Has Global Warming Killed The Yeti ?

For hundreds of years the people of the Himalayas have told tales of the Yeti or Abominable Snowman,a mythical ape like creature that stalks the snowy mountains of Asia.

The beast is said to be a muscular creature , covered with dark grayish or reddish-brown hair, and weigh between 200 and 400 pounds.

According to H. Siiger, the Yeti was a part of the pre-Buddhist beliefs of several Himalayan people. He also reported that followers of the Bon,a Tibetan religious sect not to dissimilar to the Tibetan Buddhists, once believed the blood of the "mi rgod" or "wild man" had use in certain mystical ceremonies. The being was depicted as an apelike creature who carries a large stone as a weapon.

In 1832, The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal published trekker B.H Hodgson account of his experiences in Nepal. His local guides spotted a tall, bipedal creature covered with long dark hair, which seemed to flee in fear. Hodgson in all his wisdom decided that the most logical explanation was an orangutan.

Yeti wiki

Later in 20th century when Westerners began to make serious attempts to scale the many mountains in the area and occasionally reported seeing odd creatures or strange tracks.

Sir Edmund Hilary the first man to scale mount Everst along with his sherpa Tenzig Norgay reported seeing large footprints while scaling Mountin,Norgay later said that he believed the Yeti was a large ape.

So Bigfoots Asian cousin has been knocking around for a good few hundred years at least.But maybe not any longer.

Reports of Yeti sightings are declining over recent years claim locals the last known sighting of the mythical beast by locals was six years ago when a young farmer named Norbu from a village called Chendebji .

Norbu claims to have to have not only discovered a Yetis nest but slept the night in it,unfortunately no Yeti was seen.

www.bbc.co.uk...

The BBC put forward this explanation.

"People don't need to go up to the mountain to collect wood or graze their animals. They cook on gas rings, and farming patterns have changed. The villagers spend more of their time growing cash crops such as potatoes and oil seeds."

So as modern technology becomes more prevalent,the locals spend less and less time in the wilderness thus interactions with humanoid beast decrease.The Yetis is are still alive and well living in his remote hideout somewhere in Asian mountains.

But the pessimist in me suggest a different idea what if they are all dead?

The Abominable Snowmen or Snowwomen (lets not be sexist) if they ever existed where surly a rare species,and could not have a large population or else more physical evidence would exist.

But would could have changed?

Why would a creature that has lived for century's suddenly become extinct?

One answer that springs to my mind is Global Warming.

Warming in the Himalayas has already occurred at three times the global average. Glaciers in the eastern and central part of Himalayas are retreating at rates similar to those in other parts of the world,and native wildlife such as the snow leopards are on the endangered species list.

According to the WWF The Himalayas is prime snow leopard habitat and continued warming will cause their range to shrink as the treeline moves higher up the mountains. This will not only fragment and isolate snow leopard populations, but it will severely affect their prey too – causing some of the alpine pastures that blue sheep and Himalayan tahr (the snow leopard’s main prey) rely on to be replaced by forest. Declines in the snow leopard’s natural prey are already causing snow leopards to take livestock – and farmers will kill them to protect their livelihoods. So any more declines in natural prey will make this problem worse.

www.wwf.org.uk...

So there is already existing evidence that Global Warming is having an effect on the wildlife population of the Asian Mountains.

And with what must be already slim numbers of the creatures I ask this.

Have we killed the Yeti?

Has mankind's failure to take serious action on climate change driven a creature that was once worshiped by the followers of the Bon as an almost god like entity, to extinction?

I might to late for the Yeti but its not late for the snow leopard and the other wildlife of the Himalayan mountains.

I can imagine a day when future generations will view the Snow leopard as we today see the Yeti, a creature of legend that might or might not existed.



en.wikipedia.org...

www.livescience.com...

I think the lack of any credible evidence and photos have killed the Yeti.

originally posted by: thebabyseagull

Reports of Yeti sightings are declining over recent years claim locals the last known sighting of the mythical beast by locals was six years ago when a young farmer named Norbu from a village called Chendebji .

Norbu claims to have to have not only discovered a Yetis nest but slept the night in it,unfortunately no Yeti was seen.

Now, what self respecting Yeti is going to go back to the nest after a flippin' human has slept in it?
Anyway, 'Climate Change' seems to be the current, and so not a pas de deux with 'Global Warming'.

The BBC's idea seems sensible enough...but is it tongue in cheek?

a reply to: thebabyseagull

In my opinion, no I don't think so. Unlike the Snow Leopard, the Yeti isn't being shot and killed off for coming to close. At least not reported. If it is anything like its cousin Bigfoot, it is primarily nocturnal, and is more active after we have gone to bed. One could assume this is when they come closer in search for food. I think more and more people would start to disappear if this thing was really starving. I believe we humans would be its last resort for food, so in a survival of the fittest it would turn its attention to us and our livestock.
To not see the Yeti means it is doing just fine.
Besides, we don't know the range these creatures roam. Something that large, and has that kind of an enormous stride, could go about anywhere. They might not even be in that area certain times of the year.
There could be hundreds nestled into the vast Himalayan range. It's just like bears, you know they're out there, but how many times do you see them in the daytime, or anytime for that matter? Now give a bear higher intelligence and you may never see one again.

Al Gore blames Climate Change for the untimely demise of ManBearPigs.

Oh...and Climate Change also wiped out unicorns.

a reply to: thebabyseagull

That is a chin stroker...

Yeti's aside, I do know that local birds where I live have begin breeding earlier each and every year, and snakes are far more active. I can attribute the latter to urbanization as folk have bowls of water left out for pets but they are becoming increasingly desperate.

As for the yeti-which is believed to be the the Tibetan blue bear- it would be sad for such a creature to be reduced to folklore, just like the many other endangered species that we will never see in the wild again.

a reply to: thebabyseagull

Lack of imagination killed santa and the yeti.

originally posted by: IAMTAT


Oh...and Climate Change also wiped out unicorns.

You might have something there...but the Yeti could have been wiped by rabid mountain bikers, the Griffin went that way..killed by crazy Vauxhall drivers, and splattered over the bonnet.

So as modern technology becomes more prevalent,the locals spend less and less time in the wilderness thus interactions with humanoid beast decrease.

Well like it says if encounters are decreasing that's probably better for the yeti, most things don't do well when the encounter humans, so I have hope theres still some kicking out there. But it does bring up an interesting concept if nothing else, theres so many creatures left to be discovered it makes you wonder if a few were wiped out without us even knowing about them.

a reply to: Curious69

Wait,whats this you say.

Santas dead.

I refuse to believe it.

a reply to: IAMTAT

>Oh...and Climate Change also wiped out unicorns.

Ah But was it man made climate change.

I think global warming is a fantasy , the yeti some kind of extraterrestrial being just occasionally visits the colder and maybe religious places on Earth..

a reply to: grey9438

>if encounters are decreasing that's probably better for the yeti, most things don't do well when the encounter humans,

Yes your correct i would sight the examples of the dodo and the woolly mammoth as evidence to that effect.

Lets hope that the Yeti is happy in his nest without having to worry about human interference.

> theres so many creatures left to be discovered it makes you wonder if a few were wiped out without us even knowing about them.

We could create an entirely new field of study.

Lets call it crpytozooarcheology.

a reply to: 0bserver1


So you believe in the Yeti but deny global warming?

Interesting thread but yeti's are still out there.

At least there is still a bunch of reports and some searching for the yeti's are still finding evidence.

a reply to: thebabyseagull
Well not really , but according to stories and never even found or photographed one , I can only conclude that it might be something extraterrestrial in origin

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Yes your right recent evidence points to the Tibetan Blue Bear as a likely candidate for Yeti reports .

Heres an article about it .

www.telegraph.co.uk...< br />
But i wish the Bons description was correct when they described an apelike creature who carries a large stone as a weapon. Far more awesome.

a reply to: smurfy

Yes i too question the credibility of Mr Norbus story.

a reply to: 0bserver1

Personally i too favor a more paranormal explanation for Apeman reports.

a reply to: thebabyseagull

Perhaps not dead yet but......

I betchya that the Yeti is sweaty!