The study found that the Himalayan "snowman" DNA belonged to the bear

latest genetic analysis showed that eight of the nine samples claimed to be snowman debris were actually brown bears.
photo source: DAchille, Gino (1935-2017)/Private Collection/Bridgeman Images
Hikers in Tibet and the Himalayas don't have to be afraid of giant snowmen, but they'd better carry bear spray. DNA analysis of nine samples from the alleged Himalayan snowman showed that eight samples actually came from different species of bears of local origin.
folklore in Nepal, snowman pops up like a behemoth. The creature is often described as a giant ape with loose hair, wandering in the heart of the Himalayas. Over the years, there have been claims of sightings of snowmanes. Coupled with the remains hidden in monasteries or held by monks, these signs have convinced some that snowman is more than just a mythical "devil".
, however, science has so far not supported this view. Previous genetic analysis of two hair samples collected from India and Bhutan showed that a small section of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was similar to that of polar bears. mtDNA is a genetic material in a cellular energy-producing machine that is inherited only by women. Charlotte Lindqvist, an evolutionary biologist at the State University of New York, said the findings suggest that a previously unknown bear may be a hybrid of polar and brown bears and roam the Himalayas.
to find out the truth, Lindqvist and colleagues analyzed as much mtDNA as possible of what was supposed to be snowman debris on hand. Some of the samples were obtained by Lindqvist in collaboration with a British production team while filming the 2016 documentary Snowman. The documentary aims to comb through the hidden facts of folklore. The producers obtained a tooth and some hairs, which were collected in the Tibetan Plateau in the 1930s. At the same time, they also had a stool sample on hand. It comes from a museum opened by Italian climber Reinhold Messner in the Tyrol Alps. More recent samples include hair collected by a nomad in Nepal and leg bones found by a spiritual healer in a cave in Tibet. The team also analyzed samples recently collected from several subseeds of brown bears native to the area, including Himalayan brown bears, Tibetan brown bears and black bears. Together, the scientists analyzed 24 samples, including nine that claimed to be from snowman.
eight of the nine "snowman" samples were shown to be bears of local origin. The researchers report the findings
the British Journal of Health. The other samples came from a dog. At the same time, similar studies of hair samples purportedly associated with the large, hairy primitives of North America, the Sascochis, show that these fibers come from bears, horses, dogs and many other organisms, even humans.
the truth, the latest research has also reaped a lot of scientifically useful information, says Lindqvist, a researcher at the University of Science. For example, this analysis produced the first complete mitochondrial genome of Himalayan brown and Himalayan black bears. This may help scientists shed light on how these rare subsethics are genetically different from the more common species, and when these groups last shared matrimony ancestors.
now, we know where these bears are in the matrimo family tree, " he said. That's great. Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California who was not involved in the study, said.
"They're doing very well. Todd Disotell, a bioanthologist at New York University, wondered whether future analysis of the brown bear's nuclear DNA, which contains genetic contributions from both mother and father, would tell the same story
Male and female brown bears have different lifestyles: brown bears that are mothers do not usually travel too widely outside their habitat, while male brown bears roam on a larger scale. For this reason, Disotell believes, the nuclear genomes of these subsethics may indicate that they are more hybrid than mtDNA suggests.
at least, when researchers return to the Himalayas to collect new samples, they don't have to worry so much about bumping into the infamous snowman. (Source: Science Network Zonghua Compilation)