"Right now we're treating it as a hoax," said Kevin Hill of the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Despite the likelihood of a hoax, Hill said, the matter is still under investigation by the DWF and Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office.

Meanwhile, the two loggers -- log foreman Earl Whitstine and saw-cutter Carl Michael Dubois, both of Grant Parish -- are sticking tight to their story that they saw a Bigfoot creature in the Cotton Island area of northeast Rapides Parish last week.

Their boss, Joe Delrie, owner of Delrie Wood Products of Colfax, says he believes their tale wholeheartedly, despite others' skepticism about the authenticity of the alleged Bigfoot sightings and tracks found in Boggy Bayou.

Mary Ward, the owner of the land where the reported sightings took place, said around 200 people have come out to her property to view the plaster cast taken from a "Bigfoot" footprint and the Boggy Bayou site.

"They all go away pretty well convinced," Ward said.

A sign put up over the weekend at the entrance to Ward's property reads "Big Foot Protection Area." She said a Bigfoot supporter asked for her permission to place it in that prominent position.

She said visitors are welcome as long as they only shoot with cameras. No guns or dogs allowed.

Whitstine said he saw the unusual creature once on Tuesday morning and again on Thursday while working with Dubois.

Whitstine and Dubois flatly deny they concocted a hoax, saying they had nothing to gain from such a ruse.

"Me and that man (Whitstine) seen what we seen. It was big, hairy and had big feet," Dubois said.

The two men were working in the Cotton Island area removing hardwood logs, they said, when the creature made his two appearances.