Valley of the Apes

By Daryl Colyer

Over the last three years, the North American Wood Ape Conservancy has intensified its efforts in an area it refers to as “Area X,” located in the heart of the sparsely populated and rugged, seven-million-acre Ouachita Uplift region. The region is approximately 225 miles from its easternmost extremity in Arkansas to its westernmost extremity in Oklahoma and is roughly 75 miles across from its northernmost to southernmost extremities. Alton Higgins, the NAWAC’s Chairman and lead biologist, believes the Ouachita Uplift region, with its rich biodiversity and ecosystems, may serve as the central core area for the distribution of this extremely furtive and as yet unlisted species in the southcentral region of North America.

In 2011, the NAWAC conducted an observational and quantitative field study, designated as Operation Endurance, with some fascinating and notable results. The follow-up to Operation Endurance was conducted in the summer of 2012 and designated as Operation Persistence. Like Operation Endurance, Operation Persistence was a three-month field study that involved teams of investigators deploying in weekly shifts. As one team would finish its week, another team would move in to take the previous team’s place. The outgoing team would be debriefed by the incoming team, and thus during the field study there was continuity and longevity. The primary objective of Operation Persistence was to definitively substantiate the existence of the wood ape as a legitimate species; secondary objectives included the observation and quantification of behavioral activities and patterns of the target species.

Brian Brown, the organization’s Public Relations and Media Coordinator, recently produced two podcast episodes of The Bigfoot Show dedicated at least in part to Operation Persistence. Those two episodes can be accessed below, but are also available on iTunes or Stitcher. Also, an episode from Brian Brown’s heralded BIPcast series, produced by Brown during his first trip to Area X with the NAWAC in 2008, has been made available below as well.

The Bigfoot Show, Episode 39: Down in the valley of the jolly gray wood ape

The Bigfoot Show, Episode 38: Nothing but the truth

BIPcast 6: Area X