It was a memorable Friday the 13th for Donald McDonald of the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization. When he was invited to speak at the annual Collard Green Festival in Evergreen earlier this month, he had no idea he'd discover evidence of the legendary creature in Conecuh County.

But when a resident of the Pine Orchard community pointed out claw marks on a tree in his yard, McDonald determined they couldn't have been made by humans, and it's unlikely they were made by any other animals.

"Some of those claw marks start at about 8 feet off the ground and go to almost 12 feet," McDonald said. "Yes, there are bears in the area but a bear, if it would have made those marks, there would have bear claw marks on the sides of the tree where it climbed it, there were none."

McDonald was accompanied by fellow researcher Michael Humphreys, his co-star on the TV show, "Killing Bigfoot," which airs at 9 p.m. Central Feb. 4 on Destination America. Alabama Bigfoot enthusiast Ashley McPhaul of Excel joined the men, and Lee Peacock of The Evergreen Courant tagged along for a story.

Peacock said he doesn't know what to make of the claw marks. "I'm a very skeptical person by nature, but I like to keep an open mind. I have never personally seen a Bigfoot, but what I saw at Pine Orchard the other day is hard to ignore," he said. "Like true expert trackers, McDonald and Humphreys seemed to be able to see things in the woods that most people wouldn't give much attention to. It was a very eye-opening experience for me." Click here to read his story.

McDonald and Humphreys didn't do any filming for the TV show while in Alabama but they came to town early to check some Bigfoot sightings reported to GCRBO from people in the area.

"I had no idea when I was contacted that there were that many reports of these creatures in the area," he said. "(Bigfoot) howls and screams in the area have been heard by several of the locals. Many have seen it cross the road on them and had them around their homes."

McDonald said the GCBRO had about 18 reports in the area but when he left Alabama he had as many as 40 reports of sightings. "Just amazing."

According to the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Center website, people have reported seeing Sasquatch in 43 of Alabama's 67 counties.

McDonald said he didn't get to the Sepulga River bottoms, an area where about six people have reported "seven- to 8-foot-tall hairy bipedal creatures crossing the roads, seen coming out of the river and in people's back yards."

If the "Killing Bigfoot" team were to find a creature that threatened humans, they would kill it, McDonald said. "They are not these forest friends that many people think they are," he said.

He said Alabamians have different names for the creature known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch. "These Bigfoot creatures in Alabama have several local names, he said. "The Alabama White Thing, and around Evergreen, it's the Alabama Booger Monster. I'm sure there are a lot more local names throughout the state."

McDonald said that anyone who'd like to report a sighting can email him at msbigfoot1@gmail.com.

Updated at 9:50 a.m. Jan. 24, 2017, to say McDonald said it was unlikely the marks were made by any other animal.

Join al.com reporter Kelly Kazek on her weekly journey through Alabama to record the state's quirky history, strange roadside attractions and tales of colorful characters. Find her on Facebook.