Russia Claims Yeti Finds

Is this finally proof the Yeti exists? Abominable Snowman 'close to being caught' after coarse hair is found in remote Russian cave

Russian officials say they have found ‘indisputable evidence’ that yetis exist – and are living in Siberia. The bold claim follows an international conference and expedition to track down the Abominable Snowman in the Mount Shoria area.

However, doubt has already been cast on the ‘find’ – as the team has no convincing photographic or DNA evidence. Their claim appears to be based on bent branches, a single unclear footprint and a small sample of grey ‘hair’, found in a cave.

The administration of the Kemerovo region, where the cave is situated, yesterday announced that ‘indisputable evidence’ had been found.

 A fairly typical "Yeti" encounter, bent branches, footprint in melting snow.  I'll bet the DNA on the hair doesn't come back for a long time, and then it will be "equivocal". 

Dr Igor Burtsev, leader of the international event - the first of its kind for half a century, claimed it would not be long before people everywhere would appreciate the Yeti's existence.

'We are close to finally finding the Abominable Snowman,' he said.

He claims around 30 Yetis live in the Kemerovo region, adding that they are Neandethal men who have survived to this day.

It is clear that since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago there have been increased 'sightings' of Yeti, and it is claimed more than a dozen villagers and hunters in this vast mountainous region close to the town of Tashtagol have given written accounts of either seeing the beasts themselves or finding their tracks

Hmm, Neanderthal men?  That's a new wrinkle.  My favorite theory is that Yeti/Sasquatch are Gigantopithecus, a huge ape from the Pleistocene that likely stood as tall as 9 feet.  Not much is known about it, since the remains are very fragmentary.  But it had a huge jaw and large teeth suitable for grinding coarse vegetation.  It existed at the same time, and occupied some of the same areas as a putative human ancestor, Homo erectus.  Given the propensity of early humans to interbreed, perhaps there was some swapping of genes between them...

Anyway, there seem to be plenty of reasons to doubt the sincerity of the expedition:

One cynical Russian media report summed up the mission as 'we haven't actually found anything, but we very, very much wanted to have found something'.

Shortly before the 'experts' arrived, another hunt to the same cave to find the Yeti was led by the 'Beast of the East' - former Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev. It ended in failure, though locals saw it as a key plank in the region's bid to boost tourism.

'Valuyev did not manage to meet the Yeti itself but on the way he discovered 'traces' such as broken tree branches,' said a spokesman.

'I saw lots of journalists but no Yetis,' admitted the boxer.

Dmitry Islamov, Vice Governor of Kemerovo Region on Economics and Regional Development said: 'It doesn't matter that the Kuzbass might not have Yetis. The main thing is that when people come to the Shoria Mountains, they truly enjoy its unique nature.'

 Ooooh, ecotourism to Siberia, to hunt for Yetis!  Sounds like fun.