A TEAM of part-time explorers may have proved the existence of a Yeti-like creature on a tropical jungle island.

Tests by experts at Cambridge University and in Australia have shown that hairs and a footprint found by the Indiana Joneses from Stockport and Macclesfield do not belong to any known species.

The explorers were searching for the mythical Orang Pendek - also known as the Sumatran Yeti. A scientific paper on their amazing discovery will soon be published.

Tales of a half-ape, half-man-like creature in the rainforest are part of the folklore of tribes people on Sumatra in Indonesia but, despite many sightings by locals and Western scientists, its existence has never been proved. World-renowned hair expert Dr Hans Brunner has spent 18 months analysing the DNA - and he has concluded that they match no known animal.

'Mythical'

Cambridge University primatologist Dr David Chivers has confirmed his findings and the two men are about to publish a paper on the subject. The Orang Pendek is said to be about 5ft tall, walks upright and is a chocolate brown or orange in color. According to folklore, it has incredible strength and has its own language.

The expedition, in September 2001, was led by internet project manager Adam Davies, from Bramhall, with Keith Townley, from Macclesfield, and Adam Sanderson, from Newcastle.

Mr Davies, 34, said: "Hans Brunner and David Chivers confirmed it's an unknown primate.

"People describe the Orang Pendek as being quite small but very strong and stocky - and eye-witnesses all talk of a primate which walks upright. It's a very exciting discovery."

Dr Chivers, vice-chairman of conservation group Flora and Fauna International, said: "We are still hoping to get a photograph or find a carcass, but Adam and his mates found hard evidence.

"Dr Brunner has analyzed the hairs and they are not like anything we know.

"The footprints I have looked at are unique. It has something in common with the apes, gibbons and humans, but it is different. Local people shot one once, but because it was so like a human they were embarrassed and buried it and it couldn't be found again."

Mr Davies, who has just returned from an expedition to Mongolia, is now planning a trip to the Amazon in South America to search for another so-called mythical creature - a 20ft tall giant sloth.

Manchester News Online

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