The Yeti or ‘Abominable Snowman’ is a giant ape-like creature that has intrigued the world for centuries. The creature, believed to inhabit the upper ranges of the Himalayas, has been a source of numerous expeditions. Does the Yeti exist or is it merely a mythological character figuring in Himalayan folklore?

The mystery of the Yeti dates back to 326 BC when Alexander the Great set out to conquer the Indus Valley. Having heard stories of the Yeti, Alexander was keen to see the creature. However, the local people told Alexander that it was not possible to bring the creature for him as it cannot survive at low altitudes.   

The Yeti is believed to be muscular, covered with dark greyish or reddish-brown hair, and weighs between 200 to 400 lbs. (91 to 181 kilograms). It is relatively short compared to North America’s Bigfoot, averaging about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in height. The creature is often portrayed roaming about the snowy mountains alone. 

The Yeti has its origins in the folklores of the Sherpa communities that live at high altitudes in eastern Nepal. The creature is always portrayed as a symbol of danger in these folklores, probably to serve as a warning to the community members so they do not wander away and always stay together and close to each other.

People’s interest in the beast got aroused after mountaineers from western countries started traveling to the Himalayas in quest of the mysterious creature.

In 1921, Charles Howard-Bury, the British explorer, led an expedition to Mount Everest. He spotted some large footprints and was told that they belonged to “metoh-kangmi”, which meant something like “man-bear snowman” in the Tibetan language. However, journalist Henry Newman mistranslated the term as ‘Abominable Snowman’, thus coining the legendary name for the Yeti. 

By 1950, numerous expeditions were launched in a quest to sight the mysterious creature. 

In 1951, while attempting to scale Mt Everest, Eric Shipton took photographs of several large footprints in the snow. These photographs have been subject to intense scrutiny and debate. Some claim they are the most reliable evidence of Yeti’s existence, while others dispute these footprints like those of an ordinary creature that may have been distorted by the wind and melting snow.

The ‘Yeti Finger’ 

In 1958, while on an expedition in the Himalayas, explorer, and mountaineer, Peter Byrne found a hand displayed at Pangboche monastery temple. The hand was believed to be of a Yeti. 

Intrigued, Byrne requested temple custodians to give the hand to him, but his request was denied. However, Byrne managed to get a finger from the hand in return for a donation to the temple. 

The ‘Yeti’ finger was brought from India to London by Hollywood actor James Stewart and his wife Gloria. Interestingly, to evade customs, they packed the finger in Gloria’s lingerie case. 

Byrne gave the finger to primatologist Professor William Osman Hill. The finger, along with Prof Hills’ other collection, was later bequeathed to the Royal College of Surgeons’ Hunterian Museum in London. However, DNA testing revealed that the finger was human.

Like Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster, most of the evidence for the Yeti is based on sightings and photographs. Stories of Yeti or its footprints sightings are common in parts of India, Nepal, and Bhutan.

In 1960, Legendary Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to scale Mt. Everest, claimed to have discovered a scalp from the mysterious creature. However, it was later found to be the hide of a serow – a Himalayan animal similar to a goat.

In 2010, Chinese hunters caught a strange animal that they claimed was a Yeti. The hairless, four-legged animal was later identified as a civet, a small cat-like animal that had lost its hair from disease.

In 2019, the Indian army shared pictures of “Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast ‘Yeti'” in the snow on their official Twitter account. The army held on to these images for some time and made the discovery public only after it matched earlier theories about the yeti. 

The lack of conclusive evidence despite decades of searches and expeditions has not deterred the believers of the Yeti, probably because they believe in Sherpa folklore that says the Yeti will only show itself to those who believe in it!