So this is the irrefutable proof of yetis in Siberia?
Several weeks ago, we told you about how a group of Russian yeti hunters claim they found “irrefutable evidence” of the existence of yetis in Siberia. And this is that evidence. A nest, a rough “footprint” and some trees bent over.
I’ll admit that what they took pictures of is very interesting indeed, and some of the artistic tree bendings look like they take much more manual dexterity than say a bear would have, but I think these bigfoot enthusiasts need to understand the definition of “irrefutable”.
Siberian officials issued a press release saying the three-day event this month turned up “irrefutable evidence” that such a creature—known to locals as a Snow Person—has been squatting in a Kemerovo cave 2,000 miles east of Moscow. Field trips into the surrounding mountains also turned up what they said were telltale signs of Yeti wanderings, such as bent and twisted branches, and underbrush that served as a bed.
Local officials say they will now make efforts to contact the beast, who hasn’t yet been photographed. They will also begin funding a permanent center for Bigfoot research at Siberia’s Kemerovo State University.
Kemerovo Gov. Aman Tuleyev is offering a one million ruble, or about $31,500, reward to anyone who finds a Yeti, telling Russian television, “We need to sit down with him, drink some tea and talk about life.” Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev, who at nearly 7 feet tall is known as the “Beast from the East,” made a foray into the woods last month to look for the creature, but came out saying he only found broken branches and footprints.
Officials say they would also like to drum up some tourism for Kemerovo, a poverty-stricken region known more for its coal mine accidents than alpine beauty. But Vladimir Makuta, the top official of Tashtagol, says he is a genuine believer in “a kind of forest spirit” who has been aiding and undermining hunters in the woods.
The very existence of a Yeti is looked upon askance by mainstream scientists, who say all the upright-walking mammals have long ago been discovered and categorized.
They dismiss evidence compiled by Yeti hunters as a mass of unverified sightings, fuzzy photographs and film clips, and footprints that have been planted by hucksters.
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