I have been captivated by the idea of the abominable snowman since I was quite a small child and read about him in my Reader’s Digest Junior Treasury. I was so intrigued, especially since he came from Tibet, a country which had fascinated me for an even longer time, that I even gave a speech in a speaking competition about him.
The idea of a big, shy, creature, hiding in distant places occurs across the inhabited world, the yeti, bigfoot, sasquash, almasty… there are stories about such semi-human beings from all over the world. So many expeditions have been undertaken, so many investigations, and there has been ‘evidence’ offered of the thing actually existing. The evidence might be footprints, bones, skin, hair, fuzzy photos, but no-one has been able to give a definitive answer to what the animal might be if it does exist, although some of the supposed evidence is patently fake. There have been all sorts of theories, ranging from a descendent of Neanderthal people, to giant apes, to completely new species of hitherto unknown animals.
I was so excited to read reports on the news and in newspapers, that a scientist has examined fifty-seven specimens of hair from some of these pieces of evidence, and put aside those which were clearly not what they purported to be, including fibre glass and plant material, and were left with thirty-six which were analysed. All the results were what might be expected… American black bears, brown bears, cows and horses, deer, porcupine, sheep and even a human hair… all except two… These two samples gave a 100% match to a type of polar bear which had been on the planet 40,000 years ago… So how did the sample arrive in the Himalayas in the twentieth century? Intriguing!
here is a detailed article about this story, which does offer some interesting ideas which might answer the questions… might!
Lois Elsden 