Yeti Mystery Solved, Perhaps: Abominable Snowman May Be Ancient Polar Bear Species, Scientist Claims

The Abominable Snowman exists, sort of: the Yeti sightings around the world are apparently due to a breed of polar bears.

A British geneticist, Brian Sykes, says he's matched DNA from  Himilayan"Yeti" hair to a breed of Arctic polar bears that flourished tens of thousands of years ago. His claims are not as implausible as it sounds-and there is DNA evidence to back it up. 

Other scientists haven't dismissed Sykes' conclusions outright--one called it "as good an explanation as any".

Sykes, an Oxford University researcher, said, "All my colleagues think I'm taking a risk in doing this, but I'm curious, and I am in a position to actually do something to answer the questions," he said. 

Sykes is well-respected for his research on human ancestry, but became curious about legends like the Sasquatch and the Abominable Snowman that are not studied or taken seriously by scientists, but exist over and over in folklore. 

Last year, Sykes put out a public call, asking anyone to send in samples of hairs or tissue from creatures linked to the Yeti or Abominable Snowman. Legendary creatures such as these have been spotted for millennia-so perhaps there's something behind the myth, Sykes thought.

Sykes ran the hairs he encountered through DNA tests. His findings suggest that the Yeti is actually a hybrid of multiple bear species in the Himalayas, possibly brown bears and polar bears.

Professor Sykes conducted DNA tests on hairs from two unidentified animals, one from Ladakh, in northern India's Himilayan region, and the other found in  found in Bhutan, which lies some 800 miles east, on the other side of the Himilayas.

He compared them to a sample to an ancient polar bear jawbone from Svalbard, Norway, thought to be between 40,000 and 120,000 years old.

Sykes' results reveal a 100% genetic match between the samples he received and the polar bear. They also suggest the Yeti is still roaming wild through the mountains.

Professor Sykes postulates that the Yeti are a hybrid cross between polar bears and brown bears that never evolved into separate species, even when most  polar and brown bears did. And he thinks that because the new samples are from creatures that were alive, the hybrids may still be living in pockets of the Himalayas.

Sykes said, "This is a species that hasn't been recorded for 40,000 years. Now, we know one of these was walking around ten years ago. And what's 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."

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."

The yeti has been recorded for centuries-but its mystery may have been solved.

Professor Sykes added: "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 descendant of the ancient polar bear."

What do you think of this? Do you believe Sykes' research is correct? Sound off below!