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| Yeti DNA Report |
By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher
Professional Writer, a nature and wildlife enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!
Reviewing the Sykes DNA Study
Nat Geo Yeti Hunter Adam Davies Remarks
By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher
Many of us were more than disappointed in the Sykes DNA study’s results that pointed to an ancient and previously undiscovered species of polar bear. But the upcoming National Geographic documentary set to air in the US on November 17 promises more riveting information. So who knows?
But I spoke to Adam Davies recently about his reaction to the study’s recently revealed results from the documentary that has already aired in the UK where he lives. Adam led a Yeti research expedition to Nepal in 2009 in search of the yeti. He was optimistic about Syke’s results and offered some things to consider before we decide the study is a wash.
"Professor Syke's research forms three parts. As well as the TV series, there is also a possible paper, and a certain book to come. The films are a PART of it, not the whole. I would suggest that you consider all of the evidence that is presented in all of it before you come to any definitive conclusion. As to the findings in this episode then they certainly don't settle `the mystery of the Yeti once and for all" as the documentary makers (not Professor Sykes) claim. Rather, they point to a consistency with local
legends, which point to two or possibly three "Yetis," one of which is a bear, so this exciting discovery seems to vindicate local legends rather than contradict them. For example, the account Mountaineer Reinhard Messner mentions only dates to 300 years ago. There are accounts many centuries earlier than that.
For example that of the ancient shamanistic religion which describe rituals involving sacrifice needing the blood of a horse, dog, black bear, goat, pig , raven, man, and wild man (yeti). Nor do they explain the divergent toe in many of the tracks, nor do they explain the personal eyewitness testimony I received from people whilst I was in Nepal, who know the difference between a bear and a Yeti, whether they are walking on two legs or four!
In conclusion, this discovery is great news. It represents an excellent new start to the research on the Yeti."
Adam also explained that the source document used by the creators of the documentary is just one source, and he believes the science to be sound. But he did express that to present the information presented by the documentary makers as being definitive of all yetis would be incorrect.
And Adam said on his Facebook page Sunday. "You can never disprove something not existing. All you can do is say how plausible its existence is based on your research."
In essence, there are many factors that will weigh in to the final conclusions. And the documentary won’t be all of it either. So Adam’s telling us not to give up on this yet. Wait until we have all the pieces to this complicated puzzle. And there are many details that will come to light all the way into next spring.
And if you can find nothing else positive to glean, consider this: The yeti’s existence has not been disproved here. The discovery of an ancient polar bear is a result we’re poised to be unimpressed by because it’s not the yeti proof we’ve been hoping for. But that discovery does reinforce our knowledge that new species are still being discovered every day. And it gives new hope that our elusive yeti evidence is still out there waiting to be found. *********DF
[DF interview with Adam Davies can be found HERE ]
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