A tweet from the Additional Director General - Public Information (ADG-PI) of Indian Army, claiming to have sited the footprints of the mythical beast 'Yeti' has grown viral on social media.
Though the tweet was posted on Monday morning, many social media users in the country woke up to these extraordinary claims on Tuesday morning, with many of them taking the 'discovery' with a pinch of salt.
"For the first time, an #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32x15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019. This elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past.", tweeted the ADG-PI from its twitter handle @adgpi.
The post also shared four pictures of the team that went on an expedition to Mt Makalu along with the alleged footprints of Yeti on the mountain. Yeti, according to various myths, is an ape-like creature said to inhabit the snow-clad mountains of Asia. However, various scientific expeditions have failed to discover any such creature and has dismissed it as a mere legend.
The tweet however, evoked some interesting reactions from twitterati. Nitin Pai (@acorn) of Takshashila Institute shared an article from the Royal Society in a twitter thread regarding the issue, and wrote: DNA analysis strongly suggests “that the biological basis of the #yeti legend is local brown and black bears.” Yan, Gil et al (2017)
In response to the tweet, a user Kunal (@RunMUFC) wrote:
With all due respect to everyone, what we call Yeti is with all probability either the Himalayan Brown Bear or Tibetean Blue Bear. Both are endangered, can grow over 7 feet and are bipedal. The single foot print forms when the bear walks on 4 feet.
Several others took a dig at the discovery.
Bhavatosh singh (@bhavatoshsingh) wrote:
I always knew Tintin was right. He was the first to spot the mysterious beast Yeti. Time to re-read Tintin In Tibet
One Twitter user asked if it is 'Anti-National' to question the Indian Army's discovery.
Another Twitter user wondered whether the Yeti was out to vote.
Another Twitter user Deepanjana poked fun at the fact that the Yeti might be missing a foot.
Documentary filmmaker, Rakesh Sharma also poked fun at the 'Yeti discovery' asking if this calls for a Yeti Mandir.
M Jamaluddin (@m_jamaluddin) wrote:
Even by their recent standards, this is HUGE by Indian Army. Bohut hi ziyada phenk diya
The beast is mythical, yet the footprints are real??
One user Nishant Pant (@nishantpanth_in) suggested the Army consult some scientists before making such claims.
"Well this could be anything unless scientifically proven that these are indeed footprints of Yeti! Please have the correct scientific agency examine these and come out with their conclusions," he said on Twitter.