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Creatures, Myths & Legends

Yeti expedition canceled over Taliban fears

By T.K. Randall
August 21, 2015 · Comment icon 10 comments

The expedition had to be canceled after a press leak. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 Dirk Hartung
An expedition hoping to determine the truth about the Yeti has had to be canceled due to safety fears.
The trip, which would have seen Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner leading a group of researchers in to the remote mountains of northern Pakistan, aimed to determine once and for all whether the creature responsible for sightings of the legendary Yeti was actually an ancient bear/polar bear hybrid - an idea first put forward by Oxford University scientist Bryan Sykes.

Being the first person to climb up Mount Everest without additional oxygen and to scale all 14 of the world's tallest peaks, Messner was undoubtedly the perfect man for the job.

What ultimately thwarted the project however was something not even Messner could overcome.

The team had been hoping to keep the expedition a secret to avoid attracting the attention of the Taliban but when the Austrian press unexpectedly published details of their plans they were left with little choice but to abort the entire operation.
"Right now everything has been canceled because people who should not have known about the expedition obviously managed to find out about it," he said.

Messner, who is an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society in London, has long maintained an interest in the legend of the Yeti.

Back in 1988 he took part in an expedition to Tibet in an effort to learn more about the creature and later wrote a book entitled "My Quest for the Yeti: Confronting the Himalayas' Deepest Mystery."

"I'm not a scientist but during my expeditions I've gathered a lot of information about the Yeti that I'm happy to make available to researchers," he said.

Source: Telegraph | Comments (10)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by bubblykiss 9 years ago
Ah the Taliban famous protectors of freedom, liberty and the Yeti.
Comment icon #2 Posted by shaddow134 9 years ago
Another hostage situation averted then. I'm sure that keeping this mission secret wouldn't have prevented them being taken prisoner. Madness I say...
Comment icon #3 Posted by GreenmansGod 9 years ago
The Taliban, what a bunch of jerks, they just suck all the fun out of everything.
Comment icon #4 Posted by MJNYC 9 years ago
The Taliban, The ISIS, The whatever - all a bunch of ignorant lunatics who want to destroy everything. My heart breaks every time I think of all of the artifacts that have been destroyed by these ignorant monsters and what they are doing to the world. I wonder if the world talked about the Nazis as we do about these monsters. The United States keeps talking about the "war on women"; need I say more?
Comment icon #5 Posted by jarjarbinks 9 years ago
The Taliban, The ISIS, The whatever - all a bunch of ignorant lunatics who want to destroy everything. My heart breaks every time I think of all of the artifacts that have been destroyed by these ignorant monsters and what they are doing to the world. I wonder if the world talked about the Nazis as we do about these monsters. The United States keeps talking about the "war on women"; need I say more? What's funny is that in any movie or tv-show, the viewer always say something like "what? dont run kill him first" (exemple : an horror movie were the bad guy is unconscious on the ground but the g... [More]
Comment icon #6 Posted by highdesert50 9 years ago
If the intent is to capture a Himalayan bear to obtain blood and DNA samples, would it not he more prudent to enable the locals in the region. They would already be familiar with the terrain, wildlife, and political adversities, and therefore more likely to locate a Himalayan bear at high altitudes. The process becomes an opportunity to educate people through the rigor of research.
Comment icon #7 Posted by Ashyne 9 years ago
They should be much more afraid of Yeti than Taliban.
Comment icon #8 Posted by Infernal Gnu 9 years ago
Idiots! All they needed to do was drop tons of pork all over the area they want to explore! Pork is unclean according to the Koran and so all the terrorists would flee in terror from the area!
Comment icon #9 Posted by Gingitsune 9 years ago
They should just go in Xinjiang, these yeti don't know or care about the border, they will pass from Pakistan to China, Afghanistan and India every now and then. It is the same mountain range anyway.
Comment icon #10 Posted by Goodnite 9 years ago
They should just go in Xinjiang, these yeti don't know or care about the border, they will pass from Pakistan to China, Afghanistan and India every now and then. It is the same mountain range anyway. I agree, a lot of places to find Yeti and/or bears in that part of the world.


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