The Kemerovo Yeti
In 2011, a Siberian region announced it had 'indisputable proof' that yetis lived in its mountains.
What was reported
In October 2011, the government of Kemerovo Oblast, a coal-mining region in Siberia, held an international conference on the yeti and took researchers to Azasskaya Cave in the Mountain Shoria area. Officials then announced they had found 'indisputable proof' that the yeti lived there: footprints, a possible bed and a few grey hairs.
The story went around the world, and local people had long told of a wild man in the forests.
Explanations offered
Scientists who attended said the evidence was unconvincing, and one said there had been no proper expedition at all. Many observers saw it as a publicity stunt to attract tourists to the region, and visitor numbers to the cave did rise. No tests on the hairs have confirmed an unknown animal.
- When
- October 2011
- Where
- Azasskaya Cave, Mountain Shoria, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia
- Witnesses
- Conference participants and local officials
- Status
- Probably a publicity stunt
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.