Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as it's sometimes known as, may not be a scary male monster but instead a broody female, it's been revealed. The revelation came from Jeff Meldrum, a professor at Idaho State University and Bigfoot expert . After a massive amount of research, the prof says that the hairy creature definitely exists but is nothing to be afraid of. In an exclusive interview with MailOnline , he said: "Lots of reports suggest maybe they're females. (They have) a maternal instinct — a particular interest in children." Part of the theory comes from stories heard by Prof Meldrum. In a huge amount of Bigfoot sightings , children are present and many of them are at times when they are doing classic children's activities like playing outside. One story showing how kind-hearted Bigfoot is, is when a family was staying on a campsite right in the middle of Bigfoot land, where many tracks had been found believed to be by the 'animal'. The children were playing with a ball and one of them kicked it way off into the bushes. Within moments, the ball came flying back. Afterwards, new footprints were found in the spot where the ball landed. The prof said: "Sasquatch was curious about what the little girls were doing and watching. I think there are those kinds of occasions too, where curiosity gets the better of them. "There are some reports where the kids come in and say, 'Mommy, the big money is watching this over the fence'. "The (mum) will look out the kitchen window, and there's a Sasquatch peering over the fence, watching the kids play on the swing set. "I think with intelligence comes a certain degree of curiosity that draws them to investigate. "It's probably kind of a tug of war. One instinct tells them to stay away, but the other instinct is curious because of their intelligence, and they want to figure out what's going on with these funny looking, hairless creatures." It isn't only stories of Bigfoot watching children playing that bring Prof Meldrum to his theory. Nests were found on the ground in the wilderness by a logging company surveyor and were shared with MailOnline in the exclusive by Amy Bue, the founder of Project Zoobook. She spoke about why the nests are so interesting. "Right now, there are two different nest areas, but they do not seem to be built by bears or wood rats," she said. "They do not, in our opinion, seem to be built by humans for various reasons." "We took primate specialists out there, a biologist, lots of smart people and anthropologists have looked into it, and our running theory is that it could be a Sasquatch nursery or sorts." Prof Meldrum said: "I was invited to the most stunning example, and the best documented and monitored was this collection of nests, which suggested an aggregate that is not typical. "These nests were quite sophisticated. These nests were much more like nests built by apes, where the branches and boughs were folded in and woven in. It seemed like it was very deliberately built. He explained, they were hemmed in by a tall hedgerow of evergreen blueberries standing about seven to eight feet tall and inside were piles of shrubbery to act as bedding. "The nest on top was big enough to easily accommodate a seven, eight foot tall creature. There were about five of them. "What struck me as really interesting, though, was one of them was small, only about a foot-and-a-half, two feet across, but it was built up in the crotch of the bush about two feet off the ground. "When I saw that, I thought, that looks just like a little bassinet. Could this be a little nest for a new-born?" There have also been sightings of Bigfoot with young 'Bigfoots' in tow, furthering the belief that the adult is a mother. The mystery continues for now. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters .