October 18, 2013

Sensitive DNA tests on samples of hair recovered from the Himalaya indicate that the Yeti may actually exist, reported Bryan Sykes, a professor of genetics at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Although this unexpected finding could potentially rank as one of the greatest zoological discoveries in history, fans of the legendary Yeti may be somewhat disappointed. The tests also show that the Yeti is not what people think it is.

The Yeti, which has also been called the Abominable Snowman, is said to be a creature with a human-like face and ape-like body that lives on Mount Everest and other mountains of the Himalaya range. According to local legend, the Yeti sometimes comes down from the mountains to attack villagers.

The legendary Yeti is a ape-like creature with a human-like face who lives in remote areas of the Himalaya. The real Yeti is probably something entirely different. (World Book illustration by Ted Lewis)

Many people are fascinated by the idea that a large primate like the Yeti–or its American cousin, Bigfoot–could survive in remote wilderness unexplored by modern science. Cryptozoologists, people who study and search for legendary creatures, have investigated the Yeti for decades. Sensational reports of Yeti sightings have been exposed as hoaxes and fakes in the past, and this has led many skeptics to dismiss the creature as pure fantasy.

However, reports of Yeti sightings continue to this day, and cryptozoology enthusiasts argue they demand explanation. Sykes made news in 2012 when he publicly asked wildlife scientists, museums, and Yeti believers to send him written descriptions and photos of any evidence they might have of the creature. If the descriptions looked promising, the researchers requested the physical samples and then tested the samples’ DNA to determine which species they came from.

Sykes and his team conducted sophisticated genetic tests on two samples of supposed Yeti hair discovered in the Himalaya: one found in Ladakh–a region in Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India; and another from Bhutan to the east. They compared the samples to the genetic codes of other animals from collections gathered over many years from all over the world. The tests revealed that the hair was from a mammal, but it did not match samples from known primates. Surprisingly, the DNA from the two samples matched up almost exactly with DNA from the 40,000-year-old jawbone of a Norwegian polar bear.

The researchers do not believe that the Himalayan Yeti actually represents an isolated population of polar bears. Instead, they theorize that the region is home to an unknown hybrid bear species that developed from matings between polar bears and brown bears somewhere in northern Asia during the last Ice Age, when the ranges of those bears overlapped. They point to antique Tibetan texts that describe the Yeti as a shy bear-like creature that is sometimes aggressive towards humans when encountered in its remote mountain domain. The scientists also point out that the animal may still survive in remote areas of the Himalaya, giving Yeti enthusiasts hope that the legendary creature may one day be found.

Additional World Book articles:

• Folklore
• Hillary, Sir Edmund Percival
• Journey to the Top of the World by Sir Edmund P. Hillary (a special report)

May 25, 2012

A new search for the legendary creatures known as Bigfoot and the Yeti is being mounted by several researchers from Oxford University in the United Kingdom and the Lausanne Museum of Zoology in Switzerland–but they don’t plan to leave their laboratories. Instead of trekking through dense forests or crossing snowy mountains, the researchers plan to use sensitive DNA analysis on samples of hair, blood, and other remains that could have come from the creatures. The researchers are asking wildlife scientists, museums, and Bigfoot enthusiasts to send them written descriptions and photos of any evidence they might have of the creatures. If the descriptions look promising, the researchers will request the physical samples and then test their DNA to determine which species the samples came from. Finding DNA from an unknown primate–the group of mammals that includes monkeys, apes, and human beings–could be evidence that Bigfoot lives and would rank as one of the greatest zoological discoveries in history. “I’m challenging and inviting the cryptozoologists to come up with the evidence instead of complaining that science is rejecting what they have to say,” said geneticist Bryan Sykes of Oxford in an interview. Cryptozoology is the scientific investigation of legendary creatures.

Bigfoot, shown here in an artist's depiction, is a humanlike creature said to live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. The creature is said to resemble a large ape--with thick fur, long arms, powerful shoulders, and a short neck--but to walk upright like a human being. (World Book illustration)

Bigfoot is a giant apelike creature said to live in forested regions of North America. Stories of this creature appear in American Indian traditions, where the creature is known as Sasquatch. Thousands of people have reported seeing Bigfoot or finding its footprints in North America, but conclusive proof of its existence has yet to be found. Reports of a similar creature come from the Himalaya range of Asia. This creature is called the Yeti or the Abominable Snowman. In 1951, the British explorer Eric Shipton took pictures of “Yeti” tracks near Mount Everest. Since then, several expeditions, including one sponsored by World Book in 1960, have searched for the creature without success.

A few scientists think it is possible that such a large primate could have survived undiscovered in the dense and remote forests of North America and Asia. One theory suggests Bigfoot and the Yeti are small relic populations of primate thought to have gone extinct. Candidates for Bigfoot include such extinct prehistoric humans as Neandertals or Denisovans, a mysterious species that died out in Siberia 40,000 years ago. Another theory suggests that Bigfoot and the Yeti may be surviving populations of Gigantopithecus, a huge ape that lived in the forests of what are now southern China, Vietnam, and northern India. Gigantopithecus, which is believed to have died out 200,000 years ago, was the largest ape to have ever lived.

The Yeti, also called the Abominable Snowman, is a creature said to live on Mount Everest and other mountain ranges of Asia. According to legend, the Yeti is a hairy beast with a large, apelike body and a face that resembles that of a human being. It has long arms that reach to its knees, and it walks erect on its thick legs. (World Book illustration)

Scientists with the Bigfoot DNA project will begin by testing an archive of remains stored at the Lausanne Museum that were assembled by cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans, who investigated reported Yeti sightings from 1950 until his death in 2001. Many sensational reports of Bigfoot remains have been exposed as hoaxes and fakes in the past. The researchers in this project point out that DNA evidence cannot be faked. They expect to published their results in science journals.

Additional World Book articles:

• Shipton, Eric Earle
• Journey to the Top of the World (a Special Report)