Sir Ed helps close net on elusive yeti

OUT THERE? An artist's impression of a yeti.

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He conquered Everest, and Sir Edmund Hillary may also have unwittingly knocked off one of the world's greatest mysteries - the existence of the yeti.

Scientists are going ape after saying they have found the best evidence to date that the yeti does exist.

Tests at Oxford Brookes University in England on hairs thought to come from a yeti in an Indian jungle are said to bear "a startling resemblance" to those brought back from the Himalayas by Sir Ed half a century ago.

The two hairs, 33 millimetres and 44mm long, were picked up in the mountains of northeast India five years ago after a forester reported seeing a yeti for three days in a row breaking branches off trees and eating their sap.

Ape expert Ian Redmond, who is coordinating the research, told British newspaper The Independent the hairs had the same cuticle pattern as those brought back to Britain by Sir Ed.

"The hairs are the most positive evidence yet that a yeti might possibly exist, because they are tangible. We are excited about the preliminary results, though more tests need to be done."

Sir Ed, who died in January, led an expedition in September 1960 with a team of 21 scientists, climbers and other specialists along with 310 Sherpas to do scientific research on acclimatisation to altitude and hunt for yeti.

They failed to find any yeti but brought back samples.

Fellow Everest conqueror Tenzing Norgay told Sir Ed that his father had twice seen a yeti, and Sherpas recounted stories of people attacked by a yeti or being frightened by its high-pitched whistle.

Sir Ed's long-time friend, Tom Scott, said Sir Ed did not believe in the yeti but liked the concept.

"The locals believed in them and Ed felt really bad for myth-busting them. He liked the possibility of the yeti. If someone found one, he would have been delighted."

- With NZPA