The Indian Army on Tuesday claimed to have spotted footprints belonging to the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, during a mountaineering expedition.
The official Twitter account of Indian Army posted the photos of the team that sighted the ‘Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32x15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019.’
The myth of ‘Yeti’?
Yeti is part of Nepali folklore and is believed to be an ape-like creature taller than a human and is said to inhabit the snow-capped mountains of Himalayas.
In 2008, Japanese climbers returning from a mountain in western Nepal told Reuters they had seen footprints, which they thought belonged to the Yeti.
And although they carried long-lens cameras, video cameras and telescopes, they hadn't seen or taken any photographs of the creature.
But scientists have found little evidence of the Yeti's existence so far.
In 2017, a group of international researchers studied multiple purported Yeti samples collected from across the Himalayan region and concluded they belonged to bears.
So far, there has been no conclusive study of their existence.
Where were the footprints sighted?
The Indian Army in their tweet said the footsteps were found close to Makalu Base Camp. Located on the border between Nepal and China, Makalu is among the highest mountains in the world and stands near the Makalu-Barun valley.
The Indian Army said the ‘elusive snowman’ has earlier been sighted in the same region in the past.
Source: Twitter/Indian Army
Twitter in frenzy
The so-called ‘discovery’ of Yeti’s footsteps has sent Twitter in a frenzy.
“With all due respect, institutions such as yours should be more responsible and careful before going ahead and declaring the sighting of any footprints as 'Yeti's'! There's been lots of research done on Bigfoot/Yeti (including sighting/footprints) with none proving its existence,” wrote one user.
The other mocked, “BMC spots Yeti footprints in Bombay as well.”
An Indian politician of the ruling party, Tarun Vijay wrote on Twitter, Yeti should not be referred to as a ‘beast’.
Another politician, Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election slogan, ‘Acche Din’ (good days) and said ‘It seems that "Acche Din" are more elusive than the #Yeti.'
