Why Reports Of The Yeti Are In Decline.

[Cotter]

Very interesting article of why not many new reports of the Yeti are surfacing.

 

A couple of takeaways.

The whistling, mimicry, weaving of branches to make a nest - some commonality.  What i find peculiar as well is that we see the whistling and mimicry cross cultures and oceans and is accepted through the lore of the people that spend the time in the area where they are supposed to exist.

 

Also, for a 'mythological' creature to have influence on building construction is noteworthy.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34448314

 

"Until recently it was common for people in Bhutan to share stories of their encounters with the Himalayan yeti. But with the arrival of modernity, villagers no longer need to climb high into the mountains, where they once saw traces of the yeti - or thought they did. So a legend is slowly fading away."

 

 

 

 

[Guest Stan Norton]

Oops. Sorry Cotter, just saw this right after I posted a new thread!

Edited November 2, 2015 by Stan Norton

[Woodslore]

I think part of why there maybe fewer sighting reports is that the local people are being told that what they saw was not what they saw. In a lot of cases with things, a person from a more "civilized" part of the world comes in and examines what people are saying they saw. They at once say well it is just  miss-identification of a known animal. In some cases it might actually be this. It than becomes a mission to explain away almost every aspect of the creature. To try to find a way to link it or tie it in with a known animal. Things like this did happen in history before. When sailors returned from Australia and told of the animals they saw many thought they were making it up or some in the scientific community, that they were seeing known animals and exaggerating their features. I am not saying this is the full truth of it or that this is carved in stone. Rather I am putting forward an idea. 

[Guest Crowlogic]

Or the myth is running out of steam.

[Cotter]

@Crow - do you know of any other 'creatures' where cultures have included architectural considerations due to such a creature?
 

[Guest Crowlogic]

^^^What does that have to do with the question asked in the thread?

[Cotter]

Well, If you like, I can have a mod change the thread title, but as you can see in the OP, I was using that as a takeaway from the article.  The fact that, for many long years, they were 'yeti-proofing' their homes based on encounters and activities the folks experienced.

 

I also made mention of the commonalities of the lore of peoples' literally worlds away.....

 

Thought perhaps we could have a larger discussion, hence the inclusion of the topics in the OP.

 

SO....are you (or anyone) aware of any architectural considerations made in the housing of a culture due to similar creatures?  (Read mythological).

[dmaker]

Perhaps not the same as yeti proofing a house, but cultures all over the globe are rife with talismans and such to ward off evil spirits. Some of these would be placed on doors, window sills, etc. 

[Incorrigible1]

Gargoyles.

[Cotter]

^hmmm...Gargoyles.  I'm not familiar with the folklore surrounding them.  Were these thought to be creatures alive and living?  Or was it an something more of say, some sort of idol/statue surrounding spiritual belief?

[hiflier]

Hello Cotter,

Gargoyles are just whimsical drainspouts.

[Terry]

Or the myth is running out of steam.

 

And not a portal in sight!

 

t.

[MarkGlasgow]

Excellent article.

Good to see the subject matter still warrants mainstream media interest with little hint a sneer or comic angle to be found.

[Guest JiggyPotamus]

I completely agree with the explanation that fewer people visiting remote locations results in fewer yeti sightings. This is to be expected, and myself and others have even used the same comparison in relation to those yeti here in North America- and I definitely believe that bigfoot and yeti are synonymous, just as American and Asian are synonymous in that both cultures are comprised of humans. I think that the few variations seen in North American sasquatch, as well as particular differences noted between the yeti and sasquatch, can be sufficiently accounted for by simple genetic variation within a single species. When I look at all of the available sasquatch data where their characteristics and traits are concerned I find it uncanny how these traits seem to coincide with those of humans. Such variation, as found within the human species, is to my knowledge not found in any other primate species on earth. Perhaps this indicates that sasquatch are our closest relatives, but I do not think it works that way. Similarities in characteristics or traits need not always indicate a close relationship, although it definitely is possible. There are average, tall, and short humans, with variations in hair color, all of which seem to be present in the sasquatch population. Yeti are generally thought of as being white, but evidence from places like the Himalayas indicates that hair color varies, just like it does with bigfoot in North America. The fact that white bigfoot exist in North America should dispel any thoughts of every yeti having white hair, at least in my opinion, although I suppose there are other potential arguments that could be made in this regard.

 

My point is simply to establish the commonality between the sasquatch and yeti. Sighting data suggests that these animals can survive, even thrive, in various environments- from the sub-zero temperatures that are sometimes found in the Himalayas and the PNW, to the warmer temperatures of the south. Although it does get cold in most southern locations, but the temperature does not dip below freezing nearly as often as it does in the northern states. Sasquatch almost seem to inhabit the same general latitudes around the globe, although Australia does not really fit, and I am not sure of the existence of sasquatch in South America, which I think would be about the latitudinal equivalent of that continent.

 

You might be asking yourselves what any of this has to do with the topic at hand. Although it was probably unnecessary I was simply attempting to communicate my belief in the connection between these animals, no matter where they are found on the globe. We know that sasquatch reports in other locations have not really declined in comparison to those of the yeti (at least not that I am aware of), so IF the yeti population is actually in decline it must be an isolated incident as opposed to a species-wide phenomenon. This may not seem all that important but I believe that in certain contexts it is very important, or could prove very important in the future. So we must ask ourselves whether conditions in those regions inhabited by the yeti have changed at all? If not, it seems less likely that a severe population decline would occur. It is not impossible, rather it just seems likely less probable considering there is nothing to act as a trigger for a population decline. It could not hurt to take into account the fact that other animal species whose population is declining tend to experience this population decrease globally. Now I am no animalologist so I do not know if global population decline is the norm, but I am relatively certain that such a global decline has been experienced multiple times in modern species.

 

So without an event to trigger a population decline, and without evidence suggesting a global decline, there is decent chance that the yeti population is not in fact declining. Thus why I said I agree with the idea that there are likely fewer people to witness the yeti who are present in the region. That is my take on the issue anyway. This was not an airtight, logical argument by any means, considering there are numerous factors that could potentially come into play. So I could easily be wrong.

[Patterson-Gimlin]

Most of them perished in the earthquake.