The Yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman, is one of cryptozoology’s most fabled creatures. The search for this Asian version of Bigfoot, which is said to roam the snow-capped Himalayas, has generated numerous eyewitness reports, blurry photographs, and alleged tracks – but hard evidence has proven as elusive as the beast itself. One British scientist may have solved the mystery – without even having to mount an expedition to the treacherous mountain range.
Bryan Sykes, a well-known geneticist at Oxford University, put out an international call for Yeti, Bigfoot, and Sasquatch hairs in 2012. He received samples from all over the world – but two, in particular, may shed new light on the mysterious creature.
“One of the most promising samples that Sykes received included hairs attributed to a Yeti mummy in the northern Indian region of Ladakh; the hairs were purportedly collected by a French mountaineer who was shown the corpse 40 years ago,” said National Geographic. “Another sample was a single hair that was found about a decade ago in Bhutan, some 800 miles away from Ladakh.”
After testing the mitochondrial DNA sequences of both samples, Sykes was able to match both of them with the genetic signature of a polar bear jawbone. The jawbone, which was discovered in the Norwegian Arctic in 2004, is estimated to be between 40,000 and 120,000 years old.
That might be applcable to the Asian Yeti, but not to the alleged North American "Sasquatch." To read more, click here.