First Yeti Conference Since 1958

In Siberia, scientists believe in the existence of the Yeti. Locally, the creatures are known as Almas. An international Yeti conference convened in Siberia is set to prove the existence of the snow people. Skeptics are not welcome at the conference. 



Scientists from seven countries are convinced that they are hard on the heel of the fabled abominable snowman. They have assembled 3,200 kilometers east of Moscow in the city Tashtagol to present intriguing detailed scientific proof. In the United States and Canada, the Yeti is called Bigfoot and is reputed to hunt deer according to Canadian biologist John Bindernagel. Moscow based Yeti expert Anatoly Fokin on the other hand is convinced that the Russian species is vegetarian loves oats. The researchers plan a field trip in the hope of an encounter with the mythical creatures.

The legend of the Yeti has entered European folklore in the 19th century. The Yeti originates in the Himalaya. The word is Tibetan and belief in the Yeti goes back centuries there. So far, there is no scientific proof for the existence of the abominable snowman. The panel of experts in Siberia still take their research on the Almas seriously.

International interest in the Yeti is increasing. In the United States DNA backed evidence on Bigfoot is available. That is the belief of Igor Burtsev. The Russian scientist is heading the first scientific conference dealing with the abominable snowman since 1958. Researchers have come from Sweden, Estonia, the United States, Mongolia, China and Canada.

They are united to reach one goal. The minimal goal is to find at least tracks on the ground left by a Yeti. Anthropologist Jeff Meldram is based in Idaho and has a special interest in the way Bigfoot walks. Tracks found in Yellowstone Park have convinced him that the species raise their heels to almost vertical.

For many researchers, the many Yeti sightings in the Kemerovo region around the city of Tashtagol are of incalculable worth. Local shepherd Asat Kashiyev described the Almas as a humanoid creature covered in dark wool. The Siberian also swears to not having been drunk at the time of the sighting. Local hunter Sergei Karpov asserted that its gait was strangely bent. He is certain it was not a bear.

Game wardens recently installed a camera with motion detector in front of the entry to the Asass cave near Tashtagol. Photographic evidence of Almas movement is outstanding. Local media have questioned the alleged eyewitness reports on Yeti sightings, too. Little has changed in Siberia which obviously makes for a fertile imagination wrote one newspaper.

Even celebrities can be infected by the Yeti bug. Russian professional boxer Nikolai Valuev is an honorary guest at the conference. He has participated in an expedition in Kemerovo in September 2011. The former WBA world champion admitted that the chance to meet an Almas is about as big as to find the monster of Loch Ness or to discover Atlantis.

Conference chairman Igor Burtsev doesn’t share this pessimistic view. He estimates the number of Yetis in the region alone to at least 30. One of his theories states that the Almas may be a humanoid creature at the evolutionary stage of a Neanderthal.

For the regional administration of the Oblast Kemerovo, the abominable snowman is anything but a mythical creature. The municipality has an official "beware of the Yeti" warning out. It claims that after the devastating fires during the summer of 2010, the Almas were forced to look for food outside their natural forests habitat. The administration claims that they steal pets and are not afraid to confront bears over food sources.

But Bigfoot takes care of another worry of the administration. It provides income for numerous inhabitants of the region. Earnings through the sale of Almas souvenirs provide the community with an extra income reports the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. Tour packages to foreign visitors could follow in the form of a Yeti Safari. 


Further reading
Evacuation From Yalta 1919
Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Too Many Thrones
The Knights Templar in Switzerland

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