There are many tales from the Sherpa who dwell and act in the mountains of the Himalayas of a two-footed beast who stalks the blow - dot peaks and valleys , make love to us as the yeti . Even Edmund Hillary claim he see large step as he descale Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay . Over the years , others have collected " samples " from this mysterious cryptid .
Now , a squad have analyzed as many “ yeti ” samples as they could get their mitts on , publishing their issue in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Unsurprisingly , they find that all is not quite as it seems .
Uncovering the identity of the enigmatic yeti has been pretty controversial . The isolation and closed book of the mountaintops that stretch across key Asia have catch the imagery of many explorers and biologists seeking to reveal the truth . Some lay claim to have find various body parts of the animate being , with some of these becoming revered in the Buddhist temple that stud the peaks .
Previous genetic study of these " yeti " sample suggest they really came from an ancient polar bear that once may have survived in the region . Many others , such as Tenzing Norgay himself , suggest that the creature might be an as - yet unrecognized species of aper , not unlikeGigantopithecus .
Now , a new team have decided to quiz things more strictly , take nine sample distribution roll up in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau and run modern hereditary analyses to determine their origin . All the artifacts – including pieces of bone , a tooth , pelt , hair , and faeces – are claimed to have been from the abominable snowman .
The DNA , however , suggests that this is improbable the case . One of the samples was from a humble canine , while the other eight all came from one of three metal money of live bear still come up meandering the high-pitched stack passes and tableland : the Asiatic black bear , the Himalayan brown bear , and the Tibetan brown bear . No ape , polar bear , or yeti to mouth of .
While the genetical analysis may have unpick the mysteries of the yeti , it could also serve better our savvy of the last mintage .
“ bear in this region are either vulnerable or critically endangered from a conservation position , but not much is recognise about their preceding history , ” explains lead author Charlotte Lindqvist of the University at Buffalo . “ The Himalayan brown bears , for example , are highly endangered . Clarifying universe social structure and genetic diversity can help in figure population size and craft direction strategy . ”
It has also shown that while the Tibetan brown bear is closely related to their North American and European counterparts , the Himalayan brownish bear split from the grouping much earlier on in their evolutionary history .
