Near the end of December, reports emerged of a yeti caught in the Caucasus mountain, in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. Interfax reported Bagaudin Marshani, former head of Ingushetia's labor ministry, as saying:
"The creature looks like a gorilla, about two metres tall, probably a male, and it's very massive. But a gorilla stands four-footed, and this stands vertically, like a person... It growls and makes strange sounds ... and eats meat and vegetables. Some people say it's an Abominable Snowman, and others say that it's a great ape. But honestly, I've never seen anything like it."
Marshani also said that the creature was being displayed in a private zoo in the village of Surkhakhi, and that a team of scientists was on its way from Moscow to study it.
A video was posted on youtube showing the yeti running away from a hunter. The yeti looked a lot like a guy in an ape suit.
And, of course, it was a guy in an ape suit. Specifically, it was an Ingush hotel worker in an ape suit.
It turned out the yeti capture was a publicity stunt to raise money for charity. Marshani explained, "It was a promotional event, a New Year joke to put the spotlight on orphans and children from dysfunctional and low-income families."
People came to the zoo to see the yeti, and once there, they were asked to donate money to the orphan charity. Also on display at the zoo were ten talking animals, including a wolf and a squirrel. Links:
pravda,
rt.com.
Comments
Yeti: Himalaya
Alma/Guli-Avan: central Asian former Soviet reps & Mongolia
Alma/Kaptar/Biaban-Guli: Caucasus
Tungu/Myrigdi/Teryk/Arynk/Chuchunaa: Siberia
Bigfoot/Sasquatch: USA & Canada
Ye-ren: south China
Dépardieu: France