Tests of ‘Yeti hair’ found to match an ancestor of the modern polar bear
Abominable Snowman ’100 per cent match’ with 120,000 year old jawbone
By
Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED:
20:01 EST, 16 October 2013
|
UPDATED:
12:27 EST, 17 October 2013
Scientists believe they have finally solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman.
Its identity? Er … a big brown bear. DNA tests on supposed yeti hair samples have revealed a genetic match with an ancient polar bear.
Scientists believe there could be a sub-species of brown bear in the High Himalayas descended from the ancient animal.
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Truth unfolded: The mystery of the ancient tale of the Abominable Snowman may finally be solved
Yetis, also known as the Abominable Snowman, have been recorded for centuries in the Himalayas, with local people and mountaineers claiming to have seen hairy, ape-like creatures.
Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, set out to collect and test ‘yeti’ hair samples to find out which species they came from.
In particular he analysed hairs from two unknown animals, one found in the Western Himalayan region of Ladakh and the other from Bhutan, 800 miles to the east.
After subjecting the hairs to the most advanced DNA tests available and comparing the results to other animals’ genomes stored on the GenBank database, Professor Sykes found that he had a 100 per cent match with a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway, that dates back at least 40,000 years – and probably around 120,000 years – a time when the polar bear and closely related brown bear were separating as different species.
Professor Sykes believes that the most likely explanation is that the animals are hybrids – crosses between polar bears and brown bears. The species are closely related and are known to interbreed where their territories overlap. 
Myth or reality? Hairs from two animals found in the Himalayas were a 100 per cent match to an ancient polar bear jaw bone from Norway
The professor said: ‘This is an exciting and completely unexpected result that gave us all a surprise. There’s more work to be done on interpreting the results. I don’t 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 hybridisation between the brown bear and the descendent of the ancient polar bear.’
A photograph of a ‘yeti’ footprint, taken by British climber Eric Shipton at the base of Everest, sparked global mania after it was taken in 1951.
Legendary mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who became the first man to climb Everest without oxygen, has studied yetis since he had a terrifying encounter with a mysterious creature in Tibet in 1986.
His own research backs up the Prof Sykes’ theory. He uncovered an image in a 300-year-old Tibetan manuscript of a ‘Chemo’ – another local name for the yeti, with text alongside it which was translated to read: ‘The yeti is a variety of bear living in inhospitable mountainous areas.’
Prof Sykes added: ‘Bigfootologists and other enthusiasts seem to think that they’ve been rejected by science. Science doesn’t accept or reject anything, all it does is examine the evidence and that is what I’m doing.’
His investigations features in a new three-part Channel 4 documentary series, Bigfoot Files, which starts on Sunday.
A book by Prof Sykes about his research, The Yeti Enigma: A DNA Detective Story, is to be published next spring.
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fishbait,
Inland NW,
4 hours ago
Uncle Fred!
mikefranky,
Neath Swansea,
4 hours ago
We would all love there to be yeti’s..(loch ness monster,UFO,big foot) but there has never been solid proof…and there probably never will be proof!..
Anonamous Guy,
Ocala, United States,
5 hours ago
The assumption that the tested sample is from a yeti as is implied from the headline is laughable. Poor media…..
Brett,
Brigadoon, United Kingdom,
5 hours ago
“Science doesn¿t accept or reject anything, all it does is examine the evidence” try telling that to the climate warming brigade.
derf,
Pendergrass GA USA, United States,
6 hours ago
Maybe the 40,000 year old dna they used was not a bear at all, but from a 40,000 year old yeti?
harry,
Fife, United Kingdom,
6 hours ago
With fangs and claws it’s a relative of the, Swamp stalker of Boggy Creek.
Ella,
Bayside, Monaco,
6 hours ago
Why look all over the world for him? Every one knows… he lives with the Henderson’s!
Tigerpaw16,
Pembroke,
7 hours ago
Really! A polar bear that walks upright on it’s hind legs and has somehow grown “hands”. Who’d have guessed!
Completely Average,
Somewhere, United States,
6 hours ago
How is that different from polar bears now? —————— I realize you’ve lived a sheltered life on your little island, and have probably never actually seen a wild bear, but they can and do walk upright at times, especially if they pick up the scent of a human, and they can use their front paws as hands quite well.
Jon1Burd,
Cardiff – Wales,
7 hours ago
If they are hiding up in those mountains they best stay hidden, god knows what Chinese “medicine” would do with them.
Innocuous,
Irrelevant-Western Civ.,
5 hours ago
touche, lol!
Jack Sprat,
London,
8 hours ago
Looking like that picture, I’m not surprised he stays out of sight.
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