yeti

In the folklore of Nepal, the Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like being, taller than an average human, that is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet. However, how much truth is there to this ancient legend? Throughout the years, reports of hairy, bipedal creatures have haunted both explorers and native Sherpas. An 11th century Hindu poet and a European Ambassador traveling with Genghis Khan both referenced a hairy man in their journals. An older record from a Tibetan book of medicine describes a “Man-animal” who’s body represents a human, and origins represent a bear (perhaps referencing its hair-covered body.) The book reveals that the meat of this creature cures mental illness and its gallbladder heals jaundice. Interestingly enough, its appearance seems to represent the Chinese Gigantopithecus, an ape which lived about a million years ago and stood 10 feet tall. However, this creature went extinct after its population was speculated by scientists to have diminished by way of Homo Erectus, an ancestor of Homo Sapiens. It is believed that Homo Erectus hunted these apes, shrinking their population and causing extinction. Either way, if a large bipedal ape was roaming the tallest mountains in the world, it would have to be both highly intelligent and adaptive to a high-elevation climate. Not to mention, its ability to cover versatile land from snowy mountains to green valleys would need to be impeccable. If you think the Yeti is the gentle Gigantopithecus, the Sherpa people of Tibet will tell you otherwise.


ThengBoche RinBoche, Head of the oldest sect of Tibetan Buddhism, speaks of a creature that visited the local village, climbed over a building, and paralyzed the man sleeping within the structure. Folklore such as this has instilled fear in the locals, and has inspired western films and media. Pang Diki, a local Sherpa, tells of a terrifying experience when she saw a yeti with her father. She described the head of the creature to be reddish-brown and conical, a description that interestingly matches that of a North American Bigfoot. However, Yeti reports often seem to be more aggressive than Bigfoot encounters. Lhakpa Dolma, another Sherpa of the village, describes a horrifying memory from her childhood. Dolma was herding cattle in the mountains when she heard a whistle. She quickly dismissed it, figuring it was her older brother, however moments later, a large creature grabbed her by the hair and clothing and threw her into a neighboring stream. She describes the creature killing 3 cows before walking off into the brush in a strange twisting motion. Perhaps the Yeti was defending its territory, or taking advantage of her youth to kill the cows and return for their meat after she ran off. Either way, these Yetis seem to demonstrate peculiar behavior for just a mountain ape, and similar behavior to the North American Bigfoot, believed to be a sub-species of human. If the Yeti is an ape, they must be extremely intelligent and also carnivorous, based on the many reports of mutilated livestock by the local farmers. 


The exact roots of the Yeti are unknown, however there is significant evidence proving that something is, in fact, out there. In 1957, a Texas millionaire named Tom Slick conducted an investigation in the Himalayas, inspired by his interest in mysteries and missing human links. He gathered a small team of scientists and zoologists to search the nearby valleys and mountains, while he and a few others set out to speak with villagers. After interviewing a Buddhist monk, he discovered that the monastery was keeping an alleged mummified Yeti hand on display. After requesting to bring the sample to be tested at a lab, the monks declined due to religious reasons. However, this would not stop Slick. He devised a brilliant plan to get the caretaker drunk and steal two bones of the hand, that he would replace with human bones to mask the theft. He crossed over the border to India and later had the bones tested at the London University. The results were shocking-the DNA represented an unknown primate-like being. Unfortunately, this evidence did not make the press until years later, when another investigator sampled the same hand, and revealed that the DNA was human...These false results were due to Slick secretly replacing the Yeti bones with human bones after stealing the real Yeti specimen. Another DNA analysis obtained from an expedition in China and studied in the Nuclear Physics Laboratory at the University of Shangi examined the amount of copper and iron in a sample of hair. This type of testing is common in determining species of ape. The results were incredible, showing that (CLICK READ MORE FOR DNA RESULTS & VIDEO EVIDENCE) 

the ratio of Zinc to copper determined the sample to be that of an unknown ape. A third hair sample obtained from the Zigephu Valley of the Himalayas yielded 99% modern human DNA. However, Gorillas and other large apes share about 98% of modern human DNA, meaning that the hair sample collected could have come from a creature that shares even more characteristics with Homo Sapiens than the great apes, yet still resembles a primitive image


Aside from the DNA, perhaps the most compelling evidence science has of the Yeti is the video evidence obtained by a Belgian couple hiking the high mountains of the Himalayas in 1996. While vlogging their trip and hiking experience, the couple pans the camera to their footprints in the snow, boasting about the large distance they have just covered. However suddenly the woman points to a figure in the distance-a shape that resembles a gorilla. Dr.Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho STate University, analyzed the footage and states that the figure clearly represents the posture of an ape...right before transitioning to the bipedal posture of a human while climbing a steep mountain bank. The creature’s arms swing down beside its knees, and its size appears to be immense despite the distance at which it was filmed. After reviewing the size comparison of the hikers footprints and the creature’s tracks, Meldrum concludes that the creature must have stood about 9-foot tall.


With the limited evidence we have of the Yeti, it is hard to reach a conclusion about what exactly it is. However, the possibility of a large ape-like man remaining undetected in the Himalayan mountains is not impossible, or even unlikely. In fact, other large mammals such as a rare antelope and oxen have only just been discovered as little as 25 years ago. Reports of an ape-like bipedal creature have surfaced all across the world, by individuals living in remote villages off the grid, who have nothing to gain by relaying their stories. The Yeti has a striking resemblance in appearance and behavior to the North American Bigfoot, the Chinese Yeren, and the Canadian Sasquatch. However, there are many other countries with a creature of the same description, surfacing now and then in new encounters. It may be seem impossible for a creature of immense size and strength to be thriving in the world’s dense forests, just outside of modern civilization. However, with adaptation and elevated navigation skills, combined with the appropriate anatomy, these creatures could very well be more intelligent than our own kind. Perhaps they dwell in caves, made of snow or rock. Perhaps their familiarity with their habitat allows them to remain elusive and quickly escape human intrusions on their land. Either way, the Yeti is a legend that may never be solved; a highly intelligent and agile creature dwelling in the highest mountains of the most remote part of the world may forever remain undetected.


Sources:
youtu.be/k1rr_L2y5So (In Search of History-The Abominable Snowman) History Channel
youtu.be/CTweG5gp5gM. (The Lost Kingdom of the Yeti) Discovery Communications, Animal Planet 
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