Publications about Bigfoot have long moved from the category of world sensations to the category of entertaining reading matter. Back in the 1970s, the well-known journalist Yaroslav Golovanov noted that on yeti worth the "stigma of a smile." And in last years almost no journalistic investigation on this topic is complete without a certain amount of sneer.

Representatives of "big" science call the researchers of the problem amateurs, arrogantly rejecting their discoveries. Nevertheless, research in this area continues and is replenished with more and more new evidence. DISCOVERY magazine begins a series of articles about Bigfoot and other unknown, controversial and extinct creatures.

It is generally accepted that in Russia the study of Bigfoot began a century ago. Back in 1914, the zoologist Vitaly Khakhlov, who since 1907 had been searching for the “wild man” and surveying the local population on the territory of Kazakhstan, sent a letter to the leadership of the Academy of Sciences, in which he substantiated the existence of human-like creatures.

Khakhlov gave them the species name Primihomo asiaticus (the first man of Asia) and insisted on organizing an expedition to find viable individuals. But the letter fell into the category of "having no scientific significance", and the events that followed, including the first World War, and completely postponed the solution of this problem for many decades.

Big Foot(aka bigfoot, yeti and sasquatch) first attracted the attention of the general public in the 1950s, when climbers from many countries began to "explore" the highest peaks of the planet. A little more than half a century ago, in 1954, the first special expedition to search for the yeti in the Himalayas took place.

It was organized by the British tabloid Daily Mail on the initiative and under the direction of the newspaper's employee, journalist Ralph Izzard. The impetus for the preparation of the expedition was photographs of the traces of a mysterious bipedal creature in the snow, taken by the Englishman Eric Shipton during the climb to Everest in 1951.

Evidence has been found in high-altitude monasteries proving that the Himalayas are inhabited (or at least lived) by huge humanoid creatures covered with wool.

Izzard very thoughtfully approached the preparations of the expedition, which took almost three years. During this time, he got acquainted with all the publications on the topic in the libraries of different countries, carefully selected specialists for the main part of the expedition, and agreed on the assistance of the Sherpas, the indigenous inhabitants of the high mountains of the Himalayas.

And although Izzard did not catch Bigfoot (and such a task was also set), many reports of meetings with him were recorded, and evidence was found in high-mountain monasteries proving that huge humanoid creatures live (or at least lived) in the Himalayas covered with wool. According to the descriptions of local residents, an English anthropologist, the son of emigrants of the first wave, Vladimir Chernetsky recreated the appearance of the Yeti.

A unique photograph taken during an expedition in the forest near Vyatka (Orichevsky district) in 200B: a shaggy creature moving on two legs was filmed from a distance of about 200 meters, after which it ran away, leaving giant footprints.

In 1958, the USSR Academy of Sciences created a "Commission for the Study of Bigfoot" and sent an expensive expedition to search for the Yeti in the Pamir highlands, but, unlike Izzard, did not bother with any serious preparation. The mission was headed by the botanist Kirill Stanyukovich, and among his colleagues there was not a single specialist in large mammals.

Needless to say, the result turned out to be depressing: considerable funds were spent, as they would say today, on “non-targeted expenses”. It cannot be argued that Stanyukovich did not justify the hopes of high officials at all. Based on the data obtained, he created a geobotanical atlas of the Pamir highlands, but after his expedition, the Academy of Sciences officially closed the topic of studying Bigfoot. Since then, all searches for the Yeti in our country have been carried out exclusively by enthusiasts.

YETI ON FILM

Nevertheless, in the short period of its existence, the commission managed to collect a large number of eyewitness reports about meetings with "inhabitants of the mountains". Several editions of information materials have been published. All work was carried out under the guidance of Professor Boris Porshnev, who founded a new direction in the science of man and his origin - hominology.

In 1963, marked "For official use" with a circulation of only 180 copies, his voluminous monograph "The Current State of the Question of Relic Hominids" was published, in which Porshnev outlined the available data and the theory based on them.

These ideas in subsequent years were developed by the professor in articles in popular science publications and summarized by him in the book "On the Beginning of Human History" (1974), which was published after the death of the author. Boris Porshnev died from heart attack when at the last moment the publication of this work was canceled, and the set of the book was scattered.

In his writings, Porshnev expressed the idea that " snow people"- Neanderthals who have survived to this day, adapted to natural conditions without tools, clothes, fire and, most importantly, speech as a means of communication. Speech, according to the scientist, is the most important distinctive quality of a person, distinguishing him from the rest of the animal world.

In the 1960s, expeditionary work moved mainly to the Caucasus. The main merit in this belongs to the doctor of biological sciences Alexander Mashkovtsev, who traveled along and reproached several regions of the Caucasus and collected rich material.

The expedition was led by long years hosted by Maria-Zhanna Kofman. Participants of the search exchanged information about the results obtained at the meetings of the seminar on the problem of relic hominids, founded in 1960 at the State Darwin Museum in Moscow by the famous naturalist Pyotr Smolin. After Smolin's death, the seminar is headed by Dmitry Bayanov to this day.

While in the USSR the Bigfoot problem was discussed from a theoretical position, in America and Canada there was a serious breakthrough in the field of field searches.

On October 20, 1967, American Roger Patterson managed to film a female hominid in a forest in Northern California and make several plaster casts of her footprints. The film was coldly received by the scientific community, without any study was rejected by the Smithsonian Center and declared a fake. Patterson died five years later from brain cancer, but materials still appear in the press trying to accuse him of falsification.

But back in 1971, Russian hominologists, among whom was your obedient servant, as a result of painstaking research, recognized the film as genuine. Our study of the film is still the most important testament to its truth. American specialists have only recently begun a serious study of it and are already confirming the conclusions made in the USSR almost 40 years ago.

EXAMINATION STUDYING THE PATTERSON FILM, RUSSIAN (THEN SOVIET) SCIENTISTS CONCLUDED THAT IT IS GENUINE. THEY BASED THEIR CONCLUSIONS ON THE FOLLOWING ARGUMENTS:

The exceptional flexibility of the ankle joint of the creature depicted on the film is unattainable for a person.
Greater, compared with a person, the flexibility of the foot itself is in the back direction. Dmitry Bayanov was the first to draw attention to this. Later, the American anthropologist Jeff Meldrum also confirmed this, which he described in his publications.

The Bigfoot's heel protrudes more backwards than a human's. This corresponds to the typical structure of the Neanderthal foot. For a creature of great weight, this is justified from the point of view of the rational application of muscle strength.

In researching the film, Dmitry Donskoy, Ph.D., then head of the Department of Biomechanics at the Institute of Physical Education, came to the conclusion that the creature's gait is completely atypical for Homo sapiens and practically cannot be reproduced.

In the film, the play of muscles on the body and limbs is clearly visible, which rejects the assumptions about the costume. The whole anatomy of the body and especially the low head set distinguishes this creature from modern man.

Measurements of the frequency of vibrations of the hands and comparison with the speed at which the film was shot testify to the high growth of the creature (about 220 cm) and, given the complexion, big weight(exceeding 200 kg).

BIGFOOT CLAN IN TENNESSEE

In December 1968, two world-famous cryptozoologists, Ivan Sanderson (USA) and Bernard Euvelmans (France), examine the frozen corpse of a hairy humanoid creature. Later they publish the report in the scientific press. Euvelmans identified the deceased as a "modern Neanderthal", declaring that Porshnev was right.

Meanwhile, the search for Bigfoot continued in the USSR. The most significant results were given by the work of Maria-Jeanne Kofman in the North Caucasus, the search for Alexandra Burtseva in Kamchatka and Chukotka; very large-scale and fruitful expeditions took place in Tajikistan and the Pamir-Alai under the leadership of the Kievite Igor Tatsl and Igor Burtsev, and in Western Siberia and Lovozero (Murmansk region) Maya Bykova conducted the search without results, Vladimir Pushkarev collected a lot of information in Komi and Yakutia.

Pushkarev's expedition ended tragically: in September 1978, he went on an expedition alone to the Khanty-Mansiysk District and went missing.

In 1990, search expeditions practically ceased due to a sharp change in the socio-political situation in the territory former USSR. After some time, thanks to the development of the Internet, Russian researchers were able to establish strong contacts with European and overseas colleagues.

In recent years, interest in the Yeti has intensified, and new regions of discovery of hominids have appeared. In 2002, Janice Carter, a farm owner in Tennessee, said in an interview that a whole clan of Bigfoot has been living near her property for more than half a century. According to the woman, the elder of the "snowy" family was about 60 years old, and "acquaintance" with him took place when Janice was only seven years old.

In the next issue, we will take a closer look at this amazing case and the main characters in the story. You will find a story about unique finds and incredible discoveries.

The mysterious creature from Burganef really looks like a Neanderthal

Janice Carter meets Bigfoot. The drawing was made from the words of a woman and accurately shows the proportions of the creature and demonstrates how their communication took place.

Some time ago, Russian hominologists accidentally stumbled upon information that in 1997 in France, at a provincial fair in the town of Bourganef, a frozen body of a “Neanderthal” was shown, allegedly found in the mountains of Tibet and smuggled from China.

There are many unknowns in this story. The owner of the trailer carrying the Neanderthal cold store vanished without a trace shortly after images of the dead Bigfoot's body were leaked to the French press.

The trailer itself has also disappeared with its priceless contents, all attempts to find it for 11 years have been in vain. Photos of the frozen body showed Janice Carter, who with a high degree of probability confirmed that this was not a falsification, but really the corpse of a Bigfoot.

Despite serious difficulties, mainly of a financial nature, research on the Bigfoot problem continues. The recognition of such anthropoid beings as official science will lead to serious changes in many branches of knowledge related to the study of man, will allow one to penetrate the secret of his origin, and will have a serious impact on the development of culture, religion, and medicine. Using the terminology of Porshnev, this will lead to a scientific revolution and to a fundamental revolution in the question of defining a person as such and separating him from the animal world.

An unusual structure made from tree trunks and branches, discovered in Tennessee. Similar structures are often found in difficult forests. Their purpose is still unknown, but, apparently, this is how the yetis somehow mark their territory. Igor Burtsev (pictured) is convinced that a huge Bigfoot family lives in Tennessee.

HUMAN AND ANIMAL HYBRID

Even Michel Nostradamus warned about the appearance of a hybrid of man and animal. Experiments on vivisection, that is, surgical intervention in a living organism in order to create another creature, in particular a person (or similar to him), were carried out back in the 19th century, but they did not lead to anything.

There is no such data about earlier "studies". At least, the doctors and alchemists of the Middle Ages did not resort to such experiments (it was the way to the fire of the Inquisition), being content with attempts to grow homunculi in test tubes.

Experiments on breeding humanoid creatures became widespread (in certain circles) in the early 1920s. A student of academician Ivan Pavlov, biologist Ilya Ivanov, began to conduct experiments on crossing humans and chimpanzees by artificial insemination. The experiments were carried out on volunteers and lasted more than 10 years, until Ivanov's death in 1932, which followed under very mysterious circumstances.

Why were these experiments carried out? The reason is simple at first glance - the possibility of creating some hybrids for working in difficult and harmful conditions and, possibly, for organ donation. However, the results of the experiments are unknown. True, there is unverified evidence that somewhere in the mines, Gulag prisoners met hairy ape-like people.

But is it possible to create such creatures and other humanoid monsters? Geneticists answer this question in the negative, since humans have 46 chromosomes, and chimpanzees have 48, which means that artificial (as well as natural) fertilization is simply impossible. But Ivanov, when exposed to the egg, could well use chemical substances, drugs, radiation and any other potent methods. After all, what is sometimes impossible in nature is quite possible in the laboratory.

JAPANESE VERSION

Japanese climber claims to have uncovered the mystery of Bigfoot, and now with this problem that has been disturbing the minds of seekers for decades mysterious phenomena, finished. After 12 years of research, Ma-koto Nebuka concluded that the legendary yeti from the Himalayas is nothing but the Himalayan bear (Ursus thibetanus).

“Reality is rarely as frightening as the imagination,” says a smiling Nebuka, one of the leading members of the Alpine Club of Japan, at a press conference in Tokyo for the release of his book, which summed up years of research into the Bigfoot problem.

In addition to unique photographs. Nebuka was also engaged in linguistic research. In particular, an analysis of interviews with residents of Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan showed that the notorious "Yeti" is a distorted "Meti", that is, "bear" in the local dialect. And the myth almost became a reality due to the fact that the Tibetans consider the yeti honey to be an omnipotent and terrible creature with supernatural powers.

These concepts combined and became Bigfoot, explains Nebuka. As proof of his position, he shows a photograph of a yeti bear, whose head and paws are kept by one of the Sherpas as a talisman.

DO YOU KNOW THAT...

The name "snowman" is a tracing paper from the Tibetan "metoh kangmi", as this creature is called there.
. Scientists studying Bigfoot agree that the life span of this creature is 250-300 years.
. Cryptozoologists have not only casts of footprints, hair and yeti excrement, but also fragments of his dwelling, built on the ground and on trees. Scientists are convinced that it takes a lot of strength and intelligence to build a structure out of twigs and seal the walls with grass, foliage, earth and excrement.
. Finnish scientists tried to offer the most incredible version of the appearance of Bigfoot. They claimed that the yetis are aliens, and when they disappear, they are transported to their planet.
. In Malaysia, the yeti is considered a deity, they call it "Hantu Yarang Jiji" (literally translated - "spirit with widely spaced teeth"), and in the Endau-Rompin National Park there is even a small chapel with a sculpture of a bigfoot, to which believers come to pray.
. The American Society of Cryptozoologists and in Tucson, Arizona, announced a reward of $100,000 to anyone who finds and delivers the corpse of Bigfoot to scientists, and $1 million to those who manage to catch him alive.

Igor Burtsev
Magazine "Discovery" No. 5 2009.

Many myths and legends of the world closely echo real events and meetings that defy explanation. Bigfoot is one of the most controversial figures in history. Although its existence has not been proven, there are eyewitnesses who claim to have met a real yeti.

The origin of the yeti image

The first mention of the existence of a huge, hairy humanoid creature living in the mountains is found in. There is a record that a humanoid creature of incredible size inhabits this territory, possessing the instinct of survival and self-preservation.

The term Bigfoot first appeared thanks to people who went on expeditions and conquered the snow-capped peaks of the Tibetan mountains. They claimed to have seen huge footprints in the snow belonging to. Now this term is considered obsolete, as it became known that Yeti prefer mountain forests, not snow.

While there is an active discussion among scientists around the world about who the Bigfoot is - myth or reality, the inhabitants of the mountainous local eastern countries, and especially Tibet, Nepal and some regions of China, are absolutely sure of its existence and even often go out with yeti to contact. In the middle of the XX century. The government of Nepal even recognized the existence of the Yeti at the official level.

By law, anyone who can discover the habitat of Bigfoot will receive a large monetary reward.

Based on this, it can be said that the yeti is a mythical or real humanoid animal that lives in the mountain forests of Tibet, Nepal and some other areas.

Description of the appearance of the yeti

From Tibetan legends and eyewitness observations, you can learn a lot about what Bigfoot looks like. Characteristic features of his appearance:

• Yeti belongs to the family of hominids, which includes the most developed individuals of primates, i.e. humans and great apes.
• A feature of such creatures is their extremely large growth. The average adult of this species can reach from 3 to 4.5 m.
• Yeti's arms are disproportionately long and almost reach the feet.
• The whole body of a snowman is covered with wool. It can be gray or black.
• It is believed that the females of this species of hominids differ so much big size breasts that during rapid movement they have to throw them over their shoulders.

The Yeti family is the American and South American Bigfoot. In some sources it is called Bolshenogiy.

The nature and lifestyle of the creature

Despite its outward appearance, the yeti is far from being aggressive, possessing a relatively balanced and peaceful disposition. They avoid contact with people and deftly climb trees, like monkeys.

Yetis are omnivores, but prefer fruits. They live in caves, but there are suggestions that some species that live deep in the forest are able to build their own houses in trees.

Hominids are capable of reaching unprecedented speeds of up to 80 km / h, which is why they are so difficult to catch. Not a single attempt to catch the Yeti was successful.

Yeti encounters in reality

History knows many cases of meeting a person with a yeti. Typically, the protagonists of such stories are hunters and people leading a hermitic lifestyle in a forest or mountainous area.

Yeti is one of the main subjects of study for people who are fond of cryptozoology. This is a pseudoscientific direction, which is engaged in the search for evidence of the existence of mythical and legendary creatures. Often cryptozoologists are simple enthusiasts without higher scientific education. To this day, they put a lot of effort into capturing the mythical creature.

For the first time, footprints of Bigfoot were discovered in the Himalayan mountains in 1899. The witness was an Englishman by the name of Weddel. According to an eyewitness, he did not find the animal itself.

One of the official mentions of a meeting with a yeti dates back to 2014 during a mountain expedition of professional climbers. Forwarders conquered the highest point of the Himalayan mountains - Chomolungma. There, at the very top, they first noticed giant footprints located at a fairly large distance between them. Later, they saw a broad, hairy figure of a humanoid creature, reaching a height of 4 m.

Scientific refutation of the existence of the Yeti

In 2017, Doctor of Biological Sciences Pyotr Kamensky gave an interview for the scientific publication Arguments and Facts, in which he proved the impossibility of the Yeti's existence. He used several arguments.

On this moment There are no places left unexplored by man on Earth. The last major primate species was discovered over 100 years ago. The discoveries of modern scientists are mostly rare small plants, etc. The Yeti is too big to be able to constantly hide from researchers, zoologists and ordinary inhabitants of highlands. Yeti population size plays a big role. It is clear that in order to maintain the existence of a separate species in one locality, at least several dozen individuals must live. Hiding so many huge hominids is not an easy task.

The vast majority of evidence in favor of the existence of Bigfoot turned out to be falsification.

Yeti image in popular culture

Like many other folklore and mythical creatures, the image of Bigfoot is actively used in art and various manifestations of popular culture. Including literature, film industry and computer video games. The character is endowed with both positive and negative traits.

Bigfoot in literature

The Yeti character is actively used in their works by writers all over the world. The image of a huge hairy hominid is found both in science fiction, mystical novels, popular science works, and in children's books.

Yeti plays one of the main roles in the novel by the American science fiction writer Frederick Brown "The Horror of the Himalayas". The events of the book unfold in the Himalayan mountains during the filming of the movie. Unexpectedly, the actress who played in the film leading role, kidnaps yeti - a huge humanoid monster.

In the science fiction series "The Flat World" by the famous British prose writer Terry Pratchett, the yeti is one of the main ones. They are distant relatives of the giant trolls, living in the permafrost area behind the Sheep Mountains. They have snow-white fur, can subdue the passage of time, and their giant feet are considered a powerful aphrodisiac.

In the nursery fantasy novel Alberto Melisa, titled "In Search of the Yeti", describes the adventure of a team of explorers who went to the Tibetan mountains in order to save Bigfoot from the ubiquitous hunters.

Character in computer games

Bigfoot can be called one of the most frequent characters in computer games. Usually live in the tundra and other icy locations. For games, there is a standard image of Bigfoot - a creature resembling something in between a gorilla and a man, of gigantic growth with snow-white and thick hair. This coloration helps them effectively camouflage in environment. Lead predatory image life and pose a danger to travelers. Brute force is used in combat. The main fear is fire.

Bigfoot and its history

Bigfoot or Sasquatch is a relative of the Tibetan Bigfoot, inhabiting the forest and mountainous areas of the American continent. The term first appeared in the late sixties thanks to the American bulldozer Roy Wallace, who discovered footprints around his house that resembled human ones in shape, but reached enormous sizes. Roy's story quickly gained popularity in the press, and the animal was recognized as a relative of the Tibetan Bigfoot.

After almost 9 years, Roy presented a short video footage to the media. In the video, you can see how the female bigfoot moves through the forest. This Video for a long time was on examination and all kinds of scientists and not only. Many recognized him as real.

After Roy's death, his friends and relatives admitted that all Wallace's stories were just fiction, and the confirmations were falsifications.

• For traces he used ordinary boards, carved in the form of large feet.
• The video showed the bulldozer operator's wife dressed in a suit.
• Other materials that Roy regularly showed to the public turned out to be false.

Although Roy's story turned out to be false, this does not mean that there are no anthropoid hominids in America. There are many more stories in which the Sasquatch appears as the main actor. The Indians, the indigenous inhabitants of America, claim that huge hominids lived on the continent long before they themselves.

Outwardly, the bigfoot looks almost the same as its Tibetan cousin, Bigfoot. The main differences are that the maximum height of an adult reaches 3.5 m. The color of the American Bigfoot is red or brown.

Albert captured by Bigfoot

In the seventies, one Albert Ostman, who worked all his life as a lumberjack in Vancouver, Canada, told his story about how he lived in captivity with a Bigfoot family.

At that time, Albert was only 19 years old. After work, he stayed overnight on the outskirts of the forest in a sleeping bag. In the middle of the night, someone huge and strong grabbed the sack along with Albert. As it turned out later, Bigfoot stole him and took him to a cave where a female and two children also lived. The creatures did not behave aggressively towards the lumberjack, but rather treated him as humans treat pets. A week later, the guy still managed to escape.

Bigfoot History at Michelin Farm

At the beginning of the XX century. in Canada, unusual events took place on the farm of the Michelin family for some time. For 2 years they were faced with bigfoot, which simply disappeared over time. Over time, the Michelin family shared some stories from encounters with this creature.

For the first time they encountered Bigfoot face to face when they youngest daughter played near the forest. There she noticed a large, hairy creature that reminded her of a man. When Bigfoot saw the girl, he headed towards her. Then she began to scream and men with guns came running, frightening off an unknown monster.

The next time the girl saw a hominid was when she was doing household chores. It was noon. She raised her eyes to the window, then faced the gaze of that same Bigfoot, who was now intently watching her through the glass. This time the girl screamed again. Parents with a gun ran to her aid and drove the creature away with shots.

The last time Bigfoot came to the farm was at night. There he ran into dogs that were barking loudly, causing him to disappear. After that, the hominid did not appear again at the Michelin farm.

History of the frozen bigfoot

One of the most sensational stories related to the meeting of a man and a yeti is the story of an American military pilot Frank Hansen. In 1968, Frank appeared at a well-known touring exhibition. He had an unusual exhibit - a huge refrigerator, inside of which there was a block of ice. Inside this block, one could see the body of a humanoid creature, covered with wool.

A year later, Frank allowed two scientists to study the frozen creature. Over time, the FBI began to show interest in Frank's exhibit. They wanted to get the frozen corpse of Bigfoot, but he mysteriously disappeared for many years.

After Hansen's death in 2012, his family admitted that Frank kept a refrigerator with a frozen corpse in the basement for several decades. own house. The pilot's relatives sold the exhibit to Steve Basti, the owner of the Museum of Oddities.

Professional examination of the exhibit

In 1969, Frank Hansen allowed zoologists Eivelmans and Sandersen to inspect the exhibit. They compiled a small scientific work, describing their observations in it.

Hansen declined to say where he got the Bigfoot corpse from, so zoologists initially assumed it was a Neanderthal that had been preserved in a block of ice since the Stone Age. It was then discovered that the creature had died from bullet wound in the head and was in the ice for no more than 2-3 years.

1. The individual was male, and reached almost 2 m in height. The peculiarity was that the entire body of the hominid was covered with thick, long black hair, which is absolutely not typical for people, even in the presence of diseases of excessive hairline.
2. The proportions of the Bigfoot body are quite close to human, but more reminiscent of the physique of a Neanderthal. Broad shoulders, too short neck, arched rib cage. The limbs also differed in their prehistoric proportions: the legs are shorter than human, arched, and the arms are too long and almost reach the heels of the hominid.
3. Bigfoot's facial features are also more reminiscent of the appearance of Neanderthals.
4. A small forehead, a large mouth without lips, a large nose with swollen eyebrows that are very close to the eyes.
5. Feet and palms are much larger and wider than human, and fingers are shorter.

Confession of Frank Hansen

There he wrote that one day he went to the mountain forests to hunt. He set off on the trail of a deer, which he had been tracking for some time, and quite unexpectedly saw a picture that shocked him. Three huge hominids, covered with black hair from head to toe, stood around a dead deer with its stomach open and finished eating its insides. One of them noticed Frank and went to the hunter. Frightened, the man shot him directly in the head. Hearing the sound of a shot, the other two Bigfoots ran away.

Yeti is the well-known Bigfoot that lives in the mountains and forest areas. On the one hand, this mythological creature, whose secret is trying to unravel thousands of scientists around the world. On the other hand, this a real man who, because of his disgusting appearance hiding away from human eyes.

Today, a new theory has emerged that possibly proves that Bigfoot lives in the Himalayas (mountains of Asia). This is evidenced by strange footprints on the snow cover. Scientists suggest that the Yeti lives below the Himalayan snow line. To find irrefutable evidence, dozens of expeditions to the mountains of China, Nepal and Russia were assembled, but no one could prove the existence of the famous "monster".

Features

Yetis are easy to spot and recognize. If you suddenly travel around the East, then keep this memo for yourself.

"Bigfoot reaches almost 2 meters in height, and his weight varies from 90 to 200 kilograms. Presumably, it all depends on the habitat (respectively, and on nutrition). This is a muscular big man who has a thick hairline all over the body. The coat color can be either dark gray or brown. In fact, this is just a general portrait of the famous Yeti, because in different countries it is presented in different ways.

Bigfoot Story

Yeti is a character of ancient legends and folklore. The Himalayas greet their guests with old stories, where the formidable and dangerous Bigfoot is the key figure. As a rule, such legends are needed not to scare travelers, but to warn against wild animals that can easily harm and even kill. The legends about the famous creature are so old that even Alexander the Great, after conquering the Indus Valley, demanded from the locals proof of the existence of the Yeti, but they only said that Bigfoot lives at high altitude.

What evidence is there

Since the end of the 19th century, scientists have been collecting expeditions to find evidence of the existence of the Yeti. For example, in 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary visited Everest and there he discovered the scalp of an unknown animal. A few years later, research confirmed that it was not a scalp, but a warm helmet made from a Himalayan goat, which, after a long stay in the cold, could appear to be part of Bigfoot's head.

Other evidence:

Russian expedition

In 2011, a conference was held, where both biologists and researchers from all over Russia were present. This event was organized with the support of the government Russian Federation. During the conference, an expedition was assembled, which was supposed to study all the data on Bigfoot and collect irrefutable evidence of its existence.

A few months later, a group of scientists announced that they had found White hair in a cave that belong to the Yeti. However, the scientist Bindernagel proved that all the facts were compromised. This is evidenced by the work of Jeff Meldrum, professor of anatomy and anthropology in Idaho. The scientist said that twisted tree branches, photographs and collected materials- crafts, and the Russian expedition was needed only in order to attract the attention of tourists from all over the world.

DNA samples

In 2013, geneticist Brian Sykes, who teaches at Oxford, announced to the whole world that he had materials for research, which were teeth, hair and skin. The study examined more than 57 samples, which were carefully compared with the genomes of all animals in the world. The results were not long in coming: most of the material belonged to already known living creatures, such as a horse, a cow, a bear. Even teeth of a hybrid of white and brown bear who lived over 100,000 years ago.

In 2017, a series of studies were conducted, which proved that all the materials belonged to Himalayan and Tibetan bears, as well as a dog.

Theory adherents

Despite the fact that there is still no evidence of the existence of the Yeti, entire communities dedicated to Bigfoot are organized in the world. Their representatives believe that the mysterious creature is simply impossible to catch. This proves that the Yeti is a smart, cunning and educated creature that is carefully hidden from human eyes. The absence of irrefutable facts does not at all mean that such beings do not exist. According to the theory of adherents, Bigfoot prefers a reclusive lifestyle.

Neanderthal mystery

Researcher Myra Sheckley, in her book Bigfoot, described the experience of two hikers. In 1942, two travelers were in the Himalayas, where they saw black spots moving hundreds of meters from their camp. Due to the fact that tourists were located on the ridge, they could clearly distinguish the height, color and habits of unknown creatures.

"The height of the "black spots" reached almost two meters. Their heads were not oval, but square. It was difficult to determine the presence of ears from the silhouette, so perhaps they were not there, or they adjoined too close to the skull. Broad shoulders were covered with a reddish "brown hair that hung down. Despite the fact that the head was covered with hair, the face and chest were completely naked, which made the flesh-colored skin visible. The two creatures emitted a loud cry that resounded throughout the mountain range."

Scientists are still arguing whether these sightings were real or are an invention of inexperienced tourists. Climber Reinhold Messner concluded that large bears and their tracks were often mistaken for Yetis. He wrote about this in his book My Search for the Yeti: Confronting the Deepest Mystery of the Himalayas.

Does Bigfoot really exist?

In 1986, tourist Anthony Woodridge visited the Himalayas, where he also discovered the Yeti. According to him, the creature was only 150 meters from the traveler, while Bigfoot did not make any sounds and did not move. Anthony Woodridge for a long time tracked down unnaturally huge footprints, which later led him to the creature. Finally, the tourist took two photographs, which he presented to the researchers upon his return. Scientists have long and carefully studied the pictures, and then came to the conclusion that they are genuine and not a fake.

John Napira - anatomist, anthropologist, director of the Smithsonian Institution, primate biologist. He also studied the pictures of Woodridge and said that the tourist is too experienced to confuse the image of the Yeti with a large Tibetan bear. However, more recently, the images were re-examined, and then a team of researchers came to the conclusion that Anthony Woodridge took a photograph of the darkened side of the rock, which stood upright. Despite the indignation of true believers, the pictures were recognized, although real, but did not prove the existence of Bigfoot.

Yeti mysterious creatures

Bigfoot and his relatives

It looked like either a woman or a monkey. He had a broad, wrinkled, grimacing and laughing face. Something indescribable - two bags of some kind, obviously breasts, dangled in front; long matted hair, reddened by the sun, framed her face and flowed behind her back. Turgenev felt a wild fear, a chilling fear of the supernatural.

Guy de Maupassant, "Fear"

Fictional creatures inhabit the folklore of all world cultures- be it steppe nomads, reindeer herders or South American cannibals. People living on different continents independently invented dragons, werewolves, ghosts, water monsters, dwarfs and giants. But only a few fairy-tale creatures have managed to become part of modern folklore. If you say that you met a fire-breathing dragon in the forest, you will receive an exemption from physical education and free pills for schizophrenia. But if you claim to have had a fight in the garbage with a giant hairy hominid - get a real chance to get on the front pages of the morning papers.

In March 2006 (MF #26) we told you about "cryptids" - animals whose existence is denied modern science(at least until one of them gets caught - like, for example, pygmy giraffe okapi or lobe-finned coelacanth fish). Today we will talk about the "kings" of cryptozoology - archaic giants, now known as "snow people".

wild and unsympathetic

The ancient peoples, without saying a word, believed that long before them, giants lived on Earth. The latter were unbridled and ferocious, which is why the gods either completely destroyed them (Judaism), or expelled them from the world (ancient Greek myths). The giants left behind only huge ruins, called "cyclopean" in honor of the cyclops who erected the walls of Mycenae.

It is not surprising that the meetings of people with prehistoric giants occurred extremely rarely. Most of the giants of late European folklore had purely human features and were not considered representatives of any ancient race. Medieval "snow people" in their current sense can be called goblin, but they were a kind of spirits. The Scandinavians had jotuns and trolls, the southern Slavs had drekavaks, but the images of these forest dwellers are too blurry to talk about systematic contacts between ordinary people and the "snow".

Bigfoot, like UFOs, is a phenomenon exclusively of the 20th century. You can talk as much as you like about the growth of anthropogenic zones and the absence of powerful media in the 18-19 centuries that could inflate any trifle to a sensation, but the fact remains: until recently there was no bigfoot as a mass phenomenon, but now it is. Why, then, did the creatures that evolved along with humans over millions of years remain so little known that in a general cultural sense they can only claim the title of a race of giants, and an extinct one at that?

Judging by the oldest literary sources, contacts with Bigfoot were extremely rare. The first description of such a case can be considered the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which tells about the events of 57 centuries ago. According to the first table of the epic, the goddess Aruru created Enkidu, a hairy hero living in complete savagery. King Gilgamesh invented original way to catch him: on the bank of the river where Enkidu grazed, they brought the harlot Shamhat. The poor thing was undressed, and the giant "knew her for seven days." After such a marathon, the savage weakened, and his relatives - animals - began to avoid him. Thus, Enkidu was forced to become part of human society.

Scattered evidence of encounters with some "wild people" can be found in almost every major historian. For example, Plutarch talked about how Sulla's soldiers once caught a satyr (it should be noted that initially satyrs were not associated exclusively with horns and hooves - various animal features were attributed to them, symbolizing savagery). The Roman dictator gathered all the available translators and interrogated the captive, but he only emitted vile bleating and neighing, “which is why Sulla felt great disgust and ordered him to be immediately removed from sight as an ugly phenomenon” (Plutarch, Comparative Biography, Sulla, 27) .

Medieval scholars mentioned wild people many and often, but most often they described ordinary monkeys or uncivilized natives. There were no white spots left on the map of the Old World, so meetings with such creatures were only spoken of in the past tense. Once upon a time there were lions in Europe. Now even wild bulls and tarpans have not been preserved here, and snow people have become curiosities. For example, Heinrich von Gesler in the 14th century wrote of a wild Alpine woman "whose breasts are so long that she throws them over her shoulders."

Enthusiasts often recall that Carl Linnaeus included Bigfoot in his famous classification of living beings ("The System of Nature"). Indeed, the Swedish naturalist wrote about the “wild man” (about some hairy “sons of darkness” living in caves and stealing food from people at night), as well as about the “troglodyte man” (probably a Neanderthal). However, it should not be forgotten that in the first edition of the System of Nature, Linnaeus called whales fish ...

Origin of Species

It makes no sense to retell modern stories about meeting with Bigfoot - most of them look like hunters' tales. They are either of the same type or improbable, and in any case unverifiable. Of some interest are only general information about the known "varieties" of Bigfoot.

In the mountains of Altai, the Caucasus and the Pamirs lives almas("almast", from the Mongolian - "wild man"). He is described as a humanoid with red hair, human features, powerful superciliary ridges, a flat nose and chin (which completely coincides with the reconstructed appearance of a Neanderthal).

Legends about almas cannot boast of antiquity - they are only a few hundred years old. It may seem that there are almost more almas in the mountains than people. In 1871, Nikolai Przhevalsky saw them, and in 1941, Red Army soldiers allegedly caught some hairy citizen in the Caucasus, interrogated him (to no avail) and shot him as a German spy.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, these creatures are known as bartender, however, the most popular in the West is another, Tibetan name - yeti("man-bear" or "stone bear"). The number of meetings with him increased in proportion to the increase in the number of Europeans who explored the Himalayas. In 1832, the British noticed a certain red-haired creature in the mountains - probably an orangutan, in 1889 - something like a bear.

Yetis live here. Yeti, representing the highland subspecies of the troll family, have never heard of the fact that cannibalism is hopelessly out of fashion. Their opinion on this issue is: eat what moves. If it doesn't move, wait until it does. And then eat.

Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

The monasteries of Khumjung and Pangboche have long kept yeti scalps, which were credited with magical powers. In the middle of the last century, their study was carried out. The results are disappointing: they are just skins from the neck of a Himalayan mountain goat. The monks of Pangboche also owned another relic - a mummified yeti clawed paw, but in 1991 it was stolen (probably settling in someone's private collection).

In Scotland, on Mount Ben Macdui lives Am Fir Liat Mor("Big Gray Man"). No one really saw him, but many climbers heard strange footsteps on the slopes. Their stories are not much different from each other - they were walking along the mountain in the fog (usually in the evening), when suddenly measured steps began to be heard somewhere behind. The pursuer stepped rarely, but did not lag behind - that is, he was several times bigger than a man. People began to panic, fled, and only caught a glimpse of some huge gray silhouette in the fog.

This phenomenon was so massive that it simply needed to find explanations. Theories have been put forward about energy breaks and "frightening" infrasound, but it is most likely that the specific conditions of Ben McDuy (frequent fogs) create a phantom effect well known to climbers. If a low-lying sun shines on a person's back, and fog floats in front of him, then an eerie reflection of a figure surrounded by a bright halo of light appears in it.

Filipino forest creature named Capri slightly reminiscent of a bigfoot with its habits (lives in trees, makes noise, shows interest in women), but at the same time it has a purely human appearance, wears traditional Bahag clothes and smokes a pipe (they say that crickets in the forests are coals that have fallen out of it).

Even overpopulated Japan has its own Bigfoot. He is called Hibagon(or Hinagon) because he lives in the forested Mount Hiba in Hiroshima Prefecture. The meeting with him took place 35 years ago. According to eyewitnesses, Hibagon was short, hairy, with a flat nose and burning eyes. All signs point to the fact that this is not Bigfoot, but something like a gorilla.

Among all the varieties of this creature, the fate of the American "bigfoot" is most interesting. bigfoot or sasquatch(The term was coined in 1920 by school teacher Burns, who noticed that many Indian tribes use words with the same root "sas" to refer to wild people).

Until the middle of the 20th century, Bigfoot was not found in the United States, and stories about Sasquatch were popular only on Indian reservations. In August 1958, Ray Wallace's construction company was laying a road in a deserted area of ​​California. Bulldozer Jerry Crew found traces of "big feet". The feet were 40 cm long, the stride length was over a meter. The local newspaper dubbed the find "bigfoot", and Wallace began to actively promote the "bigfoot" among fans of the unknown.

But the real “birthday” of the American Bigfoot can be considered October 20, 1967, when rodeo participants Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin managed to capture him on film. They traveled to Six Rivers National Park with a rented 16mm camera, intending to make a Blair Witch-style documentary about Bigfoot. The men agreed that, if possible, they would try to shoot the “big-legged” - his body could be sold profitably, moreover, it would be irrefutable evidence.

However, when they saw him, they completely forgot about the weapon. Bigfoot began to quickly move away from the researchers. Patterson dismounted from his horse and followed him with a working camera, Gimlin with a gun covering him from behind. As a result, the first half of the film came out defective - the image shook and jumped in all directions, but when Patterson approached the bigfoot by several tens of meters and stood motionless, the quality of the shooting improved markedly. The creature looked back at the pursuers several times and disappeared into the forest.

The US finally has its own national monster. For several decades, the word "bigfoot" has become a popular brand. From all over the country there were reports of similar meetings. People found traces, wool, excrement of the "big-footed". Numerous clubs of "big footologists" appeared, and a new industry arose in tourism. Scientists who studied the Patterson-Gimlin film were divided into two approximately equal camps: some said that this was an obvious staging (an actor in a woolen suit was running in front of the lens), others noted the creature’s unusual gait and stated that it could not be human.

November 26, 2002 Ray Wallace, the discoverer and popularizer of bigfoot, died. His family soon admitted that Ray, along with his brother, faked tracks around the bulldozer by putting large wooden feet on their feet. Why they needed it is not exactly known. They probably wanted to have some fun, but the bigfoot they invented soon turned into a national American hero, began to bring in considerable income and gained worldwide fame. Such a trifle as a fake of the first discovered traces does not bother enthusiasts at all.

Missing link

There are many theories about the origin of the Bigfoot, but if we dismiss all unhealthy fantasies (an alien from outer space, from another dimension, the energy projection of ordinary people, the souls of our ancestors, secret government experiments, super-developed primates hiding from people with the help of telepathy), the remaining versions can be count on the fingers of one hand.

The first, the most famous, relies on the mythical roots of wild giants, who allegedly lived on the planet long before man. Given the specific geography of encounters with Bigfoot, most of which are in Asia, North America and Eastern Europe, we can assume that we are dealing with Gigantopithecus(Gigantopithecus blacki).

The remains of this extinct humanoid ape were found precisely in Asia (China). Unfortunately, there are too few of them to recreate the appearance of the animal. At the disposal of scientists there are only a few lower jaws and about 1000 teeth, the largest of which are 6 times larger than in humans. It is assumed that the growth of Gigantopithecus, standing on its hind legs, reached 3 meters. These giants most likely resembled gorillas or orangutans.

Against the “snow humanization” of the Gigantopithecus, the fact that they became extinct almost 100,000 years ago and could hardly have settled on several continents - especially with their supposed diet (most of the bones were found in the habitat of the ancestors of modern pandas that ate bamboo) speaks against the “snow humanization” of the Gigantopithecus.

Other Bigfoot Candidates - Neanderthals- also do not inspire optimism. Even if they lived into the 21st century, they would be too smart to lead wild image life (Neanderthals knew how to build shelters, used fire and used a variety of tools - from stone cutters to wooden spears). They were squat and stocky (height - up to 165 cm), which also does not correspond to the expected appearance of Bigfoot.

Finally, it is absolutely certain that Neanderthals died out about 24,000 years ago. Their last habitats are Croatia, Iberia (Spain) and Crimea. How could they survive as single individuals around the world - a question from the series "Who did the Loch Ness monster mate in a small lake to survive to this day?". Today, when the entire planet has already been photographed by satellites and put on public display in Google Earth, when the Amazonian Indians dress in Chinese Adidas, and the Tibetans ride tourists through the mountains in Japanese jeeps, there is simply nowhere for the relic hominid to hide.

There are opinions that Bigfoot appear "pointwise" in different places on the planet just because they are something like Mowgli or Tarzan. History knows about 100 cases of discovery feral children. They are found to this day, often in a tragicomic situation - for example, two years ago a young man Sunjit Kumar was discovered in Fiji, who grew up among chickens and imitated their behavior.

In ancient times, lost or abandoned children, as well as persons with some mental disabilities, could easily go wild, spend their entire (certainly short) life in nature, and only occasionally catch the eye of superstitious townsfolk. Thousands of years ago, they would have been called trolls and satyrs, and in the 20th century, Bigfoot. It was precisely such a case that Turgenev described when visiting Gustave Flaubert (the epigraph of the article) - and in the end it turned out that she was a madwoman, fed by shepherds and living in the forest for more than 30 years.

The most reasonable explanation for the Bigfoot phenomenon is the saying "Fear has big eyes." Many secrets of the universe are hidden in erroneous perception. Giant sea snakes turned out to be tangled algae, flying saucers were weather balloons, and Bigfoot were gorillas or bears.

The bear is such an original animal that anyone recognizes it at first sight. He does not eat his own kind, does not wander around the village at night in the hope of grabbing and dragging a child. From time to time, he climbs a tree to the very top, and from there he surveys the surroundings. He especially dislikes being teased or disturbed.

Alfred Bram, Animal Life

Bram was wrong, says Japanese climber Makoto Nebuga. Not everyone recognizes a bear, especially if the person is frightened, and the clubfoot stands on its hind legs. Nebuga spent 12 years looking for the legendary yeti in the mountains of Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan and came to the conclusion that he had long been kept in many zoos around the world. The legend about him arose due to the fact that the Himalayan bear - "meti" - was confused with the "yeti" (not surprising, because the locals consider the bear a supernatural being). Reality is rarely as mysterious as our perceptions of it.

* * *

After weighing all the pros and cons, it can be argued with a 99% probability that Bigfoot is a fiction. However, as primatologist John Napier rightly pointed out, there is a certain limit to the number of evidence of a meeting with a bigfoot, after which they can no longer be explained by errors and hoaxes alone. One or two stories about the "hairy monkey with glowing eyes" can be ignored. One hundred thousand stories about this - a reason to think. We can only wait and analyze. Time will judge.

There are many unknown and unexplored things in the world. One of the controversial topics for scientists is Bigfoot, there are disputes about who he is, where he came from. Various opinions and versions are expressed, and each of them has its own rationale.

Does Bigfoot exist?

And yes and no, it depends on who and on what grounds belong to this category of living organisms:

1. There are several names for it, for example, sasquatch, yeti, almasty, bigfoot and a number of others. It lives high in the mountains in central and northeast Asia, as well as in the Himalayas, but there is no reliable confirmation of its existence;
2. There is an opinion of Professor B. F. Porshnev that it is the so-called relic (preserved from ancient times) hominid, that is, it belongs to the order of primates, which includes man as a biological genus and species;
3. Academician A. B. Migdal in one of his articles cited the opinion of an oceanologist regarding reality loch ness monster and Bigfoot. Its essence was that there is no reason to believe in it, despite the fact that we would very much like to: the basis of the scientific approach lies in its proof;
4. According to the paleontologist K. Yeskov, this subject, in principle, can live in certain natural areas. At the same time, according to the zoologist, the location of the creature in this case should be known and studied by professionals.

The point of view is also expressed that the snowy man is a representative of an alternative branch of the evolution of the human race.

What does a snowman look like?

Yeti descriptions are not very diverse:

• The creature has a human-like face with dark skin, rather long arms, with a short neck and hips, a heavy lower jaw, pointed head shape. The muscular and dense body is covered with thick hair, which is shorter in length than the hairline on the head. The length of the body varies from the usual average human height to about 3 meters in height;
• There is great dexterity when climbing trees;
• The length of the foot, according to available information, is up to 40 cm in length and 17-18 and even up to 35 cm in width;
• In the descriptions there is information that the yeti's palm is also covered with wool, and they themselves look like monkeys;
• In one of the regions of Abkhazia in the second half of the 19th century, there lived a wild, hairy woman named Zana, who had children from men from the local population.

Stories about encounters with Bigfoot are accompanied by descriptions of huge, furry creatures that inspire fear and horror, from which people can even lose consciousness or get mentally disturbed.

Who are cryptozoologists and what do they do?

The term is derived from the words "cryptos", which is translated from Greek as hidden, secret, and "zoology" - to all famous science about the animal world, which is man:

• At the end of the 80s of the last century, enthusiasts created a society of cryptozoologists in our country, which was engaged in the search and study of Bigfoot as a special branch of humanoid creatures that have been preserved since ancient times and exist in parallel with “reasonable man”;
• It is not part of academic science, although at one time it was "assigned" to the Ministry of Culture of the Soviet Union. One of the most active founders of the society was the doctor M.-Zh. anthropology, physics;
• Professor B.F. Porshnev played a huge role in developing the issue of relic hominids, who considered this problem not only from the point of view of paleontology, but also included an ideological approach based on social role modern man, in contrast to his purely biological functions.

This society still exists today, and its members publish their works.

What is the correct name for hominids?

The name "Bigfoot" appeared in the 20s of the last century, and according to one version, it is associated with an inaccurate translation:

• It does not at all indicate that the creature constantly lives in the snows of the highlands, although it can appear there during its movements and transitions. At the same time, it finds food below this zone, in forests and meadows;
• Boris Fedorovich Porshnev believed that this creature belonging to the family of hominids not only cannot be associated with snow, but, by and large, no reason to call a man in the sense that we understand it. Residents of the areas in which the studies were carried out do not use this name. The scientist generally considered this term random and not corresponding to the essence of the subject of study;
• Professor-geographer E. M. Murzaev mentioned in one of his works that the name "Bigfoot" was a literal translation of the word "bear" from some languages ​​of the peoples of Central Asia. It was understood by many in a literal sense, which introduced a certain confusion of concepts. This is quoted in his work on Tibet by LN Gumilyov.

IN different regions country and the world, he has many local "names".

Bigfoot Theme in Art

He is present in various traditions and legends, is the "hero" of feature films and animated films:

• As Bigfoot in folklore northern peoples The half-fantastic "Wandering Chukchi" performed in Siberia. The indigenous and Russian population believed in its existence;
• About the wild people called chuchuns And mules, says Yakut and Evenki folklore. These characters wore animal skins, had long hair, tall and slurred speech. They were very strong, ran fast, carried a bow and arrows with them. Could steal food or deer, attack a person.
• The Russian scientist and writer Pyotr Dravert published an article in the 1930s on the basis of local stories about these, as he called, primitive people. At the same time, his reviewer Ksenofontov believed that this information belongs to the area of ​​ancient beliefs of the Yakuts, who believed in spirits;
• There have been several films based on the Bigfoot theme, ranging from horror to comedy. These include the film by Eldar Ryazanov "The Man from Nowhere", a number of American films, the German cartoon "Trouble in the Himalayas".

In the state of Bhutan, the mountains are laid a tourist route, referred to as the "snowman trail".

Just like in Marshak's poems about an unknown hero whom everyone is looking for but cannot find. They even know his name - Bigfoot. Who he is - only so far it has not been possible to determine exactly, and whether he exists in principle.

6 rare yeti videos

In this video, Andrei Voloshin will show rare footage proving the existence of Bigfoot: