Types of Yetis

Three main types of yeti are identified by Himalayan people and by cryptozoologists. That there is more than one type of yeti is not a fact widely known outside of cryptozoology. As Loren Coleman observes, this both explains and makes problematic the wide range of theories regarding "the yeti"'s identity' as "different theories may be valid with different yetis".

Meh-teh (Xueren) Classic Yeti

The "true" yeti, the creature with a conical head said to be responsible for leaving footprints in the snow, is called meh-teh or mi-teh in Sino-Tibetan and xueren (雪人; "snowman") in Chinese. This yeti is described as a stocky, ape-like creature with a distinctly human quality, about the height of a young boy, with short coarse reddish-brown hair, a pointy-crowned conical head, a wide mouth with large teeth, very long arms, and no tail. Peaceful creatures, they are said to live in dense Himalayan rhododendron forests at elevations of 15,000' to 18,000', leaving their famous tracks when they cross the mountains from valley to valley. Bernard Heuvelmans thought the Tibetan rakshi-bompo was the same animal.

Teh-Ima, the Little Yeti, and Mainland Orangutans

The smaller type, sometimes called the "little yeti," is the teh-lma, and is usually said to be just 3' to 4' 6'' in height, with reddish-grey hair and a pointed, sloping head. They are said to inhabit warmer habitats than the other yetis, forested mountain valleys below the snow line in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, and Sikkim, where they feed on small animals.

In 1832, James Prinsep’s Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal published an account by B. H. Hodgson, a trekker in Northern Nepal, in which he describes spotting a large bipedal creature covered in long dark hair. Hodgson believed it was a mainland species of orangutan.

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"Religion has introduced the Bandar [a native monkey] into the central region, where it seems to flourish, half domesticated, in the neighbourhood of temples, in the populous valley of Nepal proper. My shooters were once alarmed in the Kachár by the apparition of a 'wild man,' possibly an ourang, but I doubt their accuracy. They mistook the creature for a càcodemon or rakshas [demons], and fled from it instead of shooting it. It moved, they said, erectly: was covered with long dark hair, and had no tail."

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Dzu-Teh and Nyalmo (Giants)

The "big yeti" is called dzu-teh, and is said to be primarily quadrupedal, though it can walk bipedally. Known for its attacks on yaks, which it kills by grabbing the horns and twisting the head, this yeti is reported from 13,000' to 15,000' and is often considered some type of large bear by cryptozoologists, though many other researchers see it as an ape. The names of the big yeti, and its relationship with the other yetis, are confused. A very similar cryptid, also described as both ape- and bear-like, the dre-mo or chomo, is frequently equated with the dzu-teh, but many authors consider it a separate cryptid. Similarly, the rimi, which is unambiguously ape-like, is sometimes equated with the dzu-teh and sometimes considered a separate cryptid.

Larger still is the nyalmo, a true giant said to be 13' to 20' high, also with an enormous conical head. They feed on yaks, mountain sheep, and possibly people, and "wander the eternal snows" of altitudes above 13,000'. Heuvelmans suggested that the nyalmo may be a myth inspired by the idea that yetis get larger the higher you climb.