‘Bigfoot’ hair samples undergo DNA analysis: Big mammals, yes. Bigfoot, no.

A new genetic analysis has found no evidence for a cryptic humanlike primate known as Bigfoot or the Yeti.

Hair samples from creatures claimed to beBigfootor Sasquatch actually come from cows, horses, dogs and even a few extinct bears. But none seem to come from a completely new primate species, according to a study published today (July 1) in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B.

Throughout the world, stories abound of a mysterious man-beast covered in shaggy hair, who has eyes, nose and ears like a human, and who walks on two legs. Dubbedthe Yetiin the Himalayas, and Bigfoot or Sasquatch in North America, the creature has been called a hybrid human, an early human such as a Neanderthal or Denisovan or an extinct ape, such asGigantopithecus.

Scientists, however, have mostly discountedcases of Bigfoot sightings, saying researchers would have identified such a large and strange creature by now if it were breeding in the wild. And some of the most well-known Bigfoot sightings have turned out to be hoaxes: In 2008, two Georgia men claimed they had photos and the body of a Bigfoot, but the genetic samples came from an opossum and the "body" turned out to be a frozen gorilla suit.

Bigfoot proponents say more research needs to be done.

"Some of the greatest criticism within the Bigfoot community was that science would never take a serious look at the phenomenon," said study co-author Rhettman Mullis, a psychologist who runs the Bigfootology.com website.

To remedy that problem, Bryan Sykes, a geneticist at the University of Oxford in England, teamed up with Mullis and other researchers to solicit hair samples from supposedBigfoot sightings around the world. If the sightings were real, the thinking went, then the DNA should not match that of any known animal.

The team received 57 samples, one of which was actually a piece of fiberglass, the researchers said. After winnowing down the samples to the most likely bets, the team did a genetic analysis on 36 of the samples.

Almost all came from known animals, including cows, horses, raccoons, humans, deer, coyotes, and even a Malaysian tapir. None of the samples, however, came from a completely new primate species, the researchers said.

But two hair samples, one from Bhutan and the other from Ladakh, India, closely matched the genetic sequence of an extinct Paleolithic polar bear. One came from an animal shot over 40 years ago by an experienced hunter, who claimed the bear acted more aggressively than do typical brown bears. The other came from an area that is reputed to be the nest of a "migyhur," the Bhutanese version of a Yeti.

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'Bigfoot' hair samples undergo DNA analysis: Big mammals, yes. Bigfoot, no.