The Yeren is considered to be the cousin of the North American Saquatch, aka Bigfoot. Some Chinese scientists are steadily collecting evidence of its existence and there's a reason to believe that an ape-like species, which was thought to be long extinct, may still exist in certain mountain ranges in Asia. Human ancestors were believed to have hunted the giant ape species Gigantopithecus Blacki into extinction 500,000 years ago. Present day villagers in the rugged, rain-soaked mountains of the Hubei Province report occasional encounters with large animals fitting the description of this species. Gigantopithecus, an ancient cousin of the orangutan, is known to science by the fossilized teeth which have been found in this same part of China (and elsewhere Asia).
The article that I believe started off the Great Search for the Yeren was published in the Los Angeles Times on April 19th, 2000. Many Bigfoot researchers, such as myself, have read this article, but I have included an excerpt from it below as it gives great insight into the Yeren.
(LATimes April 19, 2000)
"Beijing - Yuan Zhenxin keeps up his research for Yeren. Yuan is convinced that between 1,000 and 2,000 of the apelike creatures roam the forests of Central China, particularly the Shennongjia Nature Reserve in Hubei Province.
Yuan dabbles in stories of abduction, including those of two farmers who say they were kidnapped by Bigfoot but escaped to tell the tale. Another person claimed to have spent two hours in conversation with the creature, who reportedly gesticulated and mimicked bird sounds.
"They're very clever," said Yuan, a retired paleoanthropologist and member of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Yuan describes Bigfoot as more than 6 1/2 feet tall, with reddish brown hair, long limbs and a rather nasty case of body odor.
In 1976-77, the government sponsored a Bigfoot expedition to Shennongjia consisting of 100 people, including army personnel.
That trip and others yielded numerous samples of what Yuan maintains are the hair, footprints and feces of an undiscovered species, possibly descended from a giant ape whose fossilized teeth can still be found in the
region."They're a cousin of humans," he said of Bigfoot, known in Chinese as "wild man."
But money for such study has dwindled, because fewer and fewer of Yuan's fellow scientists are willing to approve funding without more conclusive proof.
Yuan and his supporters have been forced to dig into their own pockets to keep three informal research centers operating. One of Yuan's colleagues even divorced his wife, sold his home and moved permanently to Shennongjia to carry on the work."
The unidentified strand of hair I mentioned earlier was collected near the Shennongjia Nature Reserve and has not been identified to belong to any known animal. The hair is said to be thicker than a human hair, but thinner than horse hair, if that makes any sense to you. What does make sense, is this hair has renewed the vigor of the Yeren researchers. I will be watching to see if this hair is ever identified and to see to what extent the Yeren searches will go now to prove it exists.
Check out this video of the Yeren:
If you have had any encounters with the Yeren, Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape, or any other ape-like creature, please share your story with us.
