Bigfoot is an unclassified ape; Nessie is a large unknown animal.
The File desk · official reports and named journals
Compiled Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Updated Wednesday, September 2, 2026
ConfirmedNot a USFWS-listed species. NatureScot has no Nessie protection plan.
UnverifiedExistence of Bigfoot or Nessie as an unknown animal.
Confirmed: not a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed species (ECOS /species/sasquatch returned 404 on September 2, 2026). NatureScot has no Nessie protection plan. Existence of either animal is Unverified. This desk does not invent a debunk.
Hair samples
Sykes et al., Proc. R. Soc. B 281:20140161 (July 2, 2014): 30 hair samples attributed to anomalous primates; two Himalayan closest to polar bear; otherwise known extant mammals (doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.0161).
Not a listed species
USFWS ECOS /species/sasquatch returned 404 on September 2, 2026. That is not a listing.
Skamania County ordinance list (ecode360): 69-01 Sasquatch protection (Not codified); 1984-02 Sasquatch refuge (Not codified). A county ordinance list is not a species listing.
Loch Ness
NatureScot FOI, September 16, 2025 (FOI):
“NatureScot has not developed a species protection plan or code of practice for the Loch Ness Monster.”
VisitScotland (Nessie page): Nessie never officially found; Deepscan detected objects, no monster confirmed.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Whether any living unclassified ape exists in North America — no listed species, no confirmed specimen on this desk.
- What the Deepscan objects in Loch Ness were. VisitScotland says no monster was confirmed.
- Whether later hair or eDNA studies will repeat Sykes 2014 or change it.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Genetic analysis of hair samples attributed to anomalous primates
Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Sykes et al.) · July 2, 2014
30 hair samples attributed to anomalous primates; two Himalayan closest to polar bear; otherwise known extant mammals.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.0161
Source 2
Skamania County ordinance list
eCode360 · September 2, 2026
69-01 Sasquatch protection (Not codified); 1984-02 Sasquatch refuge (Not codified).
https://ecode360.com/46462922
Source 3
FOI: species protection plan / code of practice for the Loch Ness Monster
NatureScot · September 16, 2025
NatureScot has not developed a species protection plan or code of practice for the Loch Ness Monster.
https://www.nature.scot/doc/freedom-information-request-species-protection-plancode-practice-loch-ness-monster
Source 4
Nessie
VisitScotland · September 2, 2026
Nessie never officially found; Deepscan detected objects, no monster confirmed.
https://www.visitscotland.com/places-to-go/loch-ness/things-to-do/nessie