Sir Edmund Hillary linked to yeti find
30 Jul 2008
New Zealand hero Sir Edmund Hillary was famed for conquering Everest but may also have unwittingly knocked off one of the world's greatest mysteries - the existence of the yeti.
And it’s all down to a tale of hairs. Scientists at Oxford Brookes University in England reckon they have found the best evidence to date that the yeti does exist. They have tested hairs thought to have come from a yeti in an Indian jungle and say they bear "a startling resemblance" to those brought back from the Himalayas by Sir Ed half a century ago.
The two hairs, 33mm and 44mm long, were picked up in the mountains of northeast India five years ago after a forester reported seeing a yeti for three days in a row breaking branches off trees and eating their sap.
Positive evidence
Ape expert Ian Redmond, who is coordinating the research, told British newspaper The Independent the hairs had the same cuticle pattern as those brought back to Britain by Sir Ed.
"The hairs are the most positive evidence yet that a yeti might possibly exist, because they are tangible. We are excited about the preliminary results, though more tests need to be done."
Sir Ed, who died in January, led an expedition in September 1960 with a team of 21 scientists, climbers and other specialists along with 310 Sherpas to do scientific research on acclimatisation to altitude and hunt for yeti.
They failed to find any of the ape-like animals, but brought back samples.
Sir Ed sceptical
Fellow Everest conqueror Tenzing Norgay told Sir Ed that his father had twice seen a yeti, and Sherpas recounted stories of people attacked by a yeti or being frightened by its high-pitched whistle.
But Sir Ed's long-time friend, New Zealand columnist Tom Scott, said Sir Ed did not believe in the yeti though he liked the concept.
"The locals believed in them and Ed felt really bad for myth-busting them. He liked the possibility of the yeti. If someone found one, he would have been delighted."
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