracks destroyed by traffic by the time Hodgson and others were there, but at least 200 seen. They did not try to track the animal, but did look for other tracks and found one old 16" track on a sandbar in the creek, flat with five toes, sinking an inch where humans sank 1/4".
When
- Observation Date
- SEP 01 1963
- Month
- Sep
- Year
- 1963
- Season
- fall
Where
- State / province
- California
- County
- Del Norte Cty
- Nearest Town
- Orleans
- Direction from Town
- Northwest
- Distance from Town
- 11
- Population of Town
- 200
- Elevation/Altitude
- 20
- Latitude
- 4123--
- Longitude
- 12343--
What was seen
- Individuals
- one large, sex unknown
- Total Individuals
- 1
- Population Status
- wild
- First Seen
- on
- Terrain Object
- road
- Near or/at
- trees
- Multiple Sightings Y/N
- Yes
- Related incident id
- 1000609
- Shot Hit
- No
- Track Photo Y/N
- Yes
- Cast Made Y/N
- Yes
Witnesses
- Report type
- 1st person
Setting
- Terrain
- valley, hillside
- Exact Terrain
- dirt road
- Slope
- steep
- Slope Faced
- East
- Nearby Water
- creek
- Substratum
- fine material
- Ground condition
- dry
- Cover
- heavy
- Tree size
- mostly large
- Tree condition
- mostly mature
- Tree type
- coniferous
- General
- none
- Undergrowth
- moderate
- Undergrowth size
- high
- Undergrowth type
- hard stemmed
- General undergrowth
- none
- Species
- pine, fir, oak
Weather and light
- Heat
- normal
- Relative Temperature
- hot
- Clarity
- clear
- Humidity
- low
- Lighting
- direct sunlight
- Visibility Index
- 10
Source
- Source
- Al Hodgson intv. by Jim McClarin
- Source Type
- computer survey
- Source Date
- JULY 1970
- Source reliability
- 10
- Incident reliablility
- 8
- Jwg file date
- JULY 1970
- Incident type
- 2
Footprints
- Set of Tracks
- 1
- Footprint Length
- 15.5
- Greates Width
- 6.0
- Heel Width
- 4.5
- Average Depth
- 0.50
- Estimated Age
- 5
- Age Unit
- days
- Number of Tracks
- 200
- Trail Followed Y/N
- No
- Track Condition
- good
- Ball of Foot
- double
- Arc Y/N
- No
- Number of Toes
- 5
- Size of Toes
- toes more of a size than human's
- Longest Toe
- first
- Footprint Cast Y/N
- Yes
- Footprint Photo Y/N
- Yes
- Human
- Yes
- Pattern of walk
- straight
- Other footprint codes
- 10278
- Direction of Travel
- South
- Material Tracks Made in
- deep dust
- Remarks
- Other people had seen the tracks before this witness was there. The depth varied up to a full inch, depending on the depth of the dust.
Witness
- Wildlife Familiarity
- moderate
- Interviewer
- Jim McClarin
- Interview date
- JUL 05 1970
- Witness Saw with
- naked eye
- Observer Was
- come to see
- Track witnesses
- many
- Age
- 31 to 40
- Other report by this witness
- 4