Published by: World Tibet Network News Tuesday, January 13, 1998

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 13:30:17 +0100 (MET)

BEIJING, Jan 13 (AFP) - The yeti, or abominable snowman, is nothing more than an ordinary brown bear, according to a Chinese wildlife expert who has been following the traces of the mysterious creature for more than 10 years.

Liu Wulin, head of the wildlife protection office in Tibet, said fur and pawprints left behind by the beast belong to a bear.

"It must be bears leaving those marks that lack an arch, but the pad's really resemble man's," he was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency Tuesday as saying.

He blamed Tibetan legends for turning the bear into a monster with long red hair.

"Even if the yeti did exist it would be doomed to extinction because of its tiny population and inbreeding."