Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Hairy hominids

Yeti

Also called Abominable Snowman, Meh-teh, Migoi, Bun manchi, Kang Admi, Dzu-teh

The ape-like snow creature of the Himalaya, known to Sherpas long before climbers arrived.

The Yeti belongs to Himalayan folklore, where the meh-teh is a wild creature of the high valleys. Western interest exploded after Charles Howard-Bury's 1921 Everest reconnaissance reported tracks in the snow, and a newspaper mistranslation gave the world the "Abominable Snowman".

In 1951 Eric Shipton photographed a large footprint on the Menlung Glacier, the most famous Yeti image ever taken. Later expeditions collected scalps, hair and bones from monasteries; DNA studies in 2014 and 2017 traced most samples to bears, but the legend lives on in the mountains.

What witnesses report

  • Large tracks crossing snowfields at altitude
  • High-pitched whistles or cries
  • Glimpses of a reddish or grey upright figure

Famous cases

  1. 1921Howard-Bury tracks
    Lhakpa La, Tibet
  2. 1951Shipton footprint photo
    Menlung Glacier, Nepal
  3. 1958Pangboche hand
    Pangboche Monastery, Nepal

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