Tuesday, October 14, 2008

No proof "Yeti" of India's "ape man"

OK, it's a terrible pun.
But it's an interesting case. Hairs found in northeastern India were alleged to belong to the region's unknown upright primate, the mande barung. In one of the few cases where such evidence has made it to an impartial scientific lab, the hairs were identified by DNA analysis as belonging to odd-looking goat known as the Himalayan goral. As primatologist Ian Redmond points out, though, the find is still important. It demonstrates that this threatened species of mammal can be found hundreds of miles south of its presumed range, which has important implications for conservation.
COMMENT: OK, science did not find the Mande barung. But it learned something useful. The kind of exploration and testing involved in cryptozoology often does this, even if a new species is not found.

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