Almas (cryptozoology)

Almas (cryptozoology)

Mongolian: алмаз / Latin Words: Almaz (Almas) - Translate - English: Diamonds

The Almas or Alma (Mongolian: Алмас/Almas, Bulgarian: Алмас, Chechen: Алмазы, Turkish: Albıs), Mongolian for "wild man", is a purported hominid cryptozoological species reputed to inhabit the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia, and the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia. The creature is not currently recognized or cataloged by science. Furthermore, scientists generally reject the possibility that such megafauna cryptids exist, because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population, and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely.


Description

Almas is a singular word in Mongolian; the properly formed Turkic plural would be 'almaslar'. As is typical of similar legendary creatures throughout Central Asia, Russia, Pakistan and the Caucasus, the Almas is generally considered to be more akin to "wild people" in appearance and habits than to apes (in contrast to the Yeti of the Himalayas).

Almases are typically described as human-like bipedal animals, between five and six and a half feet tall, their bodies covered with reddish-brown hair, with anthropomorphic facial features including a pronounced browridge, flat nose, and a weak chin. Many cryptozoologists believe there is a similarity between these descriptions and modern reconstructions of how Neanderthals might have appeared.


Explanations

Myra Shackley and Bernard Heuvelmans have speculated that the Almases are a relict population of Neanderthals, while Loren Coleman suggests surviving specimens of Homo erectus. They have been connected to the Denisova hominin. Descriptions of Almases are similar to that of the Yeti of the Himalayas.