BFRO Founder Reveals Bigfoot's Human-Level Intelligence

Ever wonder if we've been underestimating Bigfoot this whole time? A fascinating conversation popped up on the Planet Tyrus YouTube channel, and it's got people buzzing. Matt Moneymaker, the founder and president of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) and well-known lead investigator from Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot, sat down for a chat that dives deep into the intelligence of these elusive forest beings. One of the most mind-blowing parts of the discussion centers around ancient depictions. While researching Native American tribes in the Oregon region, Moneymaker stumbled across hieroglyphics featuring a very particular being showing up repeatedly in their historical artwork. And here's where it gets wild — when he started digging into New Zealand history, specifically around the sacred Maori sites where the remains of the now-extinct moa (those massive nine-foot birds) are kept, he found strikingly similar beings depicted on the wall paintings inside those sacred grounds. The public can't just wander in there — you need tribal permission to access those areas. What really stands out is how these cultures didn't describe them as animals. They described them as beings — individuals they traded with, made treaties with, and respected as fellow inhabitants of the forest. There were understandings like "this is their territory, we don't hunt on their grounds, and they don't hunt on ours." That's a far cry from the "dumb ape" narrative that's been pushed for decades. Moneymaker makes a compelling point about brain size. These beings have heads larger than ours, and proportionally, their bodies are massive. A larger brain typically correlates with higher intelligence. Sure, dolphins, elephants, and whales have bigger brains than humans, but they don't build skyscrapers either. The point is, you can't measure intelligence on a human scale. Human intelligence is almost alien to this planet, as Moneymaker puts it. When you're out there in the woods with them, you realize we are the monsters, we are the freaks. These beings are a perfect expression of their environment, and you're the one who feels out of place. The behavior patterns Moneymaker describes are equally fascinating. Most encounters end the same way — the being turns around and leaves. It doesn't engage. Think about that for a second. A grizzly bear will stand up, show you how big and powerful it is, and dare you to stick around. That's why we have photos of them. But these beings? They're dismissive. They might do a little intimidation display to make you uncomfortable enough to leave the area, but they won't put themselves in danger by stepping into the open where you could shoot at them. If you turn on a spotlight, they'll stay just behind the trees where they're safe but still make your night miserable until you decide to pack up and go. Moneymaker draws a brilliant comparison to orcas versus sharks. Both could kill you, but sharks will eat a human if given the chance. Orcas? The only documented attacks on humans have happened in captivity. In the wild, they come right up to swimmers, check them out, and move on. They identify humans as something different, something to be respected rather than prey. That intelligence gap is significant. There's also the mock aggressive charge comparison. Primates like chimps and gorillas do these huge displays — tearing trees off, beating their chests, screaming "stay away from me." It's a bluff. But these forest beings skip that whole theatrics routine. They're past it. They know walking away is the smarter move, and that decision-making process itself signals a level of intelligence we rarely acknowledge. The conversation touches on something that resonates with researchers and witnesses alike — the idea that these beings are trying to impress upon us that they're intelligent, that they deserve respect as another intelligent species sharing this planet. When you go in thinking they're a dumb animal, you come out realizing they're operating on a completely different level of awareness, one perfectly adapted to their lifestyle. This is the kind of discussion that shifts perspectives. If you haven't checked out the full conversation on Planet Tyrus, it's definitely worth the watch. Moneymaker brings decades of field experience to the table, and the parallels he draws between ancient cultural depictions across different continents raise some seriously intriguing questions about just how long these beings have been walking alongside us — and how much we've failed to recognize about them.