The vast majority of Bigfoot hoaxes have no monetary value to the hoaxer. They don't ask for money and they don't get any for their hoax. I'm talking about the thousands of eyewitness accounts in the BFRO, Green Database, etc. etc. Those are essentially anonymous hoaxers who write short story horror/drama in the form of a Bigfoot enounter. These spooky and intriguing stories make up the foundational glue that hold all of Bigfootery together.
You can throw away the PGF and you will still have Bigfootery because of the already existing encounter database in addition to unpaid volunteers who will continue to submit bogus sighting claims numbering hundreds per year. This is all done for no money.
But you can't throw away the sighting record created by unpaid folks and then expect Bigfootery to persist. That means no more campfire stories about Bigfoot to fire up the imagination of kids and city folks. The Bigfoot campfire story is non-profit for the orator (hoaxer).
Yes, the most important of hoaxed Bigfoot evidences really hold little prospect of pocketing money for the hoaxer. They don't even ask for money. They seem to often do the hoax for sheer personal joy and the feeling of generosity. They contribute to
American Culture in a recorded form. Like a monument or stone carving. You come back 30 years later and see your fake Bigfoot story still is popular with Bigfooters. You smile. That is worth a million bucks, so I guess you got paid after all.
Knowledge of local creatures doesn't stop this stuff. That is because cryptids are often novel
additions to the local fauna. Pretend that I know every single mammal in my State with great authority and experience. Now pretend that I tell you the story of how I witnessed a Bigfoot in my State and this creature exists without any doubt. Now... why didn't my knowledge of local wildlife stop my telling of the tale?
We have people like Bindernagel and Mionczynski who absolutely should know the local fauna yet they are Bigfoot stumpthumpers. Lady, this Bigfootery thing is not going to stop.
Check out this wonderfully written
article about John Mionczynski...
I think he serves on some Bigfoot advisory board and maybe he's going to be speaking at a Bigfoot conference. Anyway maybe he makes some money from his sighting story but the point here is that knowledge of actual already-existing wildlife won't prevent the claim of additional wildlife (the fantastic cryptid that was living there all the time). Even guys like this who are supposed to be wood smart and educated... they do this. How is Bigfootery supposed to go away when you have this going on?
There are young guys like this too who will live for another 60 years and will perpetually proclaim that Bigfoot exists until they die.
