Is There a Wild Man of Central Asia?: A Summary

According to this article, there is reported to be a creature that resides in  an area of central Asia that was once known as the Soviet Union.  Tales abound relating incidences of the sightings of an ape-like creature living in the mountains of that region.  The people of this region have named it Alma.

(There have been stories coming out of world war II which report the Soviet Army finding such a creature).

The people in this region believe that it is of human origin. 

(It seems like this debate, those  who believe it is human, while others believe it is an animal, is not confined just to the Bigfoot Community).

Dr. Boris Porchnev, a widely known scientist from the Moscow Academy of Sciences, has spent years gathering the endless stories about the Alma. He  has developed a theory, based on what he has gathered,  as to how it looks.  He is quoted to have said in his description, "There is no under layer of hair so that the skin can sometimes be seen,"  The report goes on to say, "The head rises to a cone-shaped peak." 

(As he continues to describe the creature, it is clear that the Alma has similar characteristics as that of the American Bigfoot.)

  The reports clearly suggests that, "the teeth are like a man's but larger, with the canines more widely separated."

(In a recent report I received, the witness reported the creature bearing its teeth and that it had what he called "canines").

In the report, Porchnev suggests that the Alma is fleet of foot.  He likens the speed to that of other animals, like the horse.  He suggests that it can swim and that strong currents do not effect its abilities to ford rivers.

In the report, Porchnev's theory concludes that mated pairs "remain together, living in holes in the ground."

(Recent sighting reports in the U.S. indicate that more multiple sightings and prints found in remote areas may be  evidence of  family units, which would bolster Porchnev's findings.)

In the report, the author sites Porchnev's conclusions on possible food sources as right in line with  those put forth by Fred Bradshaw and Cliff Crook, U.S. researchers. (see article "Bigfoot Fans keep tabs...")  All three men suggest that their main food sources are rodents and plants.  Porchnev is also said to have held the theory that the Alma is nocturnal which explains why, not just the alma, but also the Bigfoot may be frequently seen at night.

Porchnev also reports, according to the article,  the "distasteful smell", a commonality among witnesses in the U.S. sightings.  

According to this article, N.M. Pzewalski  first started collecting stories in the late 1800's.  In 1881, he was a vagabond who frequented the region in his travels and was given credit for discovering the Mongolian Wild Horse. 

Reports of the Alma rebounded during World War II.  These reports were made, according to the article, by not just soldiers, but also by prisoners of war and refugees.

The report that is was from these tales that Slavomir Rawicz, who wrote his book, "the Long Walk, which was a tale of his escape  from a labor camp in Siberia.  In his story, he relates an incident where he was "delayed by a pair of Alma," the report suggests that Chinese soldiers often fed the Alma and watched as it ate.

The report tells of M. Stonin, who was a geologist.  It tells of a time when he was prospecting near the town of Sien Shan.  It was in 1948.  He was woken from a sound sleep by yells and shouting.  His guides were frantic and shouted to him that their horses were being stolen.  He grabbed his gun and dashed outside.  Immediately he was confronted by the massive creature that was standing very near the horses.  The report, in relating the incident suggests that the animal had longish red hair and was covered over most its body. 

Then the report tells of Stonin shouting at the creature.  At that moment, the creature turned and ran as Stonin chased it, gun in hand.  Stonin, in relating his experience said that the creature was "so man-like".  It was so much like a human Stonin said he "couldn't bring himself to shoot at it.  "

Then, according to the report, in 1957, a man named Alexander G. Pronin, who was a well known hydrologist, was on an assignment that demanded that he research water resources.  While on the expedition, Pronin also reported seeing "a being of unusual aspect."

According to Pronin, it was quite a distance from him and stood in the snow.  Its stance was with its feet wide apart.  He noted that the arms hung longer than a man's.  He was fortunate enough to be able to view it for about five minutes, long by most standards.  Eventually the creature gained the cover of the rocks and was no longer visible. 

The creature was seen again for a brief moment about three days after the first sighting.  However, this strange creature made himself known again to the expedition in an unusual experience, only a week after the second sighting.  It seems, according to the report, that one of the inflatable rubber boats, the group was using,  mysteriously disappeared.  There was no explanation found for its untimely disappearance.  It was later found upstream.  During Pronin's investigation of this strange occurrence, he soon discovered that the locals were well acquainted with the creature's propensity for stealing and blamed it for many of the things that disappeared in the area.  This was the first time he suspected that the Alma could be  responsible.

The Alma has conjured up many tales during the war days in that region.  There have been many reports of them having been shot and killed.  However, no bodies have ever been recovered as proof.  During the war, in 1937, there is a report of a skirmish between Russian and Japanese.    A Russian reconnaissance unit somewhere in Mongolia noted two distinct silhouettes, the report relates, walking down a hill towards the unit.  They were challenged by the guards which had been posted.  When they did not respond to the warning, they were taken as the enemy and summarily shot. 

The next morning, the report suggests, when the bodies were examined, there was much surprise at their findings.  The report relates that they were of a "strange anthropoid ape"  and that they were judged to be around the same size as a man would be.  It is reported that they were covered with red hair.  Because of the war and the incessant fighting, the bodies were never sent to Moscow for proper investigation. 

Before the break up of the Soviet Union, they put together several government sanctioned expeditions to search for the elusive creature.  They have reportedly discovered a few unusual artifacts, according to the report, but no bodies have ever been found that could be studied.  Like many of the factions in the U.S. who battle over the existence of Bigfoot, the Soviet scientists are also "split over the value of searching for it," the report says.

Dr. Proshnev endured  the same kind of ridicule that is often dished out here in the United States when a scientist or researcher takes interest in the subject.  This renown Russian scientist's theory is that it is "the last surviving group of Neanderthal men,"  according to the report.   However, he is not alone in his theory.

Dr. Myra Shackley, of Leicester University in England, according to the report, certainly supports his theory.  Shackely traveled to Mongolia in 1979 to see for herself.  She suggests that the entire region is filled with artifacts that could be labeled Neanderthal.  She even suggests that if they were to survive, the area where the Alma is reported to reside, is a likely area for survival and would support such a survival. 

There has been no real interest in perusing the Alma research since the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the report gives us the impression that the interest will not be soon in coming.

The following is a summary of an article published at: http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/alma.htm

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