My daughter and I were watching something on Bigfoot. MonsterQuest maybe?

Either way, they showed an expidition to find the big guy.

They come back, go to sleep in their tents.

During the night, they felt a "presence", that Mr. and Mrs. Patty were by their campsite. (The campsite was just in the woods somewhere, it wasn't at a campground.) The cameraman, who was a skeptic, did one of those "Blair Witch" confessionals. "I'm kinda spooked, I think there's something around, moving around the campsite here." (No snot though.)

There were footprints around the perimeter of the small clearing that contained the tents.

My daugher (11 years old) asked me, "Daddy, why do they always drive far into the woods to place cameras, and then it always seems that Bigfoot visits them at their campsite.* Why don't they just set up cameras around the tents, facing the woods?"

So...uh....why don't people set up cameras around their tents facing the woods? Drive stakes into the ground and mount cameras on top of them. 5 or 6 cameras, all facing outwards, should provide enough overlapping coverage to get all of the 360 degrees necessary...know what I mean?


*N.B. We have seen this happen on many bigfoot shows

Kind of like my suggestion to Darkwing over at MABRC.

I guess you're with me on this.

They always seem to visit the camp...why not set up cameras for that?

The reason these shows do this is so that people will watch them. Television shows are entertainment, if they went about things scientifically no one would watch them (Ghost Hunters), they get as close as they can so that people will believe what they are doing is in the name of science when usually they have holes the size of SUVs in their approach and execution.

I have seen a show that had very similar events to what you described, it seemed to me that these guys were overreacting in that situation. From experience, a small animal makes a big noise in the woods at night. A purcupine sounds like a bear, until you crawl out of your tent and shine a flashlight on it. I'm not sure why the guys in the show I watched hid in their tents when it would have offered them little protection. Leads me to another controversial comment I have about bigfoot investigations, why look for them at night when they are active and on the move and while we are at a disadvantage with sight and mobility?

If I'm going on an expedition in the woods you would be sure I would have cameras set up everywhere, no matter how much weight I had to carry in my backpack.

So...that's it? Its more for entertainment purposes? The whole production of hiking through the woods is to make me think they are doing "a good job?"

Television is entertainment, don't expect them to do things correctly out there. Monsterquest is a great show, but it's based upon speculation more than actual science. These shows have a "science" feel to them, but to keep the show to a schedule they cut corners on and off the cameras, not to mention they work on a budget (which affects time, talent and tools).

It's frustrating watching some of these shows and I find myself telling them everything I think they are doing wrong more that I am taking notes of the ways they do things right. The average person cares little about the details, they are just excited to view the experience.

I don't know exactly why they wouldn't use the cameras specifically, but like I stated, time and tools may have been a factor.