{
  "id": "himalayan-yeti-dna-2017",
  "title": "Yeti specimens: testing the material behind the Himalayan legend",
  "country": "Nepal",
  "category": "cryptide",
  "date": "2017-11-29",
  "date_label": "29 November 2017 study; specimens came from several Himalayan and Tibetan locations",
  "location": "Khumbu region — regional orientation only",
  "lat": 27.8,
  "lng": 86.7,
  "is_resolved": 1,
  "summary": "DNA tests identified animal origins for a set of alleged Yeti specimens. The finding concerns those specimens, rather than every historical sighting.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "Y1",
      "title": "University at Buffalo — alleged Yeti DNA study",
      "url": "https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2017/11/037.html",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "First-party research-team explanation and specimen totals.",
      "kind": "Source record · see provenance note"
    },
    {
      "id": "Y2",
      "title": "University research record — identity of the Yeti",
      "url": "https://researchconnect.buffalo.edu/en/publications/evolutionary-history-of-enigmatic-bears-in-the-tibetan-plateauhim/",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "Original publication record; the same research, not another specimen study.",
      "kind": "Source record · see provenance note"
    }
  ],
  "author": "Eklipsis",
  "content_languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "path": "/investigations/himalayan-yeti-dna-2017",
  "source_url": "https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2017/11/037.html",
  "location_source_url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=27.8&mlon=86.7#map=8/27.8/86.7",
  "location_precision": "region",
  "location_note": "Approximate orientation marker for the named place or institution; not a surveyed observation point, protected excavation coordinate or recommended access route.",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-30",
  "edition": 1,
  "truth_type": "unknown",
  "verdict": "The tested specimens do not establish an unknown hominid. Their animal identifications illustrate the value of physical testing over a sensational label. The broader folklore remains a cultural subject distinct from the analysed material.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Documented account",
      "text": "The research team’s university account describes nine purported Yeti specimens: eight were identified as bears and one as a dog. The work also examined the evolutionary relationships of Himalayan and Tibetan bears. The specimen labels supplied by collectors were hypotheses to test, not biological identifications already established by the labels.",
      "refs": [
        "Y1",
        "Y2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Evidence and its limits",
      "text": "The Nepal marker represents the regional tradition, not a collection site for all samples. Museum and private-collection provenance varies. A result for a hair, tooth or bone cannot logically establish what every observer in the region has ever seen.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "Inspector’s assessment",
      "text": "The tested specimens do not establish an unknown hominid. Their animal identifications illustrate the value of physical testing over a sensational label. The broader folklore remains a cultural subject distinct from the analysed material.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "A reproducible next investigation",
      "text": "Build a specimen-by-specimen chain-of-custody table using the paper. Record locality, material, collector, extraction controls and genetic comparison. Separate a confirmed species match from claims about how the sample was originally obtained.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "Earlier collections",
      "text": "Material is collected or preserved under alleged Yeti labels.",
      "refs": [
        "Y1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "28 November 2017",
      "text": "The research team’s university publishes an explanation.",
      "refs": [
        "Y1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "29 November 2017",
      "text": "The study appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.",
      "refs": [
        "Y1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "30 September 2026",
      "text": "Eklipsis prepares this source-linked documentary synthesis. This is editorial review, not historical fieldwork.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "DNA tests identified animal origins for a set of alleged Yeti specimens. The finding concerns those specimens, rather than every historical sighting.",
      "status": "Documented subject; interpretations qualified in the dossier",
      "refs": [
        "Y1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The tested specimens do not establish an unknown hominid. Their animal identifications illustrate the value of physical testing over a sensational label. The broader folklore remains a cultural subject distinct from the analysed material.",
      "status": "Documented explanation; scope remains bounded",
      "refs": [
        "Y1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The map point represents the exact location of every reported event.",
      "status": "Incorrect; orientation only",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "hypotheses": [
    {
      "title": "Known bears or other animals",
      "status": "Supported for the tested specimens",
      "support": "Genetic matches identify known animals.",
      "limits": "This is not a universal explanation of every sighting.",
      "test": "Replicate testing with authenticated provenance and controls."
    },
    {
      "title": "An unknown hominid",
      "status": "Not supported by this sample set",
      "support": "The specimen labels asserted an unusual origin.",
      "limits": "No tested specimen supplied such an identification.",
      "test": "Require independently authenticated material and reproducible sequencing."
    }
  ],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "title": "Audit the source record",
      "body": "Retrieve the named records for Yeti specimens: testing the material behind the Himalayan legend. Record author, edition, page or section and access date. Treat a catalogue, mirror or translation of one document as the same evidence, not independent corroboration."
    },
    {
      "title": "Build the dated evidence ledger",
      "body": "Build a specimen-by-specimen chain-of-custody table using the paper. Record locality, material, collector, extraction controls and genetic comparison. Separate a confirmed species match from claims about how the sample was originally obtained."
    },
    {
      "title": "Test the interpretation",
      "body": "Replicate testing with authenticated provenance and controls. Require independently authenticated material and reproducible sequencing. Record what would favour or weaken each explanation; leave unperformed work marked as proposed."
    }
  ]
}