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Yeti Bears Up Under Scrutiny

Posted by timothy on from the hey-hey-boo-boo dept.

Rambo Tribble writes "Bryan Sykes of Oxford University has discovered that hairs, ostensibly from the Yeti creature of the Himalayas, were '... genetically identical to polar bear.' What the professor is suggesting is that a rare hybrid of brown and polar bear may be the actual, elusive creature of legend."

7 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. How hard can it be? by guytoronto · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How hard can it be to really capture one on film? There are reports almost daily of bears wandering into populated areas looking for food. If this mythical creature actually exists, it should be dead easy to get legitimate proof via baited trap and motion-sensing camera.

    For gawd sakes, the Ewoks managed to capture Chewbacca. Are we really that incapable?

  2. Errr... wat? by Slartibartfast · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it's "genetically identical" to a polar bear, well... doesn't that mean it's a polar bear?

    1. Re:Errr... wat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think it means that the vendor selling the "Authentic Yeti Hair" is really selling polar bear hair.

    2. Re:Errr... wat? by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Thanks to chimerism or mosaicism we know people can have different DNA in different places. This animal could have polar bear DNA in the fur and differences elsewhere.

      This sample of a bit of fur from one animal does not represent all yeti so we know almost nothing more than we did before this find.

  3. Hmmmm .... by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What the professor is suggesting is that a rare hybrid of brown and polar bear may be the actual, elusive creature of legend

    Why does this sound like he's made up another undocumented creature as his explanation?

    This sounds like he either tested a sample which was from a hoax, or he's just making shit up.

    I'm going with "researcher tests hoax, comes up with own unfounded explanation to get publicity". Because there's no more evidence for the existence of this creature in the Himalayas than the yeti.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  4. Obligitory xkcd by Wormholio · · Score: 3, Insightful

    http://xkcd.com/1235/

    --
    "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -- William Butler Yeats
  5. Re:So is anyone shocked? by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You could argue that a religion is just a legend that won't die. Or that gets resurrected a few days after it dies.