The Crazed Hunt for the Himalayan Yeti | Monstrum

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The yeti is one of the world’s most notorious cryptids, one searched for in earnest and with great enthusiasm. The huge, hairy monster is said to roam the Himalayas and some people out there are convinced the “abominable snowman” is real. Does this snow monster really exist? Is it a bear? An unidentified humanoid species? Complete fiction? You’ll find out in this episode of Monstrum.

Dr. Zarka examines the yeti’s origins, from Tibetan folklore and religion to the Westernized abominable snowman version. She explains how Buddhist beliefs, a series of intrepid 20th-century explorers, and a creatively translated word make the yeti the creature we recognize today—and how it led to some pretty incredible scientific discoveries. #yeti #abominablesnowman #MonstrumPBS #bigfoot

Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Derek Borsheim
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bellezza, John Vincent. Spirit-mediums, Sacred Mountains and Related Bon Textual Traditions in Upper Tibet: Calling Down the Gods. BRILL, 2005.

Hodgson, B. H. "Summary Description of Four New Species of Otter. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq., Resident at Catmandu, Nepal." Annals of Natural History, vol. 5, no. 28, 1840, p. 27+

Hodgson, B.H. “On the Mammalia of Nepal.” Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 1 (1832): pp. 335-349.

Howard-Bury, Lieut.-Col. C.K and Other Members of the Mount Everest Expedition. Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance, 1921. Longmans, Green and Co., 1922.

Kets de Vries, Manfred F. R. "Abominable Snowman or Bigfoot: A Psychoanalytic Search for the Origin of Yeti and Sasquatch Tales" Fabula, 23.1 (2009): 246-261.

Lan, Tianying, et. al. “Evolutionary history of enigmatic bears in the Tibetan Plateau‑Himalaya region and the identity of the yeti.” Proceedings Royal Society, 284: 20171804.

Loxton, Daniel, and Donald R. Prothero. Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids. Columbia University Press, 2013.

Regal, Brian. Searching for Sasquatch : Crackpots, Eggheads, and Cryptozoology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Ward, Michael. “Everest 1951: the footprints attributed to the Yeti—myth and reality.” Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 8 (1997): pp. 29–32.

Waddell, Laurence Austine. Among the Himalayas. 2nd edition. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Co., 1900.

"Yeti." Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained, edited by Una McGovern, Chambers Harrap, 1st edition, 2007.

[waxwinged_hound]

The fact that DNA from an extinct bear was found during the search for the Yeti is absolutely incredible. This reinforces my opinion that a lot of good can come out of expeditions for "cryptids" as long as the environment and local people are respected. If fantastic legendary beasts are what get people to go out and discover new things about the world, so be it.

[gardenhead]

The yeti is just two bears standing on top of each other, wearing a trench coat

[angryyankee]

'He stole some of the finger bones and replaced them with human finger bones'... Am I the only person wondering where did he get human body parts...?

[tophealth]

I am from Nepal and there are stories of many young children suddenly disappearing from the villages only to be found back unharmed and totally fine a week or so later. What is strange about all of these children is that they tend to show shamanism traits. In their later years they mention that they were taken away by yeti like being and are taught the ways of nature. Also apparently there are both male and female yetis. As a kid, these stories used to fascinate and scare me at the same time. If you ask me, If yetis do exist, I think they might be nature guardians who only appears to certain people with a fate to meet them.

[RicardoLuna]

This is exactly why I suscribed this channel.

[Jahtso]

2:40 I translated the Tibetan script on the page as much as I could. The shadow effect on the corners was an obstacle but but I think I still got it down. Yarlung is a region of Tibet by the way:

*3.) Once, in the Yarlung area, on the rocky mountains, it stood tall. It would only consume flesh and blood. A strong, massive, hostile, combat-loving mountain-savage/beast/brute, said to resemble a [brown] bear [type of animal].*

[callum]

This combination of sociological history and cryptid history is the best thing ever. Keep doing what you're doing, it's awesome and you are everything I could aspire to be

[NewMessage]

To us, it's a strange, mysterious humanoid creature, hazily glimpsed through a blizzard.. but to those sheep at the start, he's just "Steve".

[PadraigG]

"Texas oilman, Tom Slick"

Well, that's a bit on the noses.

[ArchFiendFolio]

Was hoping that this would be on your list, awesome job as always team

[purplealice]

The scream or whistle of the yeti could easily be the shriek of high winds over rocky crags. According to Thomas Price, yeti and Bigfoots and Sasquatch are all close relatives.

[satanswife]

I've been interested in this creatures since I was a kid! Thank you for this episode!

[rj_]

I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago and i'm in love already. I love monsters so much and it's kind of lonely whenever i talk about them and nobody (that i know) likes them as much as i do. there's something with monsters that makes them interesting. My favorite is the akhlut. I wish you could feature it one day.

[ianmacfarlane]

Peter C Byrne, (convicted fraudster) stole the finger bones, thereby desecrating a cultural relic - a British explorer having no consideration for other cultures?
Say it isn't so.

[RastafarianPilgrim]

"Extinct paleolithic polarbear" sorry but that's also rad as hecc

[francoislacombe]

In what is arguably the best Tintin adventure, Tintin goes in search of his chinese friend Chang after his plane crashes in the Himalayas. Tintin believes, against all evidence to the contrary, that Chang is alive because of a dream he had at the exact time of the crash. Tintin ultimately has to rescue his friend from the Yeti, who had found the injured Chang near the crashsite, taken care of him and adopted him as a companion, or maybe as a surrogate child.

[benjaminjones]

Only recently discovered Monstrum and it has become a real bonding experience with the kids during this period of isolation.

Would love to see an exploration of Jiangsu.

Keep up the amazing work, it's a gem of a show that really deserves more eyes on it.

[sagarnegi]

Finally, in the Himalayas ☺️☺️☺️
Edit: Huge fan of these stories and this channel.

[armonright]

Many people fear what they donot understand while others understand their fears, While the rest recognize folklore, history, myth and legend as a source of entertainment .It fascinates me how many people accept the existence of the unknown only when they find enjoyment out of questioning the non feasible without reason.

[BrianaMichelleMeyer]

I love the mystery surrounding the Yeti.