An Indian Army mountaineering expedition team has claimed to have stumbled upon a fresh set of evidence of the mythical creature Yeti in the icy heights of the Himalayas.
The Army on Monday night released three pictures of gigantic footprints, describing them to be that of the Yeti's. A single footprint measures 32 x 15 inches.
In the photographs, footprints are clearly visible. However, prints are of only a single foot.
The army said its mountaineering team discovered the huge footprints on April 9 at Makalu Base Camp in Nepal.
The army said its mountaineering team discovered the huge footprints on April 9 at Makalu Base Camp in Nepal.
The mountaineering team began their journey towards Makalu base camp on April 2. While acclimatising at Langmale Kharka on April 9, they sighted these mysterious footprints.
Makalu-Barun National park has been the traditional site where such footprints were sighted in the past. But for the first time, such a large number of these impressions on the snow were recorded by the army men, who properly measured the footprints and photographed them.
"We got the inputs about 10 days back and yet we held on to it. But then we decided that there are photographic evidences which match with earlier theories. We tweeted as we thought it would be prudent to excite scientific temper and rekindle the interest," said a senior Indian Army official.
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman - a mysterious, ape-like creature said to inhabit the high mountains of Asia - looms large in the mythology of Nepal and Tibet. The bipedalled beast was immortalised by Herge in his popular comic book Tintin in Tibet.
For centuries, Yeti sightings have been reported from parts of Asia including India, Nepal and Tibet. Footprints have been spotted and stories have been passed down from generation to generation. But in the absence of any confirmatory evidence, it remained in the league of the Big Foot of North America and Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.
"Some of us who reject the story, surely shall have a definite answer to the evidences. As they say nature, history and science never write their final story," said the Army officer.
“Evidences have been photographed and will be handed over to the subject matter experts on return of the expedition. The idea is to share so that the issue can be addressed in a scientific way,” he added.
Some of the scientists have expressed doubts on the Army claims because of the single footprint as the mythical Yeti is believed to be a bipedal animal.
Previous scientific studies suggested that the Yeti samples kept in museums around the world came from mountain bears.