Giant footprints in the snow. A glimpse of a hair behind a tree. The shadow of a tall, human-shaped being lurking behind a rock. Have you ever seen something mysterious like this? What could it be?

Maybe it’s a cryptid. According to Webster’s dictionary, a cryptid is, “an animal that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist.” There are many cryptids that appear in stories from all over the world. One of the most common is the legend of a huge, hairy, human-like beast.

Depending where the story comes from, this type of cryptid might be called a Yeti, a Sasquatch, a Bigfoot, or the Abominable Snowman. What are the differences between these creatures, and where do they originate? Let’s take a look.

In the Pacific Northwest, the ape-human hybrid is called a Sasquatch. This word is derived from the indigenous Coast Salish word Sesquac, which means wild man. There have been many Sasquatch sightings on the west coast, including one captured on video by two men on horseback in 1967. Experts have debated about this video for years. Is it proof of the existence of the Sasquatch, or is it a hoax?

Bigfoot is a nickname for the Sasquatch. It was first used in 1958 when a man from California found giant footprints in the mud around his bulldozer. The nickname is used by many cryptid hunters, including a respected group of experts called the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.

The Yeti is a cryptid similar to the Sasquatch, but with entirely different origins. The legend of the Yeti started in the Himalayan Mountains. The Yeti is a cold weather creature. It is described as looking more like a bear than an ape. Early indigenous people in the Himalayas worshiped the Yeti, calling it the Glacier Being.

Another name for the Yeti is the Abominable Snowman. This nickname was created in 1921 by Henry Newman who interviewed climbers at Mount Everest. The climbers had seen large footprints that they believed were made by a cryptid.

With all these names and stories about ape-bear-human creatures, do you think they exist? What would you do if you saw one? Keep your eyes open and maybe you’ll find out!