A community in upstate New York with a history of Bigfoot sightings has declared the cryptid their 'official animal.' The village of Whitehall has long been associated with Sasquatch thanks to a prominent 1976 sighting that led to numerous people coming forward to also say that they had seen the creature. Since that time, Bigfoot has become something of a mascot for the town with several statues of the creature placed throughout the community as well as an annual road race and festival centered around the Sasquatch theme.
And now administrators in the village have taken things even further by recognizing Bigfoot as Whitehall's official animal. The resolution passed unanimously late last month with one voting member of the village board musing to a local newspaper that "it can't hurt." Along with the 'official animal' designation, the bill also declared that the last Saturday of September shall be henceforth known as 'Sasquatch Appreciation Day.' Remarkably, this is not the first time that Sasquatch has been the subject of official town business as administrators had previously passed a law declaring the creature an endangered species.
By way of this new designation, Whitehall joins a surprisingly long list of communities that have embraced Bigfoot. Among them are the cities of Jefferson, Texas and Evergreen, Alabama, which have both declared themselves the 'Bigfoot capital' of their respective states. Not to be outdone, the town of Remer, Minnesota has laid claim to simply being the 'Home of Bigfoot.' Meanwhile, Washington state still have a bill waiting to be passed which would designate Sasquatch as their official cryptid.