Tintin Forums

Hi
We probably all have read Tintin in Tibet, so you'll know why I have put this up.
Anyway, I think that Hergé probably did believe in the Yeti, otherwise, why would he have put it in his story?
I, as an amateur cryptozoologist (cryptozoology is the study of animals not yet proven to exist by science) do believe in it, despite the fact that not many cryptozoologists do. What does everyone else believe?

I'll list some points for both sides:
Case Against
- How could a large ape exist unknown in the modern world?
- Wouldn't it starve in the Himalayas?
- No credible physical remains (a body, dung, etc.) has ever been discovered (some monasterie apparently have 'Yeti relics' but many have been proved to be something else)
- It's simply a 'boogey man' story, a part of Tibet's cultural heritage.
- Many footprints are fakes.
- It's misidentification of known animals, such as large bears.

Case For
- The giant ape Gicantapithocus lived in the area thousands of years ago, and the Yeti is a modern survivor.
- Sightings are incredibly common in some areas.
- While the Yeti is famous for living in Tibet, sightings are far more common in Bhutan, Tibet's neighbour, where there are many forests which could easily support large apes. It's thought by some that Yetis rarely venture into the cold Tibet.
- Hairs found and tested have come up with an uknown species; interestingly, they're unlike any ape or bear.
- The snow leapord is only seen around once a year, and lives in the Himalayas; we know that to exist, so it is very easy to hide in the Himalayas.

Otherwise unknown humanoid creatures are a common legend around the world, not just in Tibet - Bigfoot in the USA, for example. In the Himalayas, it being such remote and often deserted area, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibilty for a creature to exist undiscovered.

I don't say I believe in it to be honest, but there are always reports of large animals going undetected except for a few eye-witness accounts. There are supposed to be pumas in southern England, for example.

Rik

Yes there are many ape men stories:

- Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch)in North america
- Wendigo in N.America
- Alma in Russia
- Hibagon in Japan
- Yeren in China
- Scottish snowman in Scotland
- De loys ape in Colombia

These are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are many more.

I believe there are many creatures undiscovered by science out there, and the Yeti could be one of the many.
I don't believe in evolution though, so I don't think it's an early human.

I don't believe in evolution though, so I don't think it's an early human.

Oh, it wouldn't be, but, if they are Gicantopithacus, they'd be an otherwise extinct species of giant ape; not our ancestor, but more similar to us than say, gorillas or orangutans.

I have to doubt the existence of the Yeti and other "cryptozoological" creatures. One of the reasons is that there are no known animals than can live for thousands of years. Another is that given that animals can't live for that long, it means that what we're seeing today is an offspring of another creature. Unfortunately, reports seem to indicate that everything is claiming to have sighted the same thing. With those two things in mind, it's hard to believe in such things!

I don't really think it exists.

Could the Yeti in Tintin in Tibet be female?

I was wondering this question because it may help explain why the Yeti bonded with Chang - a mother/ cub bond, maybe?

There's a line that Chang says at the end of the book that caught my attention: as Tintin & Cº are leaving Tibet, Chang says, "You know, I hope they never succeed in finding him [The yeti]. They'd treat him like some wild animal. I tell you, Tintin, from the way he took care of me, I couldn't help wondering if, deep down, he hadn't had a human soul."

Is this line a testimony to Hergé's view on the Yeti?

Or is it just a good outro line that will get the reader to think?

A bit of both I imagine. He may have been a bit fierce when he encountered Tintin but he had a soul and was very fond of Tchang, as shown by his howls of anguish when Tchang leaves with Tintin and Haddock from the cave and later from the monastery.

There was a film "The Abominable Snowman" which was release in 1957, about a year before "Tibet". In this film, Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker encounter much of the same conflict: Cushing sees the yetis as highly intelligent, maybe even advanced in some ways, while Tucker sees them as beasts and his ticket to fame and fortune.