Yeti, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman- whatever you may call it- the fabled beast of the Himalayas, has been genetically linked to an ancient polar bear that lived tens of thousands of years ago.

British geneticist Bryan Sykes said on Thursday, October 17^th, “We have found an exact genetic match between two samples from the Himalayas and the ancient polar bear.”

Last year, he requested that people with samples from purported yeti sightings send him the samples to be tested. He received about 70 samples from around the world and of the 27 that gave good DNA results, 2 hair samples proved to be shocking matches.

Sykes, emeritus professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, ran DNA tests on these two hairs, found on opposite sides of the Himalayas, and then compared them with other animals’ genomes stored on a database containing all published DNA sequences. He found a 100 percent match with the genome of an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway.

That polar bear lived 120,000 years ago, at a time when the polar bear and brown bear were diverging into different species. Sykes believes this animal was a hybrid, or cross, between the two types of bears. He also believes that because the new samples are from recently living animals, these hybrids must be still living in the Himalayas.

Sykes added: “This is a species that hasn’t been recorded for 40,000 years. Now, we know one of these was walking around ten years ago. And what’s interesting is that we have found this type of animal at both ends of the Himalayas. If one were to go back, there would be others still there.”

Professor Sykes said there are only three known species of bears in the Himalayan area: brown bears, sloth bears, and Asiatic black bears.

One of the hair samples was found in the western Himalayan region of Ladakh, and came from the remains of a creature shot by a hunter 40 years ago. The hunter found the animal so strange and startling he kept the remains, and gave the hair to a French mountaineer 10 years ago. The other sample was a single hair found in a bamboo forest by filmmakers, also a decade ago.

Professor Sykes wondered why the hunter, having plenty of experience with bears, was frightened by this particular one, and suggested that this species might behave differently and appear especially aggressive or dangerous.

The discovery is not without criticism, however, as some are questioning the legitimacy of the hair samples. Why would the hairs be in the Himalayas in the first place? Maybe they got there by accident. Journalists, scientists and explorers could have brought these hairs on their clothing or items.

Or maybe they were placed there deliberately, as a hoax. Locals, rogue scientists, and writers might all have motivation to plant this evidence and rouse up a good story.

William Amos, Cambridge Professor of Genetics says that we need solid evidence that there were no spoofs involved before we can take the bear story at face value.

But Sykes confidently told NBC, “I cannot vouch for their (the hair samples) authenticity, but there were witnesses, and the DNA cannot be made up or rigged. Those results are absolutely firm.”

Before these DNA findings, the abominable snowman was a beast of legend with little evidence other than reported sightings and one particular photograph of the animal’s professed footprint in the snow, made famous by explorer Eric Shipton in 1951, after he returned from his expedition to Mount Everest with it. It was deemed by most as mere fable and superstition, and given little credence, that is until the last few days. The mystery of the Yeti may finally be solved.