"Don't Call Yeti A Beast": Social Media Reacts After Army's "Yeti" Tweet

The Indian Army's Twitter post on Monday about the discovery of "mysterious footprints of the mythical beast Yeti" by an expedition team last month has stirred interesting reactions on social media.

While some users said they were proud of the Army, others refused to believe that an "abominable snowman" existed. 

BJP leader Tarun Vijay in a post said he was proud of the discovery but he appealed to "show some respect to Yeti". "Don't call Yeti as beast," he urged in his Twitter post.

Mr Vijay, who was also the editor of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the RSS weekly in Hindi, tweeted: "Congratulations, we are always proud of you. salutes to the #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team. But please, you are Indian, dont call Yeti as beast. Show respect for them. If you say he is a 'snowman'." The RSS is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP. 

Congratulations, we are always proud of you. salutes to the #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team. But please, you are Indian, dont call Yeti as beast. Show respect for them. If you say he is a 'snowman'.

— Chowkidar Tarun Vijay (@Tarunvijay) April 29, 2019

The army said it discovered the footprints on April 9 at Makalu Base Camp in Nepal. "For the first time, an #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32x15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019. This elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past," the tweet read.

For the first time, an #IndianArmy Moutaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32x15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019. This elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past. pic.twitter.com/AMD4MYIgV7

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) April 29, 2019

The prints, which can be seen in the pictures tweeted by the Army, appear to be a single foot. Some users came up with their theories about the single foot, others made fun of it.

Is this a joke? Yeti?
What next will the Indian Army's twitter handle tweet about? Finding recipe of magic potion of Getafix? https://t.co/4yAz96LXqW

— Man Aman Singh Chhina (@manaman_chhina) April 30, 2019

"With all due respect to everyone, what we call Yeti is with all probability either the Himalayan Brown Bear or Tibetean Blue Bear. Both are endangered, can grow over 7 feet and are bipedal. The single foot print forms when the bear walks on 4 feet," a social media user tweeted. 

With all due respect, institutions such as yours should be more responsible and careful before going ahead and declaring the sighting of any footprints as 'Yeti's'! There's been lots of research done on Bigfoot/Yeti (including sighting/footprints) with none proving its existence.

— Kushal Prajapati, PhD (@KushalPrajapati) April 30, 2019

The post has left a lot of social media users amused.

The earth still remains undiscovered...
Footprints of mysterious snowman 'Yeti' spotted by @adgpi in the Himalayas. @Sentinel_Assam @nature @BrutIndia pic.twitter.com/jrhJRbZ24z

— Chowkidar Sashank (@SashankGuw) April 30, 2019

Little known fact for all you doubters who say it was one-legged: yetis prefer to catwalk. #Yeti pic.twitter.com/TJ8kWGfR00

— Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) April 29, 2019

What on earth just happened. Can somebody explain this to me. pic.twitter.com/49EfL3RYzw

— Siddharth Singh (@siddharth3) April 29, 2019

Some of the users were reminded of "Tintin in Tibet", the twentieth volume of the comic series "The Adventures of Tintin". 

This is quite exciting. Reminds me of #tintin Tintin in Tibet. https://t.co/k5d1IJZDUl

— kunal kohli (@kunalkohli) April 30, 2019

Yeti or the "abominable snowman" is an ape-like creature in Nepal folklore believed to be taller than average human. It is said to inhabit the Himalayas, Siberia, Central and East Asia. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region.