Are We Missing The Yeti For The Tracks?

From The Anomalist:

"A team of Japanese mountainclimbers, on an expedition to Nepal in search of the legendary Abominable Snowman, also known as the Yeti, are claiming that though they haven't been able to secure film of the creature, the footprints in the snow they have measured and photographed are 'proof enough'. Do footprint photos and measurements bring enough authenticity to this claim to satisfy you?"

Good question.

If they were asking me specifically, I would have to say no. But that's where investigations into these hirsute hominids often end. Tracks have become, for many, proxies for specimens. Instead of being the trail of breadcrumbs that lead researchers through the woods (literally) to this ever-elusive quarry, tracks have become the stopping point for many who must - deep down - think there is little chance of ever finding a specimen.

It's a second-place prize that the field has grown too comfortable accepting - to the point that the big win is, as the excerpt suggests, video footage. But history has shown us with brutal clarity how little scientific value is to be had in blurry images shot from afar.

So, while I think these tracks are of great value to researchers, they are not the stopping point, and are by no means "proof enough". Tracks simply serve as rewarding reminders that they are on the right path, so to speak. So, after all the hoaxing of late, maybe next time they can hold off on the press conference. After all, who doesn't have a track, right?