Japanese team searches for yeti in Nepal

Saturday 23rd August, 03:13 PM JST

KATHMANDU —

A team of Japanese adventurers hope to prove the existence of the mysterious yeti in Nepal’s mountains, focusing on an area they are convinced is home to the legendary creature.

Tales of a huge half-man-half-ape roaming the high Himalayas are as old as the hills, and local Sherpa stories about the hairy giant have gripped the imaginations of Western adventurers and mountaineers for decades.

Takahashi Yoshiteru, 65, and six other Japanese team members are trekking to Dhaulagiri IV, a 7,661-meter peak where they say they have seen traces of the beast on past trips in 1994 and 2003.

“They are going to the same area where I saw the silhouette of a yeti in 2003,” expedition spokeswoman Nobuko Koyama said Friday. They set off from Kathmandu on Thursday.

The expedition members will spend six weeks on the peak and will set up six infra-red camera traps on the mountain 220 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu.

The exploration team is known as the Yeti Project Japan and is being sponsored by Japanese beverage maker Suntory and a leading Japanese daily newspaper, Asahi Shimbum.

The cameras will be automatically triggered if any large animals pass, the spokeswoman said.

“Takahashi is not interested in capturing a yeti, he just wants to get a clear picture of it, and maybe shake its hand,” said Koyama.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 29 Total Comments Show All

rajakumar at 01:04 AM JST - 24th August

Yeti search by Japan team, good for nepal tourism.
OssanULTRA at 06:58 AM JST - 24th August

Very unlikely that they will find anything. Same goes for the Bigfoot; Sasquatch in Canada. However one can not completely rule out the possibilty of their existence. I for one hage a very difficult time convincing myself that the Patterson film depicts a human in a monkey suit. Not the way the back and shoulder muscle movements are visible. We can do this now in movies with compuer graphics but not bsck in 67 or 68 when the film was shot. This Yeti search is worthwhile, they're empolying IR camera traps which have been succesful in capturing heretofore unknown species of animals in various parts of the world. Should make for good entertainment either way.
TheNewZen at 07:09 AM JST - 24th August

Hey, they might find a frozen rubber sasquatch suit like they did in the states. :)
theneworder666 at 08:11 AM JST - 24th August

TheNewZen; I don`t get it, what frozen suit was that? Is Yeti true, maybe 50/50, but maybe much less chnce of proving.
TheNewZen at 08:14 AM JST - 24th August

It was kinda big news recently:

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/08/sasquatch-detec.html

Guys claimed to have found a dead one and seen others(including pics) in Georgia, the froze the body(rubber-suit) and claimed it as authentic.
theneworder666 at 08:21 AM JST - 24th August

How could anyone fall for that? It looks ridiculous!!!

Lots of fakes have come to light over the years. i can`t help feeling this Japanese team is wasting their time.
TheNewZen at 08:27 AM JST - 24th August

I agree 100%.
OssanULTRA at 11:18 AM JST - 24th August

"Guys claimed to have found a dead one and seen others(including pics) in Georgia, the froze the body(rubber-suit) and claimed it as authentic."

A couple of morons.

Moderator: Back on topic please.
presto345 at 07:48 PM JST - 24th August

Why can't they leave the Yeti alone? There's of course nothing scientific about this. It's just sensation.
Sarge at 08:43 PM JST - 24th August

Yeti - the Himilayan Bigfoot.
nidu at 01:41 PM JST - 25th August

maybe shake its hand

Do you think that bigfoot would be that much friendly.
xxBiscuitxx at 03:00 PM JST - 25th August

If they catch the Yeti they will probobly cut it up and eat it
sf2k at 05:04 PM JST - 25th August

is this News Filler? Any news to distract the Japanese public about the diminishing fish stocks in the world.
Nagdude at 07:19 PM JST - 25th August

Have they found it yet? I'm holding my breath.
lipscombe at 07:31 PM JST - 25th August

they should give up and do something a little more practical and Japanese like building a full size Gundam replica or making a love doll which also pours beer.