Mysterious Creatures : A Guide to Cryptozoology

37–39; Zhou Guoxing, Lang hai, hsüeh jen,
huo ti hua shih (T’ien-chin, China: T’ien-chin
Jen Min Ch’u Pan She, 1979); Yuan Zhenxin
and Huang Wanpo, “‘Wild Man’—Fact or
Fiction?” China Reconstructs 28 (July 1979):
56–59, reprinted in Pursuit, no. 52 (Fall
1980): 142–144; Yuan Zhenxin and Huang
Wanpo, Wild Man: China’s Yeti, Fortean
Times Occasional Paper no. 1 (London:
Fortean Times, 1981); Zhou Guoxing, “The
Status of Wildman Research in China,”
Cryptozoology 1 (1982): 13–23; Frank E.
Poirier, Hu Hongxing, and Chung-min Chen,
“The Evidence for Wildman in Hubei
Province, People’s Republic of China,”
Cryptozoology 2 (1983): 25–39; Paul Dong,
The Four Major Mysteries of Mainland China
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984),
pp. 173–203; Christopher S. Wren, “On the
Trail of the ‘Wild Man’ of China,” New York
Times, June 5, 1984; J. Richard Greenwell and
Frank E. Poirier, “Further Investigations into
the Reported Yeren: The Wildman of China,”
Cryptozoology 8 (1989): 47–57; Wang Bo, Ye
ren zhi mi xin tan (Chongqing, China: Ke Xue
Ji Shu Wen Xian Chu Ban She Chongqing
Fen She, 1989); Adventure: The Wildman of
China (video) (Mystic Fire Video, 1990);
Frank E. Poirier and J. Richard Greenwell, “Is
There a Large, Unknown Primate in China?
The Chinese Yeren or Wildman,”
Cryptozoology 11 (1992): 70–82; Zhou Liu,
“Wildman: No Wild Fancy,” 15-part series,
China Sports, January 1993–March 1994; Du
Yonglin, Ye ren: Lai zi Shennongjia di bao gao
(Beijing, China: Zhongguo San Xia Chu Ban
She, 1995); Zang Yongqing, Ye ren mi zong
(Shenyang, China: Lioning Ren Min Chu Ban
She, 1996); Grover S. Krantz, “The 1997
Yeren Investigation in China,” Cryptozoology
13 (1997–1998): 88–93; “Chinese Wildman
Returns,” Fortean Times, no. 130 (January
2000): 8–9; Bigfoot Field Researchers
Organization, Bigfoot/Yeren Reports from
China, http://www.bfro.net/gdb/asia/
china/as_ch001.htm.
608 YERO
Yero
Mythical FRESHWATER MONSTER of Australia.
Etymology: Australian word.
Physical description: Eel-like. A large head
with red hair.
Behavior: Rapids emanate from its mouth.
Distribution: Lakes on the Atherton Tableland,
Queensland.
Source: Gilbert Whitley, “Mystery Animals
of Australia,” Australian Museum Magazine 7
(1940): 132–139.
Yeti
Unknown PRIMATE of Central Asia.
Etymology: Sherpa or Newari (Sino-Tibetan)
word. Said to be pronounced “yeh-tay.” Meaning
and origin not established, though one derivation
is “rock animal”: yeh (“snowy mountain”
or “rocky area”) + teh (“animal”). Another is
that teh is the same as dred (“bear”). (Interestingly,
in modern Tibetan, dred pa means “contempt”
or “disgust,” as in ABOMINABLE SNOW-
MAN.) Te can be a particle attached to a verb and
means “when,” “after,” “thus,” “although,” or
forms a gerund (“-ing”); ye has the meaning of
“primordial” or “first.” Yi dwags are Tibetan
“hungry ghosts” (one of the six classes of sentient
beings).
Variant names: ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN,
BAN-JHANKRI, Chelovek medvied, Chelovek
mishka (Russian, “bear man”), CHU-MUNG,
DRE-MO, DZU-TEH, JUNGLI-ADMI, KHYA,
METOH-KANGMI, MI-CHEN-PO, MI-GÖ, MI-
TEH, Osodrashin, PI, RAKSHI-BOMPO, Samdja
(Tibetan, “man-animal”?), Snezhniy chelovek
(Russian, “snowman”), SOGPA, Yah-teh, Yehteh.
The Sherpas in the Himalayas often speak of
two or three types of Yeti, though the classifications
get blurred. Charles Stonor heard of two,
the DZU-TEH (probably a bear) and the MI-
TEH (the true Yeti). Tom Slick was told of the
SOGPA (the true Yeti), the DZU-TEH (more like
a large, yak-killing bear), and the MI-TEH (a
smaller Yeti). Panday credits a Sherpa of the
Khumbu Valley with distinguishing the MI-
TEH (true Yeti), DZU-TEH (large bear), and
TEH-LMA (a small Yeti or gibbon).