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Is the Yeti nesting in Siberia? Strange twisted tree arches 'prove legendary creature exists'
Twisted branches found in Kemerovo region could finally prove Yeti is no longer the stuff of legends.
By Lucy Buckland
15th November 2011
Hunters are claiming they have discovered the nest of a legendary Yeti tucked away in a remote area of Russia.
And experts are hailing the discovery of bizarrely twisted trees in the Kemerovo region as the final piece in the puzzle to prove the abominable snowman is real.
Experts stumbled across the trees, twisted by force to form an arch, in the area -which is known for sightings of the wildman.
And Yeti experts who met at a conference in Moscow to discuss the find mounted an exhibition to Siberia to see the nest for themselves.
Biologist John Bindernagel, 69, told The Sun, 'We didn't feel like the trees we saw in Siberia had been done by a man or another mammal.
'Twisted trees like this have also been observed in North America and they could fit in with the theory that Bigfoot makes nests.'
Hunted: An artist's impression shows a primitive Yeti emerging from a cave
Sightings of the Yeti have been reported in France, North America and the Himalayas but Dr Bindernagel said these are mainly ignored by scientists who are put off by 'jokes and taboos.'
He told The Sun: 'I am nearly 70 so time is running out for me.'
The latest discovery comes a month after Russian officials said they found ‘indisputable evidence’ that yetis exist.
Their claim followed an international conference and expedition to track down the Abominable Snowman in the Mount Shoria area.
However, doubt was already been cast over the ‘find’ – as the team has no convincing photographic or DNA evidence.
Their claim appears to be based a single unclear footprint and a small sample of grey ‘hair’, found in a cave.
The administration of the Kemerovo region, where the cave is situated, yesterday announced that ‘indisputable evidence’ had been found.
But critics said the expedition was more about making the area a tourist destination than true science.
Evidence: Vladimir Makouta, head of Siberia's Tastagol district administration, and the sheriff of the area's Kabyrza settlement, show twisted aspen branches believed to have been caused by a Yeti
Made by a legend? Experts say these arches prove a Yeti has been trawling the region and had nested nearby
On the trail: this strange footprint found in the snow was also hailed as proof the Yeti exists
Researchers who led the search said that they are closer than ever to catching one the creatures.
'During the expedition to the Azasskaya cave, conference participants gathered indisputable proof that the Shoria mountains are inhabited by the Snow Man,' the Kemerovo region administration announced yesterday.
'They found his footprints, his supposed bed, and various markers with which the Yeti uses to denote his territory.'
The markers appeared to be mainly broken trees and some Russian media reports have treated the Yeti claims with considerable scepticism.
Despite this, the local government officials professed themselves either certain or 95 per cent certain of the existence of Yeti in a highland area known as Mount Shoria.
The hair thought to be from a Yeti was found in the Kemerovo region 2,600 miles east of Moscow
An American housewife told a previous conference she regularly feeds Yeti in her back garden in Michigan but was unable to produce a single photograph of an elusive creature rumoured to exist for thousands of years.
One cynical Russian media report summed up the mission as 'we haven't actually found anything, but we very, very much wanted to have found something'.
Shortly before the 'experts' arrived, another hunt to the same cave to find the Yeti was led by the 'Beast of the East' - former Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev. It ended in failure, though locals saw it as a key plank in the region's bid to boost tourism.
'Valuyev did not manage to meet the Yeti itself but on the way he discovered 'traces' such as broken tree branches,' said a spokesman.
'I saw lots of journalists but no Yetis,' admitted the boxer.
Dmitry Islamov, Vice Governor of Kemerovo Region on Economics and Regional Development said: 'It doesn't matter that the Kuzbass might not have Yetis. The main thing is that when people come to the Shoria Mountains, they truly enjoy its unique nature.'
Twisted branches found in Kemerovo region could finally prove Yeti is no longer the stuff of legends.
By Lucy Buckland
15th November 2011
Hunters are claiming they have discovered the nest of a legendary Yeti tucked away in a remote area of Russia.
And experts are hailing the discovery of bizarrely twisted trees in the Kemerovo region as the final piece in the puzzle to prove the abominable snowman is real.
Experts stumbled across the trees, twisted by force to form an arch, in the area -which is known for sightings of the wildman.
And Yeti experts who met at a conference in Moscow to discuss the find mounted an exhibition to Siberia to see the nest for themselves.
Biologist John Bindernagel, 69, told The Sun, 'We didn't feel like the trees we saw in Siberia had been done by a man or another mammal.
'Twisted trees like this have also been observed in North America and they could fit in with the theory that Bigfoot makes nests.'
Hunted: An artist's impression shows a primitive Yeti emerging from a cave
Sightings of the Yeti have been reported in France, North America and the Himalayas but Dr Bindernagel said these are mainly ignored by scientists who are put off by 'jokes and taboos.'
He told The Sun: 'I am nearly 70 so time is running out for me.'
The latest discovery comes a month after Russian officials said they found ‘indisputable evidence’ that yetis exist.
Their claim followed an international conference and expedition to track down the Abominable Snowman in the Mount Shoria area.
However, doubt was already been cast over the ‘find’ – as the team has no convincing photographic or DNA evidence.
Their claim appears to be based a single unclear footprint and a small sample of grey ‘hair’, found in a cave.
The administration of the Kemerovo region, where the cave is situated, yesterday announced that ‘indisputable evidence’ had been found.
But critics said the expedition was more about making the area a tourist destination than true science.
Evidence: Vladimir Makouta, head of Siberia's Tastagol district administration, and the sheriff of the area's Kabyrza settlement, show twisted aspen branches believed to have been caused by a Yeti
Made by a legend? Experts say these arches prove a Yeti has been trawling the region and had nested nearby
On the trail: this strange footprint found in the snow was also hailed as proof the Yeti exists
Researchers who led the search said that they are closer than ever to catching one the creatures.
'During the expedition to the Azasskaya cave, conference participants gathered indisputable proof that the Shoria mountains are inhabited by the Snow Man,' the Kemerovo region administration announced yesterday.
'They found his footprints, his supposed bed, and various markers with which the Yeti uses to denote his territory.'
The markers appeared to be mainly broken trees and some Russian media reports have treated the Yeti claims with considerable scepticism.
Despite this, the local government officials professed themselves either certain or 95 per cent certain of the existence of Yeti in a highland area known as Mount Shoria.
The hair thought to be from a Yeti was found in the Kemerovo region 2,600 miles east of Moscow
An American housewife told a previous conference she regularly feeds Yeti in her back garden in Michigan but was unable to produce a single photograph of an elusive creature rumoured to exist for thousands of years.
One cynical Russian media report summed up the mission as 'we haven't actually found anything, but we very, very much wanted to have found something'.
Shortly before the 'experts' arrived, another hunt to the same cave to find the Yeti was led by the 'Beast of the East' - former Russian heavyweight boxing champion Nikolai Valuyev. It ended in failure, though locals saw it as a key plank in the region's bid to boost tourism.
'Valuyev did not manage to meet the Yeti itself but on the way he discovered 'traces' such as broken tree branches,' said a spokesman.
'I saw lots of journalists but no Yetis,' admitted the boxer.
Dmitry Islamov, Vice Governor of Kemerovo Region on Economics and Regional Development said: 'It doesn't matter that the Kuzbass might not have Yetis. The main thing is that when people come to the Shoria Mountains, they truly enjoy its unique nature.'