It is one of the worlds most enduring mysteries, attracting both curiosity and fear. Now, a British scientist may have finally solved the riddle of the yeti, the fabled apelike creature said to inhabit the upper ranges of the Himalayas.
Research by Professor Bryan Sykes, a genetist from the University of Oxford, has not only uncovered a genetic match between samples thought to come from the elusive creature and another that lived more than 40,000 years ago, but also suggests the beast is still roaming the mountains.
Professor Sykes conducted DNA tests on hairs from two unidentified animals, one found in the western Himalayan region of Ladakh, in northern India and the other from Bhutan, 800 miles east.
The results were then compared with other animals genomes stored on a database of all published DNA sequences. Professor Sykes found a 100 percent match with a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway.
That specimen dates back atleast 40,000 years ago, and probably as far back as 120,000 years – a time when the polar bear and the closely related brown bear were separating as different species.
Professor Sykes believes that the animals are hybrids – crosses between polar bears and brown bears. Because the newly identified samples are from creatures which are recently alive, he thinks the hybrids are still living in the Himalayas.
The sample from Ladakh came from the mummified remains of a creature shot by a hunter around 40 years ago. He considered the animal so unusual, and so alarming, he kept some of its remains. A sample of the hair was passed to Professor Sykes by a French mountaineer who was given it by the hunter around a decade ago. The second sample was in the form of a single hair, found in a bamboo forest by an expedition of filmmakers, also around 10 years ago.
Professor Sykes added ” This is a species that hasnt been recorded for 40,000 years. Now we know one of these was walking around 10 years ago. And whats interesting is that we have found this type of animal at both ends of the Himalayas. If one were to go back there would be others still there.”
Both hairs were brownish in colour. The Ladakh remains suggested a creature that would have been around 5 ft tall – shorter than the towering figure of mythology. However, professor Sykes suggested the animal could have displayed other characteristics which would have fitted with the yeti myth.
He added “The fact that the hunter, who had great experience of bears thought this one was in some way unusual and was frightened of it, makes me wonder if this species of bear might behave differently. Maybe it is more aggressive, more dangerous or is more bipedal than other bears.”
Reports of the yeti, also known as the ‘Abominal Snowman’, have been recorded fro centuries, with locals and explorers claiming to have come face-to-face with the beast. A photograph of a yeti footprint, taken by a British climber Eric Shipton at the base of Everest in 1951, sparked global interest in it.
Professor Sykes said there were only three known species of bears in the area: sloth bears, brown bears and the Asiatic black bears.
Professor Sykes added: “Theres more work to be done on interpreting the results. I dont think it means there are ancient polar bears wandering around the Himalayas. But we can speculate on what the possible explanation might be. It could mean there is a sub species of brown bear in the High Himalayas descended from the bear that was the ancestor of the polar bear. Or it could mean there has been more recent hybridization between the brown bear and the descendant of the ancient polar bear.
As well as being closely related, brown bears and polar bears are known to interbreed when their territories overlap.
Source: The Telegraph