Experts at an international Yeti conference in Russia this week insisted they are only months away from proving the beast really exists.
Igor Burtsev, head of The International Center Of Hominology, said at the meeting in Tashtagol: "We are on the brink of finding the Yeti at long last."
The Sun was there to listen to the deadly serious Burtsev claiming at least 30 hulking creatures roam the Kemerovo region where the conference was being held.
He said the Yeti — also known as Bigfoot and Sasquatch — is the missing link between Neanderthal man and modern human beings.
"We have good evidence of Yeti in our region," said Burtsev. "And now we have convincing details from experts elsewhere in Russia and in the US and Canada.
"The description of the habits of the Abominable Snowman are similar from all over the world."
Russian authorities are so keen to find Bigfoot, they have offered one million roubles (£20,000) for information leading to its discovery.
Adding to the bank of "evidence" presented at the conference was 70-year-old Canadian Yeti-hunter John Bindernagel, who reckons he has seen the creature for himself.
He said: "We now know a lot of anatomical details from people's accounts. The neck is very short and very thick, the eyes deeply set, the chin is rounded, the ears are usually covered with hair, the arms are long. The foot looks human-like but is broader. Some people say they can distinguish the males from the more slender females."
Bindernagel claims his sighting took place in Ohio in 2007, when a 6ft-tall creature ventured close to a resident's home. Footage of this beast is to be released soon.
He said: "The people in the house have seen it quite often. They made some films that will be screened later this year."
Yeti specialists from Russia, the US, Canada, Sweden and Estonia also gathered at the seminar to DNA-test a 7cm hair clump found last week in the region's Azasskaya cave during a four-day Yeti hunt.
But locals claim the sample is a hoax to encourage more tourists to the far-flung region.
Also revealed is a photo of a "footprint" but the markings are too vague to be conclusive.
Moscow architect Anatoly Fokin, 55, gave up his occupation nine years ago to hunt for the Yeti. Since then he has collected details of sightings in Russia's Kirov region. In one 2007 case, hunters killed a bear and left the scene to get a truck to take it away.
He said: "When they returned 40 minutes later, the bear had vanished. There were signs of dragging. They got their dogs to follow the scent but they came to a tree and stopped in their tracks, whimpering in fear.
"They all saw a giant hairy figure standing near the tree where the dead bear was lying, torn at the shoulder, blood flowing from a gaping wound where this creature had gouged a huge slice of raw meat."
Villagers also recounted how a "Leshiy" — or forest man in Russian — used brute strength to skin a dead elk it stole from hunters.
Liliya Zenkova, 47, a local government official, told how on a camping trip with her husband and friend in a remote area in Siberia she fell asleep on her car's back seat, with the windows open.
"At 5am I felt my right hand being caressed," she said. "I knew it couldn't be my husband — it was so gentle with such soft hair.
"I looked outside and saw this creature moving slowly away. Almost two metres tall, grey hair. His head looked like it was sunk into his shoulders. I knew he wasn't human, he had on no clothes.
"My husband told me not to tell anyone because they would think I was mad. But now stories have started to appear about the Yeti, I want to explain what happened."
It isn't all in Russia, either.
US expert Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, claims to have seen more than 200 Yeti footprints and heard their calls — "high-pitched tones that travel some distance".
He said: "We need to think about how to integrate the Yeti into society. Should they be treated as normal citizens? Should they be treated like animals? No, because they are more intelligent. There's a lot to think about here." Despite the claims, without the promised proof of a living, breathing Sasquatch, so far it's all just a lot of big talk.
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Igor Burtsev, head of The International Center Of Hominology, said at the meeting in Tashtagol: "We are on the brink of finding the Yeti at long last."
The Sun was there to listen to the deadly serious Burtsev claiming at least 30 hulking creatures roam the Kemerovo region where the conference was being held.
He said the Yeti — also known as Bigfoot and Sasquatch — is the missing link between Neanderthal man and modern human beings.
"We have good evidence of Yeti in our region," said Burtsev. "And now we have convincing details from experts elsewhere in Russia and in the US and Canada.
Hair's proof ... 7cm long 'Yeti hair'
east2west News Russian authorities are so keen to find Bigfoot, they have offered one million roubles (£20,000) for information leading to its discovery.
Adding to the bank of "evidence" presented at the conference was 70-year-old Canadian Yeti-hunter John Bindernagel, who reckons he has seen the creature for himself.
He said: "We now know a lot of anatomical details from people's accounts. The neck is very short and very thick, the eyes deeply set, the chin is rounded, the ears are usually covered with hair, the arms are long. The foot looks human-like but is broader. Some people say they can distinguish the males from the more slender females."
Azasskaya cave ... where hair was found
east2west News Bindernagel claims his sighting took place in Ohio in 2007, when a 6ft-tall creature ventured close to a resident's home. Footage of this beast is to be released soon.
Mission ... map
Yeti specialists from Russia, the US, Canada, Sweden and Estonia also gathered at the seminar to DNA-test a 7cm hair clump found last week in the region's Azasskaya cave during a four-day Yeti hunt.
But locals claim the sample is a hoax to encourage more tourists to the far-flung region.
Also revealed is a photo of a "footprint" but the markings are too vague to be conclusive.
Moscow architect Anatoly Fokin, 55, gave up his occupation nine years ago to hunt for the Yeti. Since then he has collected details of sightings in Russia's Kirov region. In one 2007 case, hunters killed a bear and left the scene to get a truck to take it away.
He said: "When they returned 40 minutes later, the bear had vanished. There were signs of dragging. They got their dogs to follow the scent but they came to a tree and stopped in their tracks, whimpering in fear.
Evidence? ... a Yeti 'construction'
east2west News "They all saw a giant hairy figure standing near the tree where the dead bear was lying, torn at the shoulder, blood flowing from a gaping wound where this creature had gouged a huge slice of raw meat."
Villagers also recounted how a "Leshiy" — or forest man in Russian — used brute strength to skin a dead elk it stole from hunters.
Liliya Zenkova, 47, a local government official, told how on a camping trip with her husband and friend in a remote area in Siberia she fell asleep on her car's back seat, with the windows open.
"At 5am I felt my right hand being caressed," she said. "I knew it couldn't be my husband — it was so gentle with such soft hair.
'Nest' ... found in woods
east2west News "I looked outside and saw this creature moving slowly away. Almost two metres tall, grey hair. His head looked like it was sunk into his shoulders. I knew he wasn't human, he had on no clothes.
"My husband told me not to tell anyone because they would think I was mad. But now stories have started to appear about the Yeti, I want to explain what happened."
It isn't all in Russia, either.
US expert Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, claims to have seen more than 200 Yeti footprints and heard their calls — "high-pitched tones that travel some distance".
Team ... Meldrum, Burtsev, Zelenkova and Bindernagel
"The most recent footprints were about a year ago in Wyoming," he told the conference.
"There were home owners with unusual foot marks — very large, 16in long — all around their house. The Yetis must have come in from the forest."
"There were home owners with unusual foot marks — very large, 16in long — all around their house. The Yetis must have come in from the forest."
Leading the conference, Dr Burtsev says his "primary goal" is to establish contact with the Yeti — but this may lead to problems.
