London -- It has ginger hair, wild staring eyes and arms the size of tree trunks, but according to Professor Chris Stringer, the Yeti legend may not be so far fetched.

Prof Stringer believes tales of the Yeti may have been inspired by a huge prehistoric ape, Gigantopithecus, which lived in Asia 300,000 years ago.

He does not rule out the possibility that the three-metre-tall King Kong-like creature may have survived deep in the dense forests of South-East Asia.

The professor, human origins expert at the Natural History Museum in London, said: "Gigantopithecus was much bigger than a gorilla, judging from its jawbones and teeth, which are the only fossil remains we have. Red hair is reasonable, because it appears to be related to the orang-utan.

"We don't know if it walked upright but it's more likely to have walked on its knuckles, like a gorilla.

"Personally I doubt that it could have survived in the Himalayas because there would be nothing for it to eat. But there are also legends of giant apes in China and South-East Asia.

"It could have survived until the appearance of modern humans, 50,000 years ago, and it is at least possible that it is still living as a very rare creature in remote forest areas."

Prof Stringer said it would be wrong to assume that Yeti-like creatures could not survive to the present day without being discovered.

"There are species of jungle deer and wild cattle that have only been found in the last 10 years," he said. "What we need is hard evidence, in the form of bones, skin or even droppings, which could be used for DNA analysis."

© The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

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