Creatures, Myths & Legends

DNA analysis conducted on 'Yeti' hair found during trip to Himalayas

By T.K. Randall
November 5, 2023

Image: AI-generated (Midjourney) The travels of the pair, who had visited India, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan on their search for the elusive creature, were documented earlier this year in a BBC Radio 4 program entitled Yeti.

Benfield, who is a writer and meditation teacher, had teamed up with skeptic and political analyst Richard Horsey to hear stories and first-hand accounts of the Yeti from locals across the region.

"If I could convince [Richard], I knew I was on to something," Benfield said.

While they didn't witness the creature themselves during their journey, the pair did find and retrieve what they believed to be possible physical evidence in the form of some hair samples which they later submitted for DNA analysis to find out whether or not they belonged to an unknown species.

Now, several months later, the results of that analysis have come back.The samples, it turns out, actually belonged to a horse.

While the result is certainly not what they were hoping for, the pair note that the Yeti continues to remain a very important part of the local culture in the region.

"We realized it doesn't really matter to most of these people whether it physically exists," said Horsey. "It's the role that it plays in their world."

Several of the people they met and spoke to had their own ideas about the Yeti.

"You certainly respect local people's knowledge when you're up there because they're keeping you alive," said Benfield. "Who am I to question these people? They're out there every day."

Source: Live Science

Tags: Yeti