Perhaps one of the few creatures in folklore that has even the slightest possibility of existing is the yeti. The “abominable snowman,” as it is sometimes known, is an ape-like creature that inhabits the Himalayas in India and Nepal. Funnily enough, the word “yeti” actually means “that thing over there” in the local Sherpa language, and this was somehow mistranslated to “abominable snowman.” In any case, it is said to have a muscular, 7-8 ft tall frame and walk upright. The yeti has always been a point of contention between the public, much like the Loch Ness monster. Sightings keep popping up, but evidence is scarce.

The evidence pointing towards the existence of the yeti is sparse, mostly consisting of eyewitness testimony. However, it is a well-established fact that humans are terrible witnesses. We forget more than we remember, and have a truly impressive case of confirmation bias. To drive this point home, just look at all the tangible “evidence” supporting the existence of the yeti. The vast majority of biological samples, such as hair or teeth, are easily traced back to a different animal. One of the most common animals mistaken for the yeti is the himalayan bear, and this is understandable when considering that bears are known to stand on their hind legs. From a distance, in conditions with low visibility this could lend a more ape-like appearance, especially when factoring the aforementioned confirmation bias.

There are only a few reasons to believe that a primate-esque creature does live in the Himalayas. The first is just from an evolutionary standpoint; species of apes are spread out through Asia and it makes sense that one would evolve to fit this ecological niche. Although i’m not sure that the mountains would be able to support the metabolism of an animal such as a gorilla at higher elevations, it would likely have to be a smaller primate not much larger than a chimpanzee. After all, an average silverback will eat nearly 60 pounds of vegetation a day which is much easier in a jungle than a mountain.

However, while on the subject of gorillas there is a slight silver lining for yeti-believing diehards. Among african tribes there had long been tales of giant men who roamed the mountains. When Europeans colonized Africa they were understandable skeptical of the existence of such creatures, and continued to be skeptical despite numerous eyewitness accounts. The stories were truly terrifying, describing tribes of giant beasts with a horrific temper who had the habit of kidnapping and killing innocent humans. It wasn’t until 1847 that it was learned that this creature looked a little less like this:

And a little more like this:

While I do think that the chance of the yeti being real is extremely small, it is possible that a creature with some similarity to it exists. Simply because it is not impossible that such a creature could evolve in the Himalayas, and also because the Himalayas themselves are so difficult to completely explore. And, as the gorilla demonstrates, humans have a pretty amazing capacity to be blind to the world around us which makes me hesitant to completely discount the possibility of the yeti.