Massive Bigfoot Caught On Hunter’s Trail Cam At Shelter Site

What began as a routine scouting trip for a seasoned big-game hunter turned into one of the most startling wilderness encounters reported in Western Canada this year. A mysterious figure—towering, broad-shouldered, and seemingly inspecting a shelter made from woven branches—was captured on a hunter’s trail cam deep in the backcountry near Nordegg late last week.

The image, transmitted automatically to the hunter’s phone while he rested at his camp miles away, has triggered a new wave of speculation about the existence of Bigfoot in the Canadian Rockies.

The hunter, who asked to be identified only as Daniel, has spent more than 25 years tracking elk, moose, and black bear in some of Alberta’s most remote terrain. But he insists nothing in his long experience prepared him for what he found—or what his camera later recorded.

A Shelter Too Large to Ignore

The encounter began when Daniel ventured into a thick stretch of forest roughly 15 miles west of Nordegg, a rugged region known for steep ridges, heavy timber, and almost nonexistent cell reception. While following fresh elk sign, he came across what he first believed was storm debris piled unusually high against a fallen log.

But as he approached, he realized it wasn’t debris at all.

“It was a structure,” he said. “A big one. Seven, maybe eight feet tall at the highest point. Limbs were woven together, not snapped or scattered. Something made it intentionally.”

The shelter resembled a dome or lean-to, built from long, curved branches bent into place. The interior was hollow, with a smooth area in the center where the moss and soil had clearly been compressed—almost like something had sat or slept there.

Daniel has encountered makeshift survival shelters before, usually from hikers or winter campers, but this one didn’t match any he’d ever seen.

“There were no tools used. No rope, no cordage, no cuts,” he said. “And there weren’t any boot tracks, food wrappers, or gear left behind. Just this massive, strange structure sitting in the middle of nowhere.”

Curious—and slightly uneasy—he decided to set a trail camera on a nearby tree, positioning it to record anything that might return.

The Phone Alert That Changed the Night

After a long day of hiking, Daniel returned to his temporary backcountry camp several miles away. He made dinner, checked his maps, and turned in for the evening, expecting nothing more than a few nighttime shots of deer or coyotes investigating the shelter site.

Shortly before midnight, his satellite-linked trail cam sent its first alert.

“I almost didn’t check it,” he said. “Figured it was a rabbit or something small.”

But when a second alert arrived 20 seconds later—marked “Large subject detected”—he opened the thumbnail image.

“At first I thought my phone was glitching,” he said. “Then I zoomed in. And my heart just started pounding.”

The figure in the frame dwarfed the shelter beside it. Standing upright, its head nearly reached the arch of the woven structure. The shoulders were massive, the torso thick, and the arms appeared longer than any known animal native to the region. The entire outline was heavily covered in dark hair.

“It was facing the shelter, almost leaning toward it, like it was checking to see if anything had disturbed it,” Daniel said. “I’ve seen bears stand up—this wasn’t a bear. I’d stake my life on that.”

Returning to the Scene

At sunrise, Daniel packed up his camp and hiked directly back to the shelter site, half expecting to find the structure destroyed or covered in fresh tracks.

What he discovered instead only deepened the mystery.

“The whole ground around the structure was disturbed,” he said. “Not torn up like from a fight or anything—just heavily compressed. Whatever was there had been standing or moving around for a long time.”

The shelter itself had been altered. The top portion had been lifted or shifted several inches, and one of the thicker branches—more than three inches across—had been snapped high above human shoulder height.

Nearby, Daniel found his trail camera on the ground. The mounting strap had been undone—not broken, not chewed, but unthreaded from the buckle.

“That’s what really rattled me,” he said. “Bears rip cameras off trees. They don’t unclip buckles.”

The camera still functioned, but the nighttime image remained the only clear capture from the encounter.

Experts and Authorities Weigh In

Wildlife specialists who reviewed the photo are divided.

A retired Alberta Fish & Wildlife officer said the figure’s proportions are “unlike any wildlife species in this region,” noting especially the length of the arms and the unusually straight posture.

Dr. Nathan Hale, a wildlife biologist in British Columbia who studies large-mammal movement patterns, urged caution but called the photograph “intriguing.”

“Trail cameras don’t lie,” Hale said. “They can misinterpret shadows or scale, but they can’t invent mass. Whatever was in that frame is significantly larger than a human.”

Skeptics point out that low-light conditions can distort size and shape. But even they admit the shelter itself raises questions.

“It would take a tremendous amount of force to bend those limbs into place,” said one forestry technician familiar with the region. “Human-made shelters usually have cut branches or cordage. This one doesn’t.”

A Growing File of Strange Reports

Nordegg and the surrounding foothills have produced sporadic Bigfoot reports for decades, usually dismissed as misidentified wildlife or campfire folklore. However, several recent sightings share common elements with Daniel’s encounter—large woven structures, unusually deep foot impressions, and nighttime vocalizations echoing through the valleys.

Residents in nearby hamlets have reported hearing “low, rolling howls” in the early morning hours, though none have been officially documented.

“I Know What I Saw”

Daniel has chosen not to publish the full-resolution image online yet, fearing it will be ridiculed, edited, or taken out of context before experts can analyze it properly.

“I’m not claiming I proved anything,” he said. “But I know the wilderness. I know what’s out there. And what was in that camera frame wasn’t any animal I’ve ever tracked.”

He has already scheduled a return trip with additional cameras—this time with locking steel boxes, reinforced straps, and thermal sensors.

“I just want answers,” he said. “Something built that shelter. Something came back to it. And whatever it was… it wasn’t small.”