Thursday 17 October 2013

Yeti Found?

An Oxford Professor claims to have solved the mystery of the Yeti, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24565282 . Prof. Bryan Sykes has done a DNA analysis on hairs collected for him by local people which they say are from Yeti coats. The results are that the hairs come from an unknown species of bear closely related to the modern polar bear. Sykes has a book coming out soon and a TV series about this starts on Sunday, see: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/bigfoot-files; I shall watch the programme with interest and may write a review.
                              
The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman, is said to be a myth, however there are many very credible eyewitness accounts of sightings of the beast; for example, the mountaineer and explorer Reinhold Messner. Footprints of the Yeti are regularly found and many have been photographed and cast. Most people who encounter the Yeti don't describe it as a bear, but rather a primate. It is a huge ape-like creature, usually standing upright on two legs like a human being. Bears can walk on their hind legs for short periods, but they look very different to primates when they do so. The Yeti has a thick coat of fur all over its body, sometimes this is described as white, sometimes brown. It's possible the colour of its fur changes with the seasons, as many other animals' do; white in winter to give it camouflage in snowy terrain. All in all, the Yeti is similar to Bigfoot, or the Sasquatch, of North America. There are many other primates in the world which can be described as "cryptids", unknown animals. There are even professional organizations whose job it is to track them down, like the Centre for Fortean Zoology, see: http://www.cfz.org.uk/ (Also see the links column on main HPANWO site) Prof. Sykes has proven that the hairs he was given are not real Yeti hairs, therefore the people who collected them obviously made a mistake; but it is far too soon to say that the mystery of the Yeti is now over. This new result does not mean that we should ignore the multiple eyewitness sightings that contradict Prof. Sykes conclusion.
See here for a HPANWO Radio special of Cryptozoology: http://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/programme-51-podcast-cryptozoology.html.

2 comments:

Neil Austin said...

Just watched the second part of The Bigfoot Files. Very disappointed that this has slowly revealed itself as a hit-piece. The vet comes out with some all-too-familiar remarks to the effect of - 'as the bright, white light of 'science' is shone onto the murky world of the conspiracy theorist, a rational explanation starts to emerge'. The Sasquatch 'true-believers' are slowly but surely portrayed as sad individuals who need sympathy, help and the vet even tries some amateur psychoanalysis.
It's a shame. I was suckered in by the first episode thinking that it could be a proper investigation. Lol. Should've known better.

Ben Emlyn-Jones said...

I agree, Herbie. Just seen it myself and it was a debunker from the start. I felt no suspense over the DNA test some the hair; if it had come back as an "unknown primate" then the programme would not have been broadcast.