Otters, Seals, and Yeti Bears, Oh My!
Here are pictures from a seaside walk in Monterey. The pictures are from the same pathway, but at two different times of the day.
In my last post, I shared some potentially disappointing news about the dolphins. But I have recently heard very interesting and exciting news on the animal science front. Scientists think they may have discovered the Yeti bear! The Yeti bear is not related to the current bears known to be found in the Himalayas, but rather they are related to the ancient polar bear. The DNA sample's of the Yeti bear showed that the DNA was linked to that of a sample collected from an ancient polar bear jaw bone from Norway. The scientists suspect that the Yeti bear is either a new species related to the ancient polar bear or a polar-bear-brown-bear hybrid. Some scientists think that this bear could account for the Yeti sightings, but it is still only a theory. In some ways, this news is a bit disappointing. Although bears are amazing animals, they are no bipedal hairy hominid. I love the idea of a hairy, cold-resistant man-beast wondering the snowy mountains. But if the Yeti bear is real, it is still exciting that the natural world can surprise us with large mammals in unexpected places. And even if the mystery of the Yeti is indeed solved, the mystery of Bigfoot is still to be discovered.
(ABC news is where I found my information on the Yeti bear)
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| Not the best picture, but those are otters! |
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| Adorable seals! |
In my last post, I shared some potentially disappointing news about the dolphins. But I have recently heard very interesting and exciting news on the animal science front. Scientists think they may have discovered the Yeti bear! The Yeti bear is not related to the current bears known to be found in the Himalayas, but rather they are related to the ancient polar bear. The DNA sample's of the Yeti bear showed that the DNA was linked to that of a sample collected from an ancient polar bear jaw bone from Norway. The scientists suspect that the Yeti bear is either a new species related to the ancient polar bear or a polar-bear-brown-bear hybrid. Some scientists think that this bear could account for the Yeti sightings, but it is still only a theory. In some ways, this news is a bit disappointing. Although bears are amazing animals, they are no bipedal hairy hominid. I love the idea of a hairy, cold-resistant man-beast wondering the snowy mountains. But if the Yeti bear is real, it is still exciting that the natural world can surprise us with large mammals in unexpected places. And even if the mystery of the Yeti is indeed solved, the mystery of Bigfoot is still to be discovered.
(ABC news is where I found my information on the Yeti bear)