Familial traits and Inbreeding

I have been tracking this group non stop since the spring of 2008. There are characteristics of each member that distinguishes them from the other yet they all seem very much alike. There are some reasons that come to mind so we must explore the possibilities of likelihood of one possible explanation over the other. Above is a group of males from 4 generations ranging from 74 to 4 years of age, this will be our frame of reference to compare to those is question, a baseline if you will. They are also the first males from each generation, below them is a collection of the group of 4 that I have been tracking, now let's do a comparison and contrast to exclude or include possibilities. The first thing that you will notice is that as the genetic code gets diluted by adding in another DNA (female) the changes is more evident as more DNA gets thrown into the mix as the generations progress. Please take the time to study this closely before you move to the next photo, appreciate the differences and similarities of each member of their generation compared to the other. You will notice that the oldest looks much different than the youngest but look very familiar to the generation next to them. This is the dilution of genetic material when adding another variable (female). This is what is to be expected even within a family let alone from an entirely different group as in husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, social groups, etc whose differences would be much greater. Now looking at the group in question (blue background) you will notice that there is very little change in characteristics. How can this be? Why do we not see the same dilution of characteristics as within known family groups? There can be only 3 reasons from which I understand that can explain this. Let's examine those possibilities. The first thing that comes to mind is cloning:

Cloning has a multitude of issues first of all is the obvious.....there has been no definitive evidence in the U.S. of the use of tools let alone the Nuclear Transfer Technology needed for reproductive cloning done by these individuals. Reproductive cloning has about a 10% success rate. Dolly the sheep took scientists 276 tries to be successful. Then there were the experiments in Russia of making a Man/Ape hybrid that apparently never panned out. Most clones succumb to some sort of immune/infectious disease issue within a short time so I feel safe to say that this would not be likely, let's move on to the next idea.

Quadruplets raises some interesting questions. First of all I could not find any information of quadruplets happening naturally in the wild with primates. In humans it usually occurs with intervention such as fertility drugs. There are many issues with multiple births to include low birth rate, still births, and even a higher incidence of Cerebral Palsy in offspring let alone the mortality risk to the mother. If somehow they share reproductive traits of other mammals then the idea of a litter must be entertained. Remember, no matter how much we think we know about them at this point we cannot exclude any possibilities until they are ruled out no matter how ridiculous they may seem, this is the scientific process so it must be included until disproven . The Platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs rather than giving live birth to their young. Its tail is for storage of fat as well as a rudder and the males have a venomous spur on its hind leg. It is the only venomous mammal besides the shrew. It is these different qualities in this mammal that I call the Sasquatch the "Platypus of Primates" because they seem to share the qualities of human, ape, and something else. The Platypus had given the scientist of the times great confusion because it did not fit the preconceived scientific box of a mammal. I believe a new box will be needed to explain this species.

Inbreeding

This is the most likely scenario I think it can be. There are many reasons for this one given the limited population that there must be and geographic isolation between groups but it does not come without its problems. The major issue with inbreeding is gaining the undesirable recessive or deleterious traits which leads to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression from first generation inbreds can lead to many physical and psychological issues such as low birth rate, infant mortality, slow growth rate, and small adults s well as low IQ's. Based on the data that I have gathered through castings could explain why the growth rate on this group is slow and account for smaller adults. Mike Rash a bow hunter/maker and witness described to me an individual being around 6.5 to 7.0 ft tall but looking like a "big boned, frail, animal with silver tips to its hair". The one I had seen was around the same size but being more robust with a dark shiny black coat of hair with a hue of blue. His sighting and my sighting were not that far apart which brings to question if they are limited in height and size because of inbreeding. Scientists inbreed lab rats/mice to keep the genetic strain pure for more accurate research. The ill effects of inbreeding can be circumvented given the right choice of partners. This can be predicted using the inbreeding coefficient, a computed percentage of likelihood that alleles (genetic traits) be identical by descent and passed on to the offspring. This is the defining issue of inbreeding. A father/daughter, mother/son, brother/sister has about a 25% chance of passing on identical alleles (recessive traits) creating issues. A first cousin inbred has a 6.25% chance of problems. Genetic issues have plagued the Amish since coming to America. Growing up close to where the Amish live I have always wondered if they really do look alike or is it the fact that they dress the same and their facial features are covered by hair. I wonder what their feet look like? You be the judge if they look similar.

Conclusion

Based on the data I have gathered on this group I believe them to be of a true biological family based on the similarities of each individual. So they are not a couple or social group who just so happen to be in so many areas all through the Sierras in areas of prediction walking barefoot in some pretty inhospitable terrain for the past three years. The cloning hypothesis does not stand up to the scrutiny of what would be needed to make this viable. Quadruplets does have some merit yet I question the ability of an animal in the wild to be able to overcome the odds of carrying to term and giving birth to 4 offspring with apparently no problems. Inbreeding seems to be the most likely answer given assumed population and geographic isolation. I will continue to gather data and am still presently gathering more trackways the latest being the 15th of October.

Up close view of trackway

This is an up close view of the trackway that I had just come upon. I have cleaned them up to prepare them for casting. The casting material is not as important as the preparation of the track. I come in for a close up so you can see the details of this track. This track has the characteristics of a certain individual however, it is about an inch larger and a bit wider. This could be evidence of growth. A cast comparison could help determine if it is from one of the repeat visitors as well as comparing for growth.

Trackway on the opposite side of the Sierras

This is an area where I was expecting to find more tracks on the opposite side of the Sierras. The snowfall this last winter was more than the past few years so I had to account for this and adjust my trajectory. That area I found more tracks but they were too old to make a positive ID. This site revealed not only what seemed like the same individual but also dermals that appear to be vertical. Check out the next blog and determine for yourself.