Yeti Evidence Convincing?

By Michael C. Mayes and Alton Higgins

In a brief Daily Mail (U.K.) article, revered wildlife expert Sir David Attenborough is quoted stating, “There is very convincing evidence that yetis exist.” He goes on to say, “I am baffled by the Abominable Snowman – very convincing footprints have been found at 19,000 feet. No one does that for a joke. I think it’s unanswered.” Attenborough made the comments during the BBC program Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 27 February 2009.

Attenborough is not the first prominent wildlife expert to go on record saying there is convincing evidence that undiscovered large primates may exist in remote areas of the planet. Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall said in a 2002 interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation: Science Friday with Ira Flatow, “You will be amazed when I tell you that I’m sure that they (bigfoot/yetis) exist.”

It is encouraging to see established wildlife experts like Sir David Attenborough and Dr. Jane Goodall going on record and acknowledging that compelling evidence that such species exist is out there and warrants a closer look. Hopefully the positions of these two well known, respected, and established scientists will serve to interest others in the scientific establishment to look into this mystery. The TBRC takes the position that these animals could be documented if properly trained and funded teams were given enough time. Unfortunately, few established scientists are willing to go out on the “sasquatch limb.” Perhaps it is no coincidence that Attenborough and Goodall waited until this point in their careers to make their proclamations. Making public their thoughts on the sasquatch and/or yeti at earlier points in their careers, assuming they have held these opinions for some time, could have endangered the funding for their life’s work and irrevocably damaged their reputations within the scientific community.

Perhaps, with the help of respected researchers like Attenborough and Goodall, the tide can be turned and this subject will no longer represent career suicide for interested scientists. More than any photo or DNA sequence, a greater willingness to risk curiosity may be the breakthrough that must occur before the “discovery of the century” can take place. It may also prove to be just as difficult to achieve.

Source: The Daily Mail Online; NPR's Talk of the Nation with Ira Flatow: Sasquatch Legends Meets Science.