Are These The Hands of a Chinese 'Ape-Man'?

The above image was reportedly taken at a school in China. They are the supposed hands of an 'Ape Man' that had been preserved by a Biology teacher at the school in 1957, when a group of women killed the creature after it had attacked a small girl. The palms of the hands measured 14 cms in length, according to the 1981 Australian newspaper article.

A TEAM of Chinese scientists has turned up the most convinc ing evidence yet of the existence of an "ape-mari" in the wilds of central and eastern China.

At a school in Zhejiang province they found the hands and feet of an animal, apparently some kind of ape, which had been preserved by a biology teacher since May, 1957, when, according.to local villagers, a group of women killed the animal after it attacked a small girl.

. Thie team — all local scientists — was the second to.join-the hunt for the ape-man late last year. A group of members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has already been searching for several months around the Three. Gorges area on the Yangtze river, in Hubei province. The second group- was carrying out a survey of plant resources in Zhejiang but, after they heard re ports of sightings of ape-men, the leaders extended the expedition to look for the mysterious creature. Encounters between peasants and ape-men, said to resemble the Big. Foot or Sasquatch of North Ameri ca, have been reported in this part of China for centuries, and with increasing frequency over the past 20 or 30 years.

The Zhejiang team has found many other apparent signs of the creature's presence, including nests of branches, footprints and samples of hair.

But the discovery of the hands and feet has caused the most excitement. • The story of the killing of the ape man, which was reported in the local press at the time, has only just ' * become known nationally.

According to local reports, it took place on a. day when all the men of Zhuantang village, in Suichang county, south Zhejiang province, were labouring in the hills.

Some time in the afternoon Xu Fudi, then in her mid-30s, heard a scream from her young daughter, who was tending.cattle. She rushed ' to the spot and found her daughter grappling with a young ape-like anjmal, about 1.5 metres tall.

Xu Fudi picked up a piece of wood and struck the animal, which jumped into a paddy field. In the soft mud it was unable to move quickly and Xu Fudi got in a few more blows before it turned to attack her.

About a dozen more women joined in ^the fight, eventually beat- . ing the animal senseless. Xu Fudi recalls that the animal recovered and began to grunt. There were tears in Us eyes, she says. The frightened women turned on it again and chopped off its head. The incident was reported in the local paper, Sonyang Daily, on May 26, 1957, under the headline "Man like freak killed"..

The report described the animal, soon dismembered by curious vil lagers, as being covered with long, dark-brown hair and weighing about , 40 kilos. It was male and seemed to be young, with white teeth, a human like tongue, ears and eyebrows, a sunken nose and a prominent chest. The navel, thighs, knees, calves and genitals were all similar to a man's and the skin was soft and white when the hair was removed. Undigested bamboo was found in the stomach.

Xu Fudi, now 57 years old, said, "The day after we killed tfye animal we heard a noise in the hills like the grunting it made during the fight. We think it was the mother calling for its offspring".

She told the Zhejiang scientists that a young teacher came to the village and took away the hands and feet.

The teacher, as the scientists soon found out, is Zhou Shousong, now 52, who teaches at Bihu middle school in Lishui county. In October they called at the school and Zhou showed them the hands and feet. There had been some shrinkage of the muscles, but otherwise the re mains were in good condition.Fix this text The feet are 19 cms long with clear print lines on the soles, and covered with soft, yellowish-brown hair. The palms of the hands are 14 cms long.

To read the entire 1981 article, click here.