The truth about the bones and hairs of the snowman

DNA analysis revealed bone and fur specimens associated with legends derived from brown bears and black bears.

Scientists examine DNA from feathers, bones and other specimens that belong to the snowman (), a mythical, humanoid creature hidden in high mountains in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, according to Live Science. The study results published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B conclude the legend of snowmen originating from species and.

Biology is a snowman in the Himalayas.(Photo: Bettmann).

In 1951, British climber Eric Shipton returned from an expedition along with photographs of huge footprints in the snow, sparking hypotheses about rare snow creatures in Asia, shaped like people and not yet known by the scientific world. Some speculations about animals suggest that it may be the surviving member of an extinct or hybrid species of modern humans and primates.

The femur bone in a Tibetan cave is said to belong to the snowman.(Photo: National Geographic).

A 2014 study found two snowman specimens likely to come from crosses between polar bears and brown bears, according to Charlotte Lindqvist, evolutionary biologist at Buffalo University in New York, USA, the lead author. of new research. But Lindqvist feels skeptical about the possibility of a hybrid bear wandering through the Himalayas.

Lindqvist and colleagues decided to expand the study in 2014 by analyzing more snowman specimens."My thinking is that if the snowman is really a bear, this study could be an interesting way to approach difficult-to-collect specimens of Himalayan bears , " Lindqvist said.

Himaylaya brown bear.(Photo: Live Science).

Lindqvist's group analyzed nine snowman specimens, including bones, teeth, skin, feathers and stool samples collected from monasteries, caves and other places in the Himalayas and Tibetan plateau. They also collected specimens from regional bears and animals elsewhere in the world.

Of the 9 specimens, 8 came from Asian black bears, Himalayan brown bears or Tibetan brown bears. The other specimen comes from a dog."It is interesting to discover the specimens belonging to the snowmen, not the exotic hybrid bears, but they are simply related to local brown bears and black bears , " Lindqvist said. "Modern science and genetic data can help answer and explain ancient mysteries."

The new discovery also sheds light on the evolutionary history of Asian bears. While the Tibetan brown bear has a common ancestry with relatives in North America, Europe and Asia, Himalayan brown bears belong to a different evolutionary line separated from all other brown bears about 650,000 years ago.