Russian Yeti Or Bigfoot Hoax? New Footage Sparks Debate
New footage of the elusive yeti, captured amid the snowfields of Russia, is sparking renewed debate about the creature’s existence, as some see definitive proof while others claim the video is nothing more than a publicity stunt.
A group of Russian researchers set out after the yeti, traveling to the south-western Adygeya Republic after local news detailed sightings of the creature, according to the Daily Mail. The yeti had reportedly been spotted just an hour’s drive away from the city of Adygeisk. After arriving in the area, the team interviewed witnesses at a local mountainside lodge who claimed to have seen the yeti.
“I heard footsteps and we were pretty sure there was no one else around because we knew for sure everyone else was inside the house,” local witness Andrei Kazarian recalled. “Although we didn’t see anyone, we saw its huge footprints. They were 5 to 6 centimeters deep and couldn’t come from a human foot. We took a plaster cast of them and we estimate that it probably would have taken about 200 kilos to press the snow down that much.”
Eyewitness Ludmila Hristoforova described the yeti as bearlike, though markedly different.
“The creature was big, looking like a bear, but not a bear. From the door we’ve seen something big and shaggy.”
The Yeti Exists, And It’s In Russia – http://t.co/n2VoITsJ3M pic.twitter.com/9i0JciJbmB
— Regardt Stander (@XstremeArt) January 14, 2015
Setting out to investigate, the group were stunned to hear crunching snow, before spotting the yeti moving through the trees. As the Mirror reports, they claim to have then captured footage of the yeti, evidence that has since been handed over to local scientists for analysis.
The yeti video has already proven to be controversial, with some observers claiming that the sighting is nothing more than a stunt designed to bring tourists into the Russian town. Others, however, have asserted that the clip represents genuine proof of the yeti’s existence.
Watch the shocking new footage that claims to PROVE the existence of the YETI http://t.co/nQXMWXBz5s pic.twitter.com/YNRkabIOzS — Daily Express (@Daily_Express) January 14, 2015
Last year, a DNA study conducted by Oxford professor Bryan Sykes failed to identify definitive proof of the yeti from hair samples. As the Inquisitr previously reported, however, Sykes was quick to assert that the study was meant to systematically examine yeti evidence, not pass judgement on its existence.
Hairy human-like beasts have been reported the world over, most famously in the United States, where the creatures are known as Bigfoot (or Sasquatch). In Russia, they are called either Almas or Yeti, names which may denote two distinct species.
[Image: EuroPics (CEN) via the Daily Mail]
