Scientists say Yeti is a bear

Scientists have finally bust the myth of the abominable snowman - a tall ferocious half-human rumoured for centuries to inhabit inaccessible reaches of the Himalayas.

According to the report in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, the elusive creature, also known as Yeti, is in fact a bear.

Or rather three different bears, more accurately: the Asian black, the Tibetan brown and Himalayan brown.

They say each of these sub-species can be found in the habitat, and all of them have probably been mistaken at one time or another for the ''Wild Man of the Snows.''

''Our findings strongly suggest that the biological underpinnings of the Yeti legend can be found in local bears,'' said lead scientist Charlotte Lindqvist, associate professor at the University of Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.

The study, which, is surely not the first to suggest what it does, but is the first to marshal a wealth of genetic evidence gleaned from bone, tooth, skin, hair and fecal samples earlier attributed to the cryptic creatures.

They found that the artefacts from private collections and museums around the world, including a monastic relic said to come from a Yeti paw, actually had come from the 23 distinct bears.

In addition to solving monster mysteries, the in-depth genetic analysis allowed the scientists to gain a better understanding about bear populations in the Himalayan region.

According to Dr Lindqvist, understanding the genetic diversity of bears in the region could be beneficial when working on management strategies for these mammals, many of which are critically endangered.

''Further genetic research on these rare and elusive animals may help illuminate the environmental history of the region, as well as bear evolutionary history worldwide - and additional 'yeti' samples could contribute to this work,'' The Independent quoted her as saying.

(Read more: Abominable Snowman discovered...its a bear, say DNA bone tests)