The following is taken from SOME THINGS STRANGE & SINISTER
Anyone who has ever read the classic book
Strange Creatures From Time & Space, by John Keel [1], will have learned a
little about the Indian version of the wildman.
In fact,there are any number of books on the subject of what are called
Hairy Hominids in the trade –or if you prefer, the Yeti, Sasquatch, Almasti, Kaepre
and so on [2-6].
To many the subject is a little unsettling; we
know of chimpanzees,orang-utans, gorillas and their intelligence, not to
mention almost human-like features. But
these are seen as “below” Man and are, gorilla excepted, smaller than us. No real threat. Gorillas are the “gentle giants”, lying
around eating fruit and leaves all day and hundreds visit gorilla territories
with guides each year. Chimps have
tea-parties and make jolly funny tea commercials! The orang-utan is just magnificent and, sadly,
highly endangered.
But, when you talk about more primitive
man-like creatures with huge barrel chests, enormous strength and a height of
2-3 metres [8-10ft] it’s a whole different story!
The theory that the Sasquatch/Bigfoot, as
well as other Hairy Hominids might be
relic populations of Gigantopithecus [Gigantopithecus
blacki] has been accepted by many researchers though there are those who
say Bigfoot is the “Missing Link” between Ape and Man –this so called “Missing
Link” was rejected by science long ago, though a number of primitive species of
early man have been discovered over the years.
Besides, say the detractors,”if”
Bigfoot is a gigantopithecus why have no bones been found yet? The detractor using that argument is a detractor who either does not know what he/she
is talking about or knows he has no counter-argument and is bluffing hoping
their position or title will pull the bluff off!
For centuries the Chinese have sold
‘dragon-teeth’ and bones that are ground up and used in “medicines” –these
teeth and bones are usually purchased at markets or from dealers and are, in
fact, ancient fossils. It was while looking through an Hong
Kong apothecary shop in 1935 that G. H. R. von Koenigswald discovered
a rather famous tooth. In the sixty
years since then some three jaw-bones and over a thousand teeth have been
recovered, again, from apothecary shops but also in situ at archaeological digs.
Scientists have managed to produce a “look”
for gigantopithecus as well as discover more about it. For instance, at Tham
Khuyen, Viet Nam,
the remains were found of a competitor for what has been proposed as a major
food source for gigantopithecus, bamboo –the giant panda [extinct in Viet Nam]. In the same area, as well as the Hubei and Sechuan provinces of China, gigantopithecus remains
occur alongside those of homo erectus.
Teeth of gigantopithecus have been found in Wuming,
China, and dated to around
400,000 B.C. –homo erectus was in Asia at that time and, it is thought, may have
contributed to the ‘extinction’ of gigantopithecus there.
Interestingly
enough, Hubei
and Sechuan are two of the areas from which sightings of Hairy Hominids are
made. Some areas of China
where these reports come from are so wild that they are still not even
partially explored.
But what did
gigantopithecus look like? According to
some,gigantopithecus stood 3 metres [10ft] tall and weighed approximately 2500 kilos [1,200lbs] –the appearance, varying
depending on who is doing the reconstruction, from gorilla-like to very Bigfoot-like [when shown a
selection of images some witnesses immediately point to the image of
gigantopithecus]. With so few bones to go
on,scientists have to start with reconstructing the head first since it is the
most substantial item they have.
Evolution-wise,gigantopithecus and the orang-utan are on the same line
–they have a common ancestor known as Sivapithecus. But a tree-living creature of that weight
would be very unlikely so the model chosen for reconstruction was a combination
of the largest primate known,the gorilla,and the extinct giant baboon Theropithecus oswaldi. Bill Munn, a Hollywood “monster maker”, built an
impressive model –but a model representing the largest gigantopithecus.
The other version
is of a 2.7m [9ft],1,200 kilo [600 lbs] giant gorilla. Although the model constructed by Munn, with
expert guidance, is impressive some feel it looks more dramatic than a gorilla
almost 3 metres in height. Believe me, a
3 metre gorilla standing upright would
look impressive!
When it comes down
to it the appearance of gigantopithecus is scientific guessology –the best that
can be done until a full skeleton or, perhaps leg or hip bone turn up. But that it would be impressive is beyond
doubt.
Whether Sasquatch
or the Almasti or even fei-wei are gigantopithecus relics we can
only,again,guess at. There is something
called “scientific proof”,this usually entails the body of an animal. Back in the late 1970s to 1980s,I
corresponded with Russian Hominologist, Dimitri Bayanov, who produced a great
deal of pioneering evidence on the “Soviet Wildman”, as people in the West
called it.
John Green is another
veteran Hominologist whose work has not just included gathering reports but
mapping sightings, looking at possible diets and much more on the American
Bigfoot. In the late 1970s a rather
heated debate centred around these gentleman and the question of “scientific
proof”.
John Green had
suggested, in the pages of Pursuit, the journal of the Society for the
Investigation of The Unexplained [SITU], that if the chance ever presented
itself to a hunter, whether Yeti, Almasti or Bigfoot, the creature should be
shot dead. The reasoning was that a body
would provide science with the ultimate proof and something for scientists to
cut up and study . The whole idea was
upsetting to Bayanov who, quite rightly pointed out that, if these were
endangered the individual shot might be the last breeding male or female and
with a single bullet a very rare species might might become extinct [7].
Luckily, a number of hunters, in the U.S., Russia
and China,
have looked into the faces and eyes of
these hominids and not
fired. The reason given being that the
hominids were “so human” that they all felt they would be committing
murder. Those with the sole intention of
gaining fame and wealth through killing
a hominid have been very unlucky –thankfully.
In Canada and certain
U. S.
states, the Sasquatch/Bigfoot is now offered legal protection “in case”.
These hominids, as proven by Green, Bayanov, John
Napier and Rene Dahinden, are true “gentle giants”, and will try to avoid human
contact where-ever possible, though they have shown curiousity at times. When you think of a 3 metre tall hominid then
that is quite a break for those encountering them.
There are those,on
the fringes,who claim that Bigfoot is killer.
Terry Albright,a Bigfoot investigator,believes that President Teddy
Roosevelt, on a hunting trip, scared a Bigfoot into someone elses camp –their
mutilated bodies found the next day.
Albright also
claimed in a TV documentary,In Search Of Mythical Monsters,that the Pentagon,the
U. S.
military headquarters,knows the truth and should reveal it to the American
public. It is more likely that a bear
killed the trappers in the “Roosevelt Incident” –the President, himself, never saw Bigfoot.
Claims of captured
or dead Hairy Hominids do exist but
have never been proven. Opinions vary,
rather as over the question of whether the Patterson and Gimlin film footage
of Bluff
Creek, California,
1967: they are either genuine accounts or fake –as far as the film is
concerned, the late eminent Hominologist, Grover Krantz, accepted it as
genuine, as did Ivan T. Sanderson and the “Father of Cryptozoology”, Prof.
Bernard Heuvelman.
In the early 1900s
British troops are alleged to have shot an hominid near Jelep-la Pass, India. The body was shipped off but then all traces
are lost.
In Assam, India, during Autumn, 1954,
head-hunters allegedly killed and ate a hominid, the bones and fur shipped off
to a monastery at which point all traces vanish [8].
In the late 1970s
I had the opportunity to mount a paper-chase hunt after two hominids—the Mande
Burung - or forest man – or a close relation.
According to a news item in the Indian Express [9 & 10]:-
“A
pair of ‘strange humanoid’ creatures are
reported
to
have been captured by tribal people in the Khamti
Forest,Arunachal Pradesh. Mr. R. Das,Superintendent
of Police,of Dibrugargh District,Upper Assam,said that
the
height of the creatures [one male/one female] was
estimated at ten feet.
“Mr.
Das said that the administration was making the
necessary arrangements to send the creatures to Tazu
District H.Q. of Tirap,in Urizon
Territory.”
A captured pair of hominids. As the Flying Saucer Review had reprinted the
news item, I wondered whether that meant they had someone in India who could follow the matter
up? I telephoned the then editor, Charles
Bowen, and asked –“No. FSR had no one in India”. Had, I enquired, anyone else been in touch
showing an interest in the report? “No”,
I was told.
I could either file away the report, as I had
my fingers burnt before by an Indian Express item [11]. However, what if this was a genuine
incident? I would never have forgiven
myself. So, I asked Mr. Jal N. D. Tata, who
reported on UFO incidents in India,
whether he might be willing to follow the matter up?I wrote to the Indian police H.Q.s mentioned.
In early September, 1978, I received a
response from Mr. Tata who had made various enquiries to try to locate
Superintendent Das, but,apparently, he had been posted to another area. The idea of Mr. Tata visiting the policeman
prove unfeasible; the journey would take many days involving trains, boats and
even ox-cart. It didn’t look like I was
going to have much success.
In March, 1979, I was busily going over
paperwork on local UFO reports. As
usual, I had poured myself another over-sized mug of coffee and began to type
up a report when there was a knock on the door.
I opened the front door to find a smartly dressed Indian gentleman and, parked
to his rear, a highly polished car with Diplomatic Plates. I wondered what I’d done wrong now? An outstretched hand proferred a small, square
manilla envelope.
“I am to deliver this to you,Sir,” said my
visitor after I affirmed I was Terry Hooper.
The man then turned, got back into the car and was driven off. I shrugged –I was used to odd things
happening by then. Returning to my
office I opened up the envelope and found a letter dated 21st
October,1978. It read:-
“Government Of Arunachal Pradesh,
Sir,
Information as asked
for vide above are not available
at this office since the area seems under the jurisdiction
of the Superintendent of Police,Lohit District,P.O. Tezu,
Arunachal Pradesh.
You are requested to
communicate the matter to the
Superintendent of Police,Lohit District,Tezu who may per-
haps enlighten you on the subject.
Yours Faithfully
[signed] S.
S. Sirohi
District Superintendent Of Police
Tirap District,Khonsa. “
Well, that seemed straight forward
enough. So, a letter was sent off to
Lohit District H.Q. on 13th March, 1979. Then I followed this up with another in
June….another in September and then I quit.
There is only so far you can go before your
head hits a solid wall.
Mr.Tata and I had proven that there was a
real Inspector Das. But had the incident
taken place? Could two 3 metre tall
hominids have been captured and taken away somewhere without a single
journalist [even in India]
hearing a word about it? In 2004 I tried
another follow-up but drew the usual blank.
Only one man probably knows the truth
–Inspector Das. We can, however, make a
good guess and come up with three possibilities:-
[1] There was no
such incident –it was a journalistic fabrication or hoax.
[2] Two wild humans
were captured and handed over to a hospital or whatever:
Just in case
this is what happened I’m following the theory up.
[3] Two genuine,3
metre tall hominids were captured.
I’ll go for [1] with [2] being an outside
possibility. However, the idea that such
hominids might be captured and held secretly by the military is sheer bovine
excrement. Just what would the military
do with large hominids? The mind boggles
at such claims. Had this been a genuine
incident I think the world would have been made are within days or weeks and
top experts flown to India
from the U.S., Europe or China.
But then, The Sun [London] ran an article well worth reprinting
here,and my thanks to them for permission to do so:
“DNA tests
could reveal 'yeti'
By STAFF REPORTER
“The yeti's
existence could finally be confirmed as scientists wait for
the results of
a DNA test on a hair claimed to be from the beast.
Initial tests
showed the sample - brought back from the Indian jungle
by BBC journalist Alastair Lawson - had
human and ape-like characteristics.
“British ape
expert Ian Redmond said: "Under the microscope, they
look slightly
human, slightly like an orang-utan and slightly like the hairs
brought back by
Edmund Hillary.
"These
hairs remain an enigma. They could be a new species, but the
DNA tests will
hopefully tell us more."
“Sir Edmund
brought back similar hairs in the 1950s from his Everest
expedition.
“The hairs were
found in the Meghalaya state of India
after a forest
worker claimed
to have spotted the creature over three days in 2003.
“Believers
reckon the hair comes from a three-metre Indian version of
the yeti - also
known as the abominable snowman.
“Dr Redmond and
scientists from Oxford Brookes compared the hairs
of an Asiatic
black bear, yaks, orang-utangs and gorillas.
“The biologist
said: "The hairs are complete with the cuticle, and between
3.3cm and 4.4cm long and thick and wiry and
curved.
"At one
point we thought they looked like they came from a wild boar.
That was quite
a tense moment, but when we got a sample from the
museum it
turned out they were quite different."
“He added:
"My concern is that if we do find something unusual, it will
be from a very
small population of animals and I would want to talk to
the State
Government and Indian Government so they are not inundated
with people
trying to catch one for a museum."
This reference to
human and ape-like characteristics is
interesting as similar results came from hairs found in Nepal in the 1990s that were
tested. And, again, from the United States
when hairs were obtained by a team working in association with the TV series
Monster Quest.
It is interesting,
though, that the two allegedly captured hominids were in Arunachal Pradesh
because, in 2004, the Arunachal macaque [Macaca
munzala ] was discovered in the mountains of the Arunachal Pradesh. It
lives at high altitudes, between 2000 meters and 3500 meters, making it one of
the highest-dwelling primates. But they
are not 3 metres tall. However, if one
primate can be discovered..?
Personally, I
would have thought to best thing would be to go by local knowledge and set up
as many camera traps as possible for a year in known hominid active areas. The
idea of putting up one or two camera traps for a short period in a specific
area is akin to those who go ghost hunting or hold “UFO sky-watches”; two to
three hours then leave. Pointless.
But those two
hominids said to have been captured in India will always have me
wondering:true or false?
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