| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Achy Breaky Clayton" |
| Date: |
28 Jul 2005 05:36:24 PM |
| Object: |
OT: DNA Shoots Down BIGFOOT "Find" |
http://au.news.yahoo.com/050728/15/va2s.html
Friday July 29, 06:42 AM
DNA tests squelch Canadian sasquatch discovery
EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Big Foot will remain just a tall tale, for a
while at least, after DNA hair samples thought to be from the mythic
creature turned out to be bison hair.
Researchers said on Thursday that a mysterious clump of hair found in the
Yukon Territory is from a North American bison and not from he elusive
ape-like sasquatch, or Big Foot, said to haunt the woods of western Canada.
"The DNA profile of the hair sample we received from the Yukon earlier this
week clearly matches reference DNA profiles from North American bison," said
David Coltman, a wildlife geneticist at the University of Alberta in
Edmonton.
"However, if you're a believer, we haven't disproved there is a Big Foot out
there," Coltman said.
Hair and large footprints were discovered by two witnesses who claimed to
have spotted a large and furry ape-like figure dash through the bush this
month near Teslin, a village about 100 miles east of the Yukon capital of
Whitehorse.
Coltman often works with Yukon wildlife officials and agreed to test the
samples using a chemical solution to separate the DNA material from the hair
shaft so that the gene sequences could be compared with the known sequences
of other animals.
"DNA is quite powerful at detecting new species. It's the genetic blueprint
for a potential organism."
The legend of an ape-like, or human-like, creature lurking in the mountains
of western Canada and the United States goes back to a time before Europeans
settled in the continent.
The word "sasquatch" was derived in the 1920s from tales of the Chehalis
Indians in British Columbia.
Coltman's decision to test the hair drew media interest from around the
world, although he had suspected from the beginning that the tufts came from
a bison.
"People want to hold on to these myths that something unknown is possibly
living in their backyard," Coltman said.
"I think it's highly unlikely that the sasquatch exists, however, it's not
really scientific to disbelieve anything either. You must always maintain an
objective mind," he said.
Coltman has since turned down a request from a Wisconsin woman to analyze
fur from a wolf/man hybrid creature spotted frequently in the badger state.
The alleged Yukon sighting is not the first Big Foot report in Canada this
year.
A resident of Norway House, Manitoba, (525 miles north of Winnipeg) shot
videotape in April of what appeared to be a large, hairy, two-legged
creature walking along the shore of Lake Winnipeg.
--
Clayton The Lord Of The Eternally Changing Name
AA# 1861
EAC Executive Officer In Charge Of Squandering And Wasting Valuable
Resources
"Religion is like horse laxative....if you swallow it, you'll be left
feeling empty and have a huge pile of ***** to deal with!" - Clayton
.
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