EMILY JENKINS: This is done here on Tuesday, June 29, at the National Conservation Training Center for the Sc3 Conference.
What makes you speak about Bigfoot?
LARRY BATTSON: Well, I'm interested in the natural world, and as far as I'm concerned, for the last 40 years that I've researched this, that there's definitely living throughout North America and different spots around the world a bipedal animal that is technically been undiscovered by science, been seen by tens of thousands. It's either the most interesting creature we have on this planet or the most phenomenal hoax ever pulled off.
EMILY JENKINS: So what made you want to come to Sc3 to talk about it?
LARRY BATTSON: I was invited. I was here last year for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and I did a speech on the subject in the auditorium, and they got such tremendous response-- they got response from around the world on that particular night. So when they were talking about the Sc3 Conference, they said, man, what a great program to do for our campfire. They invited me and I came over.
EMILY JENKINS: How do the kids like it when you talk about it? And what are their feelings about it usually?
LARRY BATTSON: Well, I think there's a little bit more of an open mind about it now because there's been so much exposure on like television programs like "Monster Quest" from the Discovery Channel, and there's been quite a few documentaries on it. So people are a little bit more educated about it. But I've always said to anyone that if you spend any time at all researching this subject, you will know there's something to this. The ones that flat say there's no way they could exist, it's scientifically impossible, they haven't looked into it.
EMILY JENKINS: So the kids that leave here after you speak to them, what do you want them to take away from it? Do you want them to just question more or do you want them to go away just hearing a really cool story or look into it or what?
LARRY BATTSON: Scientists, which I hope they all are, should have an open mind, and my prediction is that somewhere in this group tonight there will be somebody that will after this program is over will come up to me and tell me they've either seen or had an experience, or whether in the future whether they go off and become a ranger or biologist in places like Washington, Oregon, Northern California, that something will happen to them, they'll have an experience that they will remember this night in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
EMILY JENKINS: So, have you heard a lot of Bigfoot stories, and what's your favorite one?
LARRY BATTSON: Well, it's endless. It's endless. I mean, I could-- I've done this program for groups before, and I've spoken for three straight hours and not even broken the surface. So-- and I really don't have a favorite. Though I will have to say recently I have testimony from a Yellowstone Park Ranger who actually had a sighting in Yellowstone National Park, and he's flat honest, he says, "I don't care if anybody believes me, I know what I've seen," and in fact, I played a portion of that interview tonight for this presentation. So it's pretty-- it's pretty spectacular to listen to.
EMILY JENKINS: Okay. Well, you heard it, and if you want to hear anymore, you'll have to listen to Larry Battson speak, and this is done here on Tuesday, June 29th at the National Conservation Training Center for the Sc3 Conference.
And is there anything else you would like to say?
LARRY BATTSON: Well, they can go to my web site, and there's-- I do have
some information on it there, and it's very simple. It's just www.larrytheanimalguy.com. And you can go to my web site. And also I do a BLOG talk radio program on the Internet, and there's a link to that. I've done several shows on the subject. So, I hope people will go to our web site and tune into our program.
EMILY JENKINS: That's really awesome. Well, thanks for coming in and inspiring the kids that came and, hopefully, everybody else.
