Indian Army claims to have found footprints

Mountaineers from the Indian army have been mocked on social media after claiming to have found mysterious footprints in the snow that they say belong to the yeti.

Mountaineers from the Indian army on an expedition in Nepal claim to have found mysterious footprints in the snow that they claim belong to the yeti.

In a tweet, the Indian army said it had seen footprints measuring 81 by 38 centimetres close to a camp near Mount Makalu on April 9.

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 yeti, or abominable snowman, is part of Nepali folklore and is said to live high in the snow-capped Himalayas.

Pictures of a “Yeti footprint” the Indian Army posted on social media have triggered a barrage of mockery.

“For the first time, an #IndianArmy Mountaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast ‘Yeti’,” the army said in the tweet.

In this handout photo taken by the Indian Army on April 9, the large footprints in the snow are measured. Picture: AFP

The claims have been met with jokes and disbelief on social media.

But the army said the “evidence” about the yeti had been “photographed “ and “handed over to subject matter experts”.

“So, we thought it prudent [to go public] to excite scientific temper and rekindle the interest.”

In 2013, a British scientist concluded that the legendary Himalayan yeti may in fact be a sub-species of brown bear, the BBC reports.