Dr. Bryan Sykes: Yeti Is a Polar Bear / Brown Bear Hybrid?

Last year, it was reported that Dr. Bryan Sykes may have solved the Yeti mystery through DNA. His initial theory was that the "Yeti" people reported about may have been an escaped American Black bear. After months of DNA testing, Sykes has concluded that the "Yeti" is probably a sub species of brown bear in the High Himalayas descended from the bear that was the ancestor of the polar bear. In a new report from www.independent.co.uk, Sykes also had "Yeti" samples that had a 100 percent match from an ancient polar bear jawbone dated back 40,000 years ago:

Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at the Oxford University, set out to collect and test “yeti” hair samples to find out which species they came from. In particular he analysed hairs from two unknown animals, one found in the Western Himalayan region of Ladakh and the other from Bhutan, 800 miles to the east.

After subjecting the hairs to the most advanced DNA tests available and comparing the results to other animals' genomes stored on the GenBank database, Professor Sykes found that he had a 100 per cent match with a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway, that dates back at least 40,000 years - and probably around 120,000 years - a time when the polar bear and closely related brown bear were separating as different species.

Professor Sykes believes that the most likely explanation is that the animals are hybrids - crosses between polar bears and brown bears. The species are closely related and are known to interbreed where their territories overlap.

Now that the "Yeti" mystery has been "solved", it will be interesting to see what Sykes has in store when his investigation titled, "Bigfoot Files", starts airing this Sunday. According to Bigfoot researcher Todd Neiss, "things are about to get very interesting":

After meeting with Dr Sikes for several hours (including dinner afterward) I can assure you that he does have a number of serious revelations to share. Some have to do with the origins of "Zena" (of Russian lore), his DNA analysis of over 50 specimens he has acquired from numerous sources around the world (including some rare museum relics), and some controversial findings regarding "other" studies underway. That's about all I am allowed to divulge at this time. Suffice to say, things are about to get very interesting. - Todd Neiss

[via www.independent.co.uk]