Bigfoot
I took a few physical anthropology courses on my way to a bachelor's in archaeology and I really would like to believe there's a pocket of primitive hominids hanging out in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S./Canada, the Himalayas, and/or the jungles of southeast Asia.
Unfortunately, based on the complete lack of hard evidence, I highly doubt any such populations exist. No physical remains have been found by hunters, hikers, loggers, explorers, etc. With the world shrinking as fast as it is (habitat loss, suburban sprawl, human population explosion, cel-phone video, global media, etc.), it would be incredibly difficult for any such group of Sasquatches (or whatever) to remain hidden and isolated.
Secondly, if such a small, isolated population existed, a phenomenon sometimes called genetic bottlenecking would be taking place. With a relatively small, closely related genepool, these creatures would be suffering from all kinds of genetic disorders and maladies that would further hinder their survivability.
The same thing could be said of other mythical creatures like the Loch Ness monster, the Chupacabra, etc.
Lastly, most, if not all, of the purported "evidence" of these creatures (at least in the U.S.) has been exposed as bogus. Most of it is the work of good-natured pranksters and/or folks hoping to prosper from their "discoveries".
It would be cool if there were a few peaceful and nature loving hominids out there in the woods somewhere, untouched by time and unsullied by human excesses. Unfortunately, I think this is more wishful thinking and conspiracy theory than anything else. I hope I'm wrong.
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