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
29 Comments
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doedel
LOL!
Smythe
I wonder if this is the team that spent some time looking for the Ogopogo in the Okanagan Lake a few yrs back? Of could it be the team that has looked for some human like monster in B.C. Mountains?
joseba
That's exactly what this kind of expeditions need; focus. No more blurry photos of a yak.
LIBERTAS
But I thought the real Sasquatch was in Canada?
franz75
forsbrook: even better, he will be there with the yeti and some oyabuns.
joseba
Aaawww... so heart-warming.
MichaelJP
Where can I get funding to do some adventuring like this? I hear there may some mysterious creatures masquerading as bikini babes in Tahiti. Someone definitely needs to investigate and take photos. Anyone with me on this?
doedel
There was a Japanese 'Team' searching for "Nessie" some time ago. While the results were somehow a 'bit' predictable for many people, it at least may be of entertanment for a part of the Japanese TV audience (hey, they like 'obake' stuff much, it seems. Now somebody hurry, get the skin from http://thehorrordome.com/HDSHOPPINGPROPS/SasquatchLARGE.htm and jump around a bit in Nepal’s mountains :-)
Nessie
I value my privacy, Deodel.
Pukey2
Sorry, but I have a feeling this is going to be more money down the drain. Or is this just an excuse for a freebie vacation?
serindipity
Rots ob ruck! What's gonna happen if they do find a yeti?
Triple888
There is more to achieve by searching the stars than going to search for yetis.
TokyoGas
They need to call that Chinese actress in The Mummy 3 to help. LOL
Taka313
Although I agree that the J-team will likely find bupkis, I don't entirely discount the idea of a yeti existing. When my father took a hiatus from law enforcement, he ran a fly-in fishing resort in N. Ontario. His two float planes, along with many others, were used to evacuate people from Wendigo, Ontario due to a supposed "wendigo" sighting. I have no idea what, if anything, was actually seen, but I do know that a lot of people who lived there were pretty freaked. Also, a quick google search can easily reveal that several new species of mammal are found every year. Lastly, there was a time when people scoffed at the idea of the mountain gorillas in central Africa. The world is getting smaller, but there is still a lot we don't know about it. Who knows, perhaps there is a Yeti. Stranger things and all that.
Taka
Raja Kumar
Yeti search by Japan team, good for nepal tourism.
OssanULTRA
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
Hey, they might find a frozen rubber sasquatch suit like they did in the states. :)
theneworder666
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
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
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
I agree 100%.
OssanULTRA
"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
Why can't they leave the Yeti alone? There's of course nothing scientific about this. It's just sensation.
Sarge
Yeti - the Himilayan Bigfoot.
nidu
Do you think that bigfoot would be that much friendly.
xxBiscuitxx
If they catch the Yeti they will probobly cut it up and eat it
sf2k
is this News Filler? Any news to distract the Japanese public about the diminishing fish stocks in the world.
Nagdude
Have they found it yet? I'm holding my breath.
lipscombe
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.