When a group of Bigfoot enthusiasts set up trail cameras in the Bluff Creek area of in the northeast of the county five years ago, they did so in hopes of spotting the elusive Sasquatch.



But when a member of Bluff Creek Project was reviewing trail-cam footage from the Bluff Creek — the site of the famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film — they noticed another rare, furry creature captured on camera: A three-legged bear.

Screenshot of the Bluff Creek Project footage above.

Video of the three-legged black bear has since been posted to the Squatch-hunting group’s Facebook page. While the footage was recorded in August, group member Jamie Wayne told the Outpost that it was discovered and uploaded to the internet earlier this week, because the trail cameras are only checked three times a year.

The famous Patterson-Gimlin film.

“Hopefully the bear was missing the leg before it got [tagged],” Wayne said “It looks pretty good, though. We’ve been calling the bear ‘Tripod.’”

Wayne said that a number of Bluff Creek Project Bigfooters are still in the field checking cameras for signs of Sasquatch. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film.

The Outpost reached out to California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife to see if there’s any government record of the three-legged bear, which clearly has a tag around its neck in the videos above. However, a representative with CDFW who is actively attempting to track down the bear’s backstory, said finding information on the animal will likely be a lengthy process.

A loyal group of Bigfoot enthusiasts, hot on the Squatch trail in Bluff Creek. Photo provided by Jamie Wayne.

This isn’t the first time the Bluff Creek Project has caught rare wildlife footage on one of its trail cams. Check out this bonus footage of an endangered Humboldt Marten seen in July.