A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of
the abominable snowman — the elusive apelike creature of the Himalayas. He
thinks it is a bear.
DNA analysis conducted by Oxford University genetics
professor Bryan Sykes suggests the creature, also known as the yeti, is the
descendant of an ancient polar bear.
Sykes compared DNA from hair samples taken from two
Himalayan animals — identified by local people as yetis — to a database of
animal genomes. He found they shared a genetic fingerprint with a polar bear
jawbone that was found in the Norwegian Arctic and is at least 40,000 years
old.