The mistaken belief that there is a “link” that directly ties humans as they are now to other primates assumes that there was a clean evolutionary break. A lot of evidence points to a long time of interbreeding between proto-human species before Homo sapiens sapiens wiped out/outcompeted the others. There was never a clean disjunction that could be brought together with a “link.” It’s a poor metaphor.
Besides, Bigfoot isn’t an ape, he’s a redneck/grizzly-bear hybrid who eats beef jerky.