Comment: Here's the thing,

anything that seems likely to blur the line between man and animal is anathema to some devout believers since they hold that God made man in his own image and likeness, very distinct from all animals. They reject the fossil record of ape men, proto-humans, even early Homo species, some claiming that Satan placed fossils deep underground to lure us away from God's Word. A living Bigfoot species will send some bonkers, just as Galileo's heresy was deeply upsetting to the Church's view that this world was the center of creation. Accusations will fly. Please understand that I am not saying Christianity as a whole will suffer, only the most rigid and desperate believers who have put their own spin on God's plan.