DURHAM

The woods of Durham are dark this time of year, clotted with falling leaves and thick evergreen branches that make travel on foot difficult.

For humans, at least.

Legend has it that something else roams the large swath of forest between Durham and Bowdoin, an elusive animal whose existence came to light back in July 1973 and caused an uproar. Many Durham townsfolk reported seeing a large, ape-like creature peeking out from behind bushes and running down roadways, and soon the legend of the Durham Gorilla was born.

Through the years, some have linked the gorilla with Sasquatch sightings that have occurred in and around Durham. Perhaps the most avid believer is Bill Brock, host of Destination America’s “Monsters Underground” and Durham resident, who thinks the gorilla and Sasquatch are one in the same.

“It’s just because of a lack of terms that they called it a gorilla,” said Brock, who in addition to “Monsters Underground,” has released multiple YouTube videos, including “The Durham Gorilla Series.” “I believe it was a Sasquatch. People had heard about Bigfoot back in the ’70s, they just didn’t have the internet and information portals that we have now.”

Brock defines a Sasquatch — or Bigfoot — as a neanderthal whose species evolved enhanced senses after generations of living in the woods.

“People in town are kind of embarrassed by the story,” said Tia Wilson of the Durham Historical Society. “Most people say it was a child on the loose, and everyone went hog wild with a story about a gorilla. We’ve also heard that there was a supposed zoo in town and a gorilla got loose. I believe there was someone who had a farm with a few animals that would get loose from time to time.”

The stories of gorilla sighting were few and far between after the late ’70s, but have gained an uptick in the past couple of years.

“With Bill Brock it’s kind of all come back,” said Wilson.

Brock, who grew up in Brunswick, started chasing Bigfoot 10 years ago.

“Searching for Bigfoot really kind of set the tone for my life,” said Brock, who began shooting “Monsters Underground” for Destination America in 2014.

Brock’s YouTube videos take a more intimate look at his investigations of local Sasquatch sightings like the Durham Gorilla. One video from 2012 depicts Brock and another Durham resident hiking near the Durham/Lisbon town line and attempting to lure the creature out of the woods, using a cow carcass as bait.

“The guy I was with saw the creature and explained it as a gorilla, big and hairy,” said Brock. “But it’s not a gorilla. It’s a Sasquatch.”

Loren Coleman of the International Museum of Cryptozoology in Portland isn’t so sure.

“It may have been a prank where kids dressed as a gorilla,” said Coleman, who collects stories and information of strange and mysterious creatures around the country for display in the museum. “Maybe it was a malformed bear or a swamp ape from down south. Why it was way up here, I don’t know, but I’m firmly not in the Bigfoot camp.”

Brock said there have been many strange sightings in the Durham area between 1973 and the present.

“I’ve had quite a few witnesses come forward and say they had experienced strange things,” Brock said. “One kid said he had a Sasquatch come out and run beside his bicycle back in the ’70s. A few more people saw something in Bowdoin recently.”

Brock said there have also been sightings out by Sebago Lake, and one on Mount Katahdin where “six hikers were chased by some sort of primate that ran really fast, caught up to them and became aggressive. You’re not supposed to hike the back side of that mountain.”

While there is no strict evidence of apes or Sasquatches roaming the woods of our state, Brock will continue his search.

In the meantime, watch your bananas.

bgoodridge@timesrecord.com