Bigfoot could get official state status if California Assembly Bill passes

California is synonymous with the golden poppy and the California redwood. If one assemblyman has his way, the state could soon adopt Bigfoot, a.k.a. Sasquatch, as its latest official emblem.

Assemblyman Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) authored AB 666 in hopes of making Bigfoot the state cryptid. And what's a cryptid? It's an animal, being or entity that has not been proven to exist but has been reported by eyewitnesses or other sources of evidence – think, the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman.

The last recorded spotting of the large, muscular, hairy, ape-like-looking creature in the state, according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, was in Humboldt County in September 2024. 

"Hikers hear chatter and whoops of a large animal in Founders Grove, 33mi SE of Eureka," the database states. There are 48 reported sightings in Humboldt, dating back to 1957, where "three children have daytime sighting near Eureka."

Closer to Los Angeles, in 1993, a "man remembers sighting while driving on a lonely dark two-lane road near Gorman," BFRO reported.

Fact or fiction, the creature does get around. While California lists 463 sightings, Washington reports 724 possible sasquatch sightings, according to Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. 

Beyond the "Eureka" motto and the Bear Flag, official state symbols are extensive, with the California State Library listing over 40 state-registered symbols. Denim is the state's official fabric, the saber-toothed cat is the official state fossil, and the state rock is Serpentine, to name a few of the lesser-knowns.

So could Bigfoot become the state's official cryptid? It takes 41 votes in the California State Assembly before it becomes law.