8 October, 2003 Altai, Siberia --Mountain-climbers have discovered the mummified fragment of a leg of an unknown creature that lived several thousand years ago in Altai, Siberia. The discovery was made at an altitude of 3,000 meters, local media reported. The scientists who x-rayed the discovery, established that it was several thousand years old and that the bones did not belong to any known animal.

Scientists from the Veterinary Academy and Altai Agrarian University think that it resembles a human leg. The position of the knee joint indicates that the being walked on two legs. The leg and foot are covered with red hair which indicates the creature moved on a soft surface, probably snow, the scientists say. The big toe consists of three phalanxes compared with the two that humans have. The limb has been well preserved as the sun and air had mummified the muscle tissue.

The discovery continues to be examined. Scientists say it's early to attribute it to a yeti because this would require a DNA study. Besides, a European size 36 shoe would fit the discovered leg while yetis are believed to have exceptionally large feet //Interfax
http://gazeta.ru/intnews.shtml?281956#281956
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The Republic of Altai, (translates Golden Mountains) is located in Central Asia and borders on Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia and is comparable in size to Portugal. The region is dominated by mountains with eternal snow and glaciers, similar to the European Alps. The highest peak, Ak-Sümer, is 4,506 metres (nearly 15,000 feet) high. Altai has a population of about 200,000 people of various nationalities, Altais, Russians and Germans. ...Bobbie Short.
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Additional article:
"SIBERIA FIND REVIVES YETI LEGENDS"
BBC News -- Thursday, October 9, 2003
Siberian scientists say they have a discovery on their hands which raises the possibility that the local legend of the yeti -- the abominable snowman -- is more than mere fiction.According to Russian TV,
the well-preserved furry limb of a mystery creature was found some 3,500 metres up in the permafrost of the Altay mountains, in Russia's remote Siberia region. "I turned the limb over and examined the sole of the foot, and I thought it looked unsual," Sergey Semenov, the mountain-climber who made the find, said. "So I decided to bring it back with me." Scientific tests and X-rays show that the bones are several thousand years old, but attempts to identify the creature they belonged to remain inconclusive. Local opinion on the find, described as "surprisingly well-preserved", is divided. There is a long tradition of alleged sightings in the area of what might - or might not - be the abominable snowman.
Size 36
Local people say the creature must have walked on snow, because the sole ofthe foot is furry. They have already labelled the discovery as the foot of the yeti. But veterinary scientists and academics at the local animal research institute and agragrian university tend towards a more rational explanation. "It looks very human," Yuriy Malofeyev, vice-president of the Russian association of veterinary anatomists, told the TV after examining the X-rays. "There are many similarities," he said. That view appears to be supported by the fact that the length of the foot is about 24 centimetre - normal for a human being. "A size 36 shoe would fit him just fine," the TV concluded.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3175926.stm

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