New DNA research by Oxford scientists may finally uncover Bigfoot's mystery. Scientists analyzed samples of yeti hair and found that the mythical creature may be just a subspecies of brown bear. Brian Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford University, who was engaged in the study, was the hair of two unknown animals found in the western Himalayas and Bhutan.
The scientist carried out DNA tests and found out: the samples are 100% identical with the genetic material of the ancient polar bear, the remains of which were found on Svalbard, the northernmost archipelago of Norway. Having studied the jaw of an ancient animal discovered in 2007, scientists came to the conclusion that 40 thousand years ago, white and brown bears were closely related.
Sykes suggests that the Yeti whose hair was found in the Himalayas is the result of crossing two known species of bears. This does not mean that prehistoric animals are still roaming in the Asian mountains: most likely, Bigfoot is a descendant of the polar bear discovered on Svalbard, the scientist concludes. However, the researcher admits that the hybrid could appear later and independently of the ancient animal.
Legends about the mysterious Bigfoot have been compiled by the local population for several centuries. Climbers have repeatedly claimed that they encountered a huge ape-like creature. In 1951, British climber Eric Shipton was able to photograph a huge footprint of an unknown animal at the foot of Everest, leading many to believe in the reality of the Yeti.
Climber Reinhold Messner, who became the first person to climb Everest without oxygen, also claimed to have come across the mysterious creature more than once face to face and managed to study it thoroughly. In addition, Messner allegedly saw a stuffed yeti in one of the distant temples in Tibet.
However, there were skeptics among the local population who were close to unraveling the origin of Bigfoot several centuries ago, Sykes claims. The scientist said that he found in one of the 300-year-old Tibetan manuscripts an almost scientific description of the yeti: "a species of bear that lives in inhospitable mountain areas."
However, Sykes' study does not prove that Bigfoot does not exist at all: the scientist analyzed only two samples found in Asia. At the same time, another group of scientists who studied materials obtained in the forests of North America, claims that the Yeti belongs to a human hybrid. The researchers also refer to the results of the DNA examination: in total, 111 samples of blood, skin and other types of tissue were analyzed during the study.