A lawsuit was filed with the State of California on Thursday. Todd Standing, who is originally from Edmonton and studied at the University of Alberta, said he intends on bringing forward “overwhelming” evidence to prove the sasquatch is indeed a species and that it exists in the wild in California.

“There’s a date set so we’re going in with PhDs, with wilderness experts beyond myself, with wildlife biologists, with fingerprint experts. We’re going to prove so beyond a reasonable doubt that this species exists,” Standing said from California Friday morning.

“When we prove that and we’re successful, the species will be recognized as an Indigenous wildlife species and then fish and wildlife — in California, in Canada, in the United States, everywhere — will have to start recognizing this species and studying them, doing biological surveys.

“We can’t lose. How can we lose?”

Standing said he has DNA and hair samples that prove sasquatch not only exist in California, but in British Columbia and Alberta as well.

Standing, the man behind the Netflix documentary Discovering Bigfoot, has focused his research on the Pacific northwest and said an area near Nordegg, Alta. has seen particularly frequent sasquatch activity.

“Half of my evidence in from Alberta,” he said. “I’ve had lots of success in Alberta but I have one particular research site north of Nordegg… We’ve had live interactions with sasquatch there.”

Standing encourages any naysayers to join him on an expedition and said he will prove to anyone that the sasquatch exists.

“Don’t take my word for it. Come out with me and I will show you a sasquatch in the field,” he said. “I challenge you to come out on an expedition with me in Alberta, in your own backyard, I will show you a sasquatch.”

In a statement Friday afternoon, Alberta Fish and Wildlife told Global News it does not keep any statistics related to sasquatch sightings in the province.

Standing’s American colleagues have a hearing date set in California on March 19. The Alberta researcher is working on similar legal action in B.C. and Alberta.

“It blows my mind it’s taken this much time for society to accept this species exists.”

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the sasquatch is “a creature whose existence is suggested, but has not yet been confirmed by the scientific community.”

The encyclopedia describes the sasquatch as a “large, ape-like creature that lives primarily in the forests stretching from the West Coast of British Columbia to Northern California, and to a lesser extent throughout North America.” The encyclopedia says sasquatch have been described as being up to nine feet tall, weighing up to 800 pounds and having footprints that measure up to 50 centimetres.

Source: Global News