Hairs believed to belong to a yeti in India are actually from a species of Himalayan goat, US scientists have found.

DNA tests on the hairs, which came from the Indian state of Meghalaya, show they are from the Himalayan Goral, a rough-haired creature with a grey-brown coat.

The legendary yeti is said to be an ape-like creature called mande barung, or forest man. It was allegedly sighted by a forester in 2003.

Ape expert Ian Redmond carried out a preliminary series of tests on the hairs earlier this year, which proved inconclusive.

He said: "We always knew that the link between the sightings of the Indian yeti and the finding of the hairs was purely circumstantial.

"Nevertheless, the DNA test is an interesting result because the reported location where this sample was collected is way south of the known range of the Goral species, which is said to live between 1,000 to 4,000 metres up in the Himalayas."

He added: "Perhaps we have a more modest discovery - extending the known range of the goral rather than confirming the existence of the lowland yeti."

© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.