"In 2008, Joshua Gates and his "Destination Truth" crew recovered a Yeti hair sample in Bhutan. The analysis reportedly came back as indicating 'an unknown DNA sequence.'
Fast forward 4 years later and now rumor has it that Dr. Melba Ketchum's DNA study will finally prove the existence of the Yeti in addition to Bigfoot.
According to Robert Lindsay:
'We have not been able to verify this rumor, but we have heard from several people that the Ketchum study also includes purported Yeti hair gathered by Josh Gates, apparently in Bhutan. We just heard it from someone very close to the study, so we think it is good.
The Yeti hair tested as no known animal, not human, unknown primate. Not only that, but the Yeti sample was actually close to the nearly 100 Bigfoot samples. So not only do Yetis exist, but they are closely related to Bigfoots. Some of us have always thought that Yetis were real, but lately, there has been a lot of skeptical research pouring cold water on the theory. The Wikipedia article on the subject says Yetis do not exist, and they are mythical.'
All of this has been very confusing to follow but I am glad that the DT Yeti hair is not part of this study and not associated with Ketchum's media circus. Although I would like to know what the eventual DNA results were of that hair.
Ketchum stated that she has been working with Bigfoot hair and tissue samples. I am sure that this story will change Yeti(yet) again as the saga continues."
There is good news here and bad news. The good news is that the Yeti hair has tested out as positively primate and unknown. The bad news is that coming from the source it does and in the context it does, the results cannot be trusted and in fact the analysis having been done by Ketchum actually hurts the case since her main study has been discredited.
However I am thinking that when Ketchum is out of the picture and this evidence is viewed again, This Yeti will turn out to be a valid unknown species and the same species as the North American Sasquatch. THIS Yeti is the Big Yeti of Heuvelmans, and the Dzu-Teh of Sanderson, the one that everybody agrees is likely to be a relict Gigantopithecus. Basically all we need is a new review of the evidence and that is already under way.
Dale, watched Josh Gate's program about the Yeti in Bhutan & the discovery of DNA from a large as yet unknown primate, surprised you haven't rubbed us the unbelievers noses in it
- Dale Drinnon I'm not the type that does that sort of thing (Blinking big blue eyes innocently). No I'll just bash you to kingdom come while the point is still an arguable issue.
- Paul Mead Dale, just joking, but surprised more wasn't made of this news at the time, unless of course, at a later date, the DNA was discovered to have come from the lesser spotted blue toed possum of the outer Himalayas!
- Dale Drinnon Part of the problem is that the sample was apparently sent to Melba Ketchum for analysis, and a lot of half-true statements were issued as a result (according to Robert Lindsay) And nobody knew what to do with it after that point. I actually don't know what I can say about the results myself (BTW to readers unfamiliar with the case, the DNA sample is from supposed Yeti hairs recovered in Bhutan in 2008)
- Dale Drinnon BTW there are no possums in the Himalayas. Lesser pandas are related to raccoons and you were probably making a reference to them
- Dale Drinnon One of the guys on one of the discussion boards said " I guess having possible proof of the existence of the Yeti is not a big deal after all. " and actually, I think that's about the size of it
- Paul Mead being totally facetious about the blue toed possum, interesting thought on the yeti, however, there will be no end to the debate, unless we discover to what group of animals it belongs - whether bear, orang-utan, unknown primate
- Dale Drinnon There remains the very important factor that "Yeti" is a generic term and does not definitely mean any one thing in particular. Switching over to a scientific term such as "Pongo sp" will make conversing about actual creatures something more concrete. As it is, you can say "Yeti" or "Bigfoot" or any comparable term and mean an unknown primate, a bear, or even a human being equally well in the ears of the listener. A most unsatisfactory arrangement!
- Dale Drinnon I realize you were being facetious about blue-toed possums, but that was a pertinent point about pandas and raccoons. In Biogeography you can have something like raccoons in the orient, but not possums, even though it is closer to Australia that way around. So you have more of a faunal continuity across Beringia than you do across Wallacea. (American possums evidently came up from South America) [This has a direct bearing on how reasonable it is to have the same species of Gigantopithecus in East Asia and in North America]
Two days ago an unknown species of black and violet macropod marsupial hopped right past me. I live in a remote rainforest and have seen seven different unknown species of animals in the last couple of decades. All the unknown marsupials I've encountered appear to be nocturnal or crepuscular. As very few people live in this part of Australia, the landform is extremely rugged and government departments do virtually no real surveys or assessments before logging it's hardly surprising there are unknown hominids living out here, too.
ReplyDeleteThere are also local Saskwatch types as well. The Aborigines name then Yarra, Rerren or Yowie (which is actually a mistaken term for something elae). The Western name for the smaller 1 metre tall version) is 'Brownjack', and the Aborigines have many stories about them as well. I've encountered them twice and found their prints on a number of occasions.
Keep up the great work and an open mind - truth is stranger and far more fulfilling than friction and ruction caused by skeptics.