The Yeti

What is the Yeti? The Yeti (/ˈjɛti/),[1] also known as Meh-Teh in Himalayan folklore, is an ape-like beast purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. In western popular culture, the creature is usually referred to as the Abominable Snowman. Supposed evidence of the Yeti's existence constitutes anecdotal visual sightings, disputed video recordings, photographs, casts of large footprints, etc. Some of these are speculated or known to be hoaxes.

Folklorists trace the origin of the Yeti to a combination of factors including Sherpa folklore and misidentified fauna such as bear or yak. Mainstream science has largely discredited the Yeti's existence for these reasons. Much like Bigfoot, a similar alleged creature said to reside in North America, the Yeti has become an icon of cryptozoology and a part of modern popular culture. To date, no evidence of the Yeti has been independently verified by scientists.

The scientific community has universally rejected the idea of a large, hairy, non-human creature located in the Himalayas. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists the Yeti in its "Green Book" as an "urban legend". The British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) calls the Yeti "a non-existent animal". Cryptozoologists and other enthusiasts reject these statements, citing alleged sightings from all over the world and claims of Himalayan footprints as evidence.

The origin of the Yeti claims appears to be in Nepal. The term "Yeti" is an amalgamation of the Nepalese words for "abominable snowman" (kuswa-ling) and is a reference to Sherpa folklore. The Sherpa people are a Tibetan ethnic group. The name "Sherpa" stems from Sherwa, meaning "east" in Tibetan. Sherpas are most closely related to the Kham Tibetans, but live in the Solukhumbu District of Nepal. They speak the Sherpa language, which belongs to the Tibetan branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

A Yeti is traditionally depicted as having a broad face and a rounded nose with wide-set eyes. The Yeti is substantially larger than most other indigenous bears found in Asia: it is usually described as being between 5 feet (1.5 m) and 10 feet (3.0 m) tall. The Yeti is also reportedly covered with dense fur, a trait that is characteristic of its presumed bear-like relatives in the genus Ursus.

In Indian mythology, the Yeti is a snow-demon. In Nepal, it is considered a spirit of ruggedness. The creature is rarely seen, and the locations associated with it are secret. Yeti sightings are also reported in Bhutan and Tibet (where it is known as the Migo). While some of these sightings and recordings have been debunked as hoaxes, casts of reputed "yeti footprints" from the Himalaya have been handed down from generation to generation as authentic artifacts. Well known sites that document footprints include Taklakot, Gokyo Ri, and Pangboche.

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals and was the creation of British zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans (1916-2001). Heuvelmans created the term cryptozoology in the early 1950s as a subdiscipline of zoology. The word, derived from Greek, means "hidden animals" (crypto-) and (-zoos).

Heuvelmans used cryptozoology to cover not only recently discovered animals but also any animal which has ever been suggested to exist but for which there is little or no evidence. This includes legendary creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Himalayan Yeti, and Yowie man, as well as extinct species such as the dinosaur. In its most extreme form, it may include even forms of life that have never been suggested to exist at all in modern times.