'Finding Bigfoot's' Sole Skeptic Ranae Holland Talks Sasquatch: INTERVIEW

Whether you believe in the existence of the elusive 14-foot walking primate known commonly as Bigfoot or not, the cult hit series Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet has something to offer you, due mainly to Ranae Holland (out lesbian and research biologist) returning as one of the show’s stars. And if you happen to be a Sasquatch skeptic, well, then Holland really plays for your team, as she is the show’s resident non-believer.

Whether you believe in the existence of the elusive 14-foot walking primate known commonly as Bigfoot or not, the cult hit series Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet has something to offer you, due mainly to Ranae Holland (out lesbian and research biologist) returning as one of the show’s stars. And if you happen to be a Sasquatch skeptic, well, then Holland really plays for your team, as she is the show’s resident non-believer.

Holland was first introduced to the phenomena of Bigfoot as a little girl when she would bond with her father by watching movies and television shows and by reading articles about the authenticity of the species together. Since the death of her father in 2003, Ranae has found a way to keep his memory close to her through her field research and subsequently the series. Holland’s scientific expertise and analytical know-how often puts her at odds with completely succumbing to the myth, but it is her openness to be disproved that makes her one of the more relatable people on the show.

“Finding Bigfoot” has a Blair Witch-ian quality to it wherein cameras follow the four-person team of Bigfoot researchers across the country–often as they patrol the blackness of the wildernesses in order prove or disprove the myth of the elusive beast. The team is made up of members from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) and is comprised of a commercial fisherman (Bobo), a professional educator (Cliff), the BFRO president (Matt) and skeptical scientist (Ranae); each member on a mission to find out if Bigfoot really exists.

SheWired got a chance to talk to Holland about the series, how she spends her time when she’s not searching for giant primates and why those pictures of Bigfoot are always so darn grainy.

SheWired: Prior to joining the series have you always had an interest in Bigfoot?

Ranae Holland: Yeah, my background is that I grew up in South Dakota, and my special time with my father was watching movies with him. At the time there was a 1970’s-era Bigfoot movie craze, and we spent a lot of our quality time watching those. It wasn’t until made dad passed away in 2003, and I was going through some of his belongings, that I came upon a Bigfoot book and an old video and it brought back vivid memories of my father. That’s really what got me to meet the members of the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Research Organization).

How did you get involved with the series itself?

Well, I am fascinated by the consistent mythology of it. For hundreds of years, some will argue thousands, there is the belief that there is this undiscovered bipedal primate running around North America and yet there is no, in my opinion, tangible evidence of this. And how it persists is just fascinating to me…

So it really originated with my love of the environment, my love of fieldwork, and feeling so close to my dad by hearing all these stories [about Bigfoot.] I feel like I’m that little girl again on my dad’s lap. But how I got involved in the show itself was that I was living in Seattle doing fieldwork, and while doing that I met Matt Moneymaker (president of BFRO). We developed a relationship via emails and telephone and we would talk about Bigfoot -- and I would offer my scientific feedback. We had that symbiotic relationship for about six or seven years. At one point a production company approached the Discovery channel with an idea for the show and the BRFO, and of course, Matt, was a main part of it. And I understand that for about nine months they were looking to fill, what would be my role on the show, which was a person that encompasses ‘the eye of the viewer,’ a nonbeliever – and the field expert. Initially, I was very resistant to doing this because, I am a young scientist that studies aquatics and fisheries, and the last thing I wanted to do was be affiliated with belief in Bigfoot. So it actually took me a while to come around.

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