Nature, and Wildlife in the lands of the Yeti,

Including animals which could be mistaken for the Yeti

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The lands of the Yeti, are lands which cover a large area. The area includes Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and the land known as the roof of the world, Tibet. This article will tell of the wildlife that exists here. It will also mention the wildlife in areas where the Yeti is mentioned less often, in more passing ways. The other areas are namely West Szechwan, Uighurstan, North West India, North Pakistan, Tajikistan, the Pamirs, Assam, and parts of Burma. There are other myths about there being almas in Mongolia, and parts of Western China, but that is getting to the level of too far from where the Yeti is said to have come from in most myths and sightings. North West India's Himachal Pradesh is with Western China's Qinghai, the next likeliest place to have the Yeti after the 4 main lands we can call the Yeti lands. Then the next most likely is Arunachal Pradesh. The fact is though there are not that many claims of the Yeti being seen in North Tibet or in parts of India nearer the Himalayas than the 2 Pradesh states mentioned, so maybe we can not put them in.

The area of the 4 main territories in this area is mainly made up of Tibet. In total the area fits in a territory 5 times the size of Britain, and over twice the size of France. The population density is not that much less than Britain, adding to around 30 million people, but Tibet has a area which covers nearly all that territory and has under 3 million people. That is not including Greater Tibet. If you do not include the more populous country, where most of those 30 million people live, Nepal, then you get barely a few million people, and it's northern very high areas have very much fewer people than the rest of this nation.

Many big mammals are found in Tibet like leopards, tigers, Bears, wolves, foxes plus Monkeys. Monkeys in Tibet include the Langur and the Tibetan Monkey and the Tibetan Macaque. The monkeys in Tibet are a variety of interesting forms. Also there are musk deer, yaks, Tibetan antelope plus wild sheep, goats, and donkeys. The land has an average elevation 4000 to 5000 metres.

The likeliest candidate for yeti to some is The Himalayan Black Bear, also known as the Asiatic Black bear. The kind of bear found in Tibet and the Himalayas and is also known as the Tibetan bear, and the moon bear, it ranges from here to Iran and Japan. They have long and black fur, especially around the shoulders & throat, and possess big ears. They also have a white patch across their chests. They live up to 25 years and can weigh in at 200 KG. They are aggressive towards men, and often stand on their hind legs when they are put in angry situations.

Brown bears are sometimes in lands around here, and could at rare times reach into here. As a endangered creature they so could in this way be said to be the Yeti for the many people who have not seen them before, but have seen other types of bear. Though most sighters of the Yeti do not feel they are bears at first sight and surely know what a bear looks like as they are commonly seen at times.

The Tibetan Blue Bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus) is a subspecies of the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) found in the eastern Tibetan plateau. It is also known as the Himalayan Blue Bear, Himalayan Snow Bear, Tibetan Brown Bear, or the Horse Bear. In Tibetan it is known as Dom gyamuk. One of the rarest subspecies of bear in the world, the Blue Bear is rarely sighted in the wild, and is known in the west only through a small number of fur and bone samples. It was first classified in 1854. In 1960 2 pieces of fur seen by locals as Yeti fur, were found to be Blue bear fur. So this is seen by many as of it;s rarity as a possible Yeti.

Also there is the The Dzu-Teh the Himalayan Red Bear (Ursus isabellinus) some argue it is just a brown bear. The Dzu-Teh, a Nepalese word, has been part of the Yeti, and later the Abominable Snowman (circa 1921), phenomenon from its early inception due to the location of its Himalayan habitat.
During the Abominable Snowman Expedition of 1954, Tom Stobbart encountered a Dzu-Teh. This account is recanted by Ralf Izzard in his book.

These bears could all be said to be the Yeti, indeed a man wrote a book claiming they were, but this book was condemned, The general ideas was that bears are worshipped in the area by some people, and that the names are similar in some languages for bear and Yeti. Also many say how people can get animals confused, and that even people who live amongst animals can, like many climbers have said how that locals say there was a yeti print there, when they knew it was bear. Why would all locals be obsessed by knowing what a bear print looks like in Tibet they are not hunter gatherers, so why should all Himalayans know. So many say that maybe this could lead to bears being turned into the yeti in myth. With the way how people who claim they have been taken by aliens usually claim that the popular alien image of the TV of the time is what took them, like Little green men when that was the fictional portrayal of them. So then locals say some, started to say and westerners, say that they saw a hominid, when some say it just was a bear in local myth. Others say though, the wildman is a myth that has existed for long, and it would take allot to mistake a bear for a man. Though many say bears do sometimes resemble men at times when standing up faraway. Then merging with myths of wildmen, it would be a better excuse than any other monster myth. Many people from the Himalayas found the allegation that bears are yetis offensive though, and felt it would difficult, as every Himalayan has as far as we know always known bears exist so to mistake them for Yetis for so long would be very hard. But maybe the wildman myth came first and was mixed with sightings of bears on ridges looking like people then going yo high forests. Or maybe bears sometimes look very human for some reason in this area which is among the highest bear areas on Earth maybe their fur is affected. Other say it would be hard though for locals to mistake yetis for bears on mass, and that yes a few people might every so often, but not to such a extent. Especially for a group of people who have to know the nature and conditions, so say the bear excuse does not wash and is a insult.

Picture of a bear footprint A Kodiak Brown Bear

The other species associated with the Yeti could be the Langur Monkey. You could call it the nearest thing to a real yeti. As it is a primate that is in the snow, and certainly exists. Notably the to this area gray langurs are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus. The species are large and fairly terrestrial, inhabiting open wooded habitats and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent. Until recently they were considered one species, Semnopithecus entellus; now seven distinct species are recognized. When only one species was recognized, it was also called the Hanuman Langur (named after the Hindu vanara divinity Hanuman), the Common Langur and the Entellus Langur. In Sri Lanka, it is natively known as the Wanderoo.

They are largely gray, with a black face. Males are up to 75 cm long, and females 65 cm. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north.

Gray langurs feed on leaves, fruit, buds and flowers. They spend most of their time on the ground. They are diurnal and usually walk on all fours.

They live in medium to large groups, usually with one dominant male. Adolescent males who are expelled from the group sometimes form 'bachelor' packs. These packs, after a time, start to harass the group that expelled them, and challenge the alpha for leadership of the pack. If an attack by a bachelor pack is successful and they are able to kill the alpha, they will engage in a power struggle, where first all of the infants fathered by the previous alpha are killed, and then the bachelors fight among themselves, killing each other until only one remains, who then becomes the leader of the pack.

Langur Monkeys

In a sense even if the Yeti does not exist the fact that Langur Monkeys and Bears are up there, is almost the same as Yetis being up there. With bears just as big as Yetis in many ways, the huge 2 legged at times creature, walking through snowy peaks, seeing yaks, and the monkeys and bears climbing trees in Himalayan high forests having their own thoughts about wanting to eat and such. Maybe there is a yeti too.

Above 6000 metres, or 20,000 feet it is said to be uncommon to see a animal that is not a bird. Most animals that live up her go down to woods to get food. Some say the Yeti is just a ape, adapted to a cold area. Like a orang-utan walking on hind legs to not touch the snow below. Orang-utans did once live in the Himalayas' foothills.

It is also possible that just like some of its' animal neighbours, the Yeti lives at the higher altitudes, only to descend into the woods below for food. You could imagine that this is quite exhausting, especially in the harsh conditions of the Himalayas, but apparently, creatures do manage to sustain a lifestyle in this manner. According to Some claim a Yeti would feed on mouse-like creatures, marmots plus pikas that live within the rocks, plus juvenile yaks, tahr, musk deer, birds, and eggs.

It is said by experts that the Yeti communicates by whistling, and that it is smelly. It may also have feet that point backwards, and some say be invisible when it likes.

Nepal has rhinos, tall grasslands, elephant, rhododendrons, tahr a very long haired kind of goat looking creature so much it is almost as full of hair as a hedgehog is of spikes on extreme occasions, serow a kind of antelope - that at times can look dog-like, musk deer and Himalayan black bear, weasels, martens, barking deer, wild boar, ghoral or goral a kind of deer like goat like creature, Himalayan black bear, yellow-throated marten, rhesus monkey & langur monkey, Himalayan mouse hare, (Pika), jackals, Himalayan griffon, blood pheasant, cheer pheasant, jungle crow, red billed and yellow billed coughs and snow pigeon. lammergier, snow partridge, skylark. Nepal has some areas only 100 metres above sea level, but many 3000 metres above, and some upto Everest. It is separated into 3 areas, the Himalayas, 16% of Nepal, much of which is 4000 metres to 8000 metres high. then the hills 65% of the land, with areas 500 to 3000 metres high, with 32 degrees Celsius summers at times, and freezing winters at times, while then there is the Terai, 17% of Nepal, with flat areas and tropical forests of more rhinos, and even crocodile, with a 100 to 3000 metre above sea level zone. The lowest point is in the Jhapa District in the Terai and only 70 metres above sea level. Yes it could be just other creatures mistaken for the Yeti, bears, big cats, monkeys, even the Asian Golden Cat, which is brown, and has some yeti like features.

Bhutan also has Tigers, similar species to those above and junipers, magnolias, carnivorous plants, rare orchids, blue poppy (the national flower), edelweiss, gentian, medicinal plants, daphne, giant rhubarb, high-altitude plants, tropical trees, pine and oak. And also golden langur, red pandas, black-necked crane, snow leopard, takin, musk deer, Himalayan brown bear, Himalayan marten, tiger, hornbills, pheasants, mountain goats and timid blue sheep. The blue sheep also occur in Burma or Myanmar where they tint blue in the highlands. The average elevation of North Bhutan reaches 3000 metres high and is one third of the land the Himalayas have this area. But the south like for southern Nepal is far lower, for this land it reaches only 97 metres above sea level at times. It's highest point is at 7,553 Metres. Kula Kangri the 46th highest mountain on Earth. or Gangkhar Puensum at 7570 Metres high the 40th highest mountain which also is regarded by some as in Tibet.

Sikkim includes the Snow Leopard, Himalayan Black Bear, Red panda, Musk Deer & Blue Sheep. Giant Lammergeier a bearded kind of vulture, Vultures, Eagles, Whistling Thursh, Minivets, Bulbuls, Pheasants, laurel, figs, Sal trees, bamboos, chestnut, oak, maple, birch, alder, magnolia and silver fir. It also has dzos a cross between cow and yaks carrying goods for tourists. This land also is higher in the North than south it's North has Mount Kanchenjunga at 8586 metres high. The 3rd highest mountain on Earth. 81% of Sikkim is forested, and led by the forest department.

The 10 lands with the 10 Highest points,

1= People's Republic of China, Tibet, A Picture of Everest Mount Everest 8,848 m
1= A Picture of Everest Mount Everest 8,848 m
3 Pakistan K2 8,611 m
4 India Mount Kanchenjunga 8,586 m
5 Bhutan Gangkhar Puensum 7,570 m
6 Tajikistan Ismail Samani Peak 7,495 m
7 Afghanistan Noshaq 7,492 m
8 Kyrgyzstan Peak Jengish Chokusu 7,439 m
9 Kazakhstan Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 7,010 m
10 Argentina Aconcagua

2007 Data Nepal population 27 Million area 147,000 square KM, so about 2/3 the size of the island of Great Britain. Bhutan 675,000 people 47,000 KM squared area, about half the size of Scotland, Tibet, 2.7 Million people, area 1,228,400 KM squared, not including lands claimed as part of Tibet in some claims, Sikkim, population 540,000, area 7096 KM squared, between a quarter and half the size of Wales.

Qinghai, the area North East of Tibet, which includes much of what many people claim is also Tibet, population, 5.3 Million, area 721,000 KM squared, the Himachal Pradesh population 6 million, area 55,673 KM squared. Arunachal Pradesh is 83,746 KM squared, and has a population of 1 million.

In 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet and established a government in exile at Dharamsala in northern India. This group claims sovereignty over various ethnically or historically Tibetan areas now governed by China. Aside from the Tibet Autonomous Region, an area that was administered directly by the Dalai Lama's government until 1951, the group also claims Amdo (Qinghai) and eastern Kham (western Sichuan). About 45 percent of China's ethnic Tibetans live in Tibet Autonomous Region, according to the 2000 census. Prior to 1949, much of Amdo and eastern Kham were governed by local Tibetan rulers.

Most of Qinghai is part of the traditional provinces of Kham and Amdo of Tibet. It is the birthplace and home to many influential Tibetan figures in history, including Tsongkapa and many of the Dalai Lamas.

In 1928, it became a province of the then Republic of China. For centuries before it was part of Tibet, but it never was able to break off totally with Tibet when it tried to get independance after the downfall of the brutal Chinese Emperors, in the early 20th Century. A thing that saw China and Tibet see more hope, and even with chaos a better 20th Century than a 19th Century as of less famine and less war.

Himalayan vegetation is alpine and restricted to lichens, shrubs, dwarf grasses, rhododendrons, mosses, & cushion plants. There are animals like the Himalayan mouse hare, snow pigeon, plus a pheasant or crow. Also musk deer at low elevations. Rock and snow is rampant above 12,000-13,000 feet.

Lake Namtso in Tibet is theworld's highest lake. It is is 4700 meters above the Earth's seas.

There are pools, and glacial lakes, higher, but many are temporary, for instance Lhagba Pool in Tibet 6km North of Everest which is only 150 metres by 50 mmetres long. In Nepal there is Panch Pokhri 5494 metres high, which is 3 sacred lakes, and 6 kilometers east of Ama Dablam. Even at this level the land is often bare rock and dirt and snow. With also a 5486 metre high lake in Sikkim and another almost as high.

There is a glacier in the Himalayas that is 55 KM long.

The Khumbu a area including Everest is where many Sherpas live, and includes Khumjung, it has many deep gorges and forests and many snow highs. It includes Pine, fir and birch, and more types of tree. It has timber bridges small villages and more. There are some dwarf willows in the very high areas. Sherpas need allot of wood for good strong houses for hard weather.