What is the difference between Bigfoot and Yowie?

The Yowie is Australia's big hairy man of the bush. Reports sound a lot like Bigfoot, but the Yowie has its own long history in Aboriginal stories and in settler accounts of 'hairy men' from the 1800s. Where: Bigfoot is in North America. The Yowie is reported in eastern Australia: the Blue Mountains, Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland and the Great Dividing Range. Size: Yowie reports cover a wider range, from about 6 feet to 10 feet.

Creatures / Compare

Bigfoot Yowie

Bigfoot vs Yowie: what's the difference?

The Yowie is Australia's big hairy man of the bush. Reports sound a lot like Bigfoot, but the Yowie has its own long history in Aboriginal stories and in settler accounts of 'hairy men' from the 1800s.

Side by side

BigfootYowie

Also calledSasquatch, Skookum, Wood ape, Forest giantYahoo, Doolagahl, Australian ape-man, Hairy man

WherePacific Northwest, Appalachia, the Great Lakes and the South; reported in every US state but Hawaii, and across CanadaEastern Australia: the Blue Mountains, Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland and the Great Dividing Range

First reportedIndigenous names such as Sasq'ets (Halkomelem) long predate the 1958 "Bigfoot" headline from Bluff Creek, CaliforniaAboriginal stories; settler reports of "hairy men" from the 1800s

Size7 to 9 ft tall, 500 to 800 lb (estimated)6 to 10 ft

HabitatRemote mixed forest near waterRainforest gullies and dry sclerophyll forest

SignsFootprints 14 to 18 inches long, often with a mid-foot flex; Wood knocks and rock clacks at night; Whoops, howls and "Samurai chatter" vocalizationsLarge human-like tracks; Deep grunts and screams in the bush; Rocks thrown at campers

Famous cases56

Witness stories362

The big differences

Where: Bigfoot is in North America. The Yowie is reported in eastern Australia: the Blue Mountains, Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland and the Great Dividing Range.
Size: Yowie reports cover a wider range, from about 6 feet to 10 feet.
Behaviour: Yowie witnesses often describe rocks thrown at their camp and deep grunts and screams in the bush.
Where the stories come from: Aboriginal traditions with many local names, such as Doolagahl, plus colonial newspaper reports from the 1800s.

Could they be the same thing?

The two stories grew up independently on different continents. That's part of why enthusiasts find the Yowie interesting: very similar 'hairy man' descriptions from places with no contact. Sceptics point out that Australia has no native apes at all, which makes a large primate even harder to explain there.

Which one did you see?

Probably Bigfoot if…

North American forest
Wood knocks and whoops
Usually 7 to 9 feet

Probably Yowie if…

Australian bush or rainforest gully
Grunts, screams and thrown rocks
Anywhere from 6 to 10 feet

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