The Yeti (also known as Abominable Snowman) is an ape-like cryptid taller than an average human that is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. We reported that some scientists believe that Yetis exist and hence they are searching for it. Lately, Bryan Sykes, a genetics professor at Oxford University claims that he might have solved the mystery of Yetis.
Bryan Sykes set out to test ‘Yeti’ hair samples and find out what species they came from. After conducting DNA tests on hairs from two unidentified animals, one in northern India and the other in Bhutan he concluded that the creature Yeti is most probably a sub-species of the bear. According to Sykes, Yetis are a hybrid of polar bears and brown bears.
Sykes said, “We found a total genetic match between two samples from the Himalayas and an ancestor of the polar bear. This is an exciting and completely unexpected result, which was a surprise to us all. There is still work to be done to interpret the results. But we can wonder about the possible explanations. This could mean that there is a subspecies of brown bear in the Himalayas that descends from the ancestor of the polar bear. Or it means that there has been a recent hybridisation between the brown bear and the descendant of the ancient polar bear. It may be some sort of hybrid and if its behaviour is different from normal bears, which is what eyewitnesses report, then I think that may well be the source of the mystery and the source of the legend.”
Prof Sykes will publish a book called “The Yeti Enigma: A DNA Detective Story” regarding his research next spring.