Sir David Attenborough 'On the Hunt for the Yeti '

Sir David Attenborough has said he would like to find the Abominable Snowman during his lifetime.

The renowned naturalist and broadcaster was speaking at the launch of UKTV's Natural Curiosities on Watch when he made the comments about his ambition.

He said there are "one or two" mythical creatures he would like to discover: "I wouldn't mind finding the Abominable Snowman for a start.

"There is still a mystery about the Abominable Snowman, there are teeth that were found back in the 1920s, huge molar teeth about six times the size of ours, immense things, they were found in a Chinese druggist's store and undoubtedly are the teeth of a giant ape that must have lived relatively recently itself and that could have been the Abominable Snowman."

Last year, the 88-year-old said he believed the Abominable Snowman might be real, with previous fossil discoveries pointing at a great ape that stood over 10ft tall.

"It is not impossible that it might exist. If you have walked the Himalayas there are these immense forests that go on for hundreds of square miles which could hold the Yeti," he said.

"If there are some still alive and you walked near their habitat you can bet that these creatures may be aware of you, but you wouldn't be aware of them."

While Attenborough admitted that Yeti may no longer exist, he said there is always a chance: "I don't say I necessarily believe in it, I'm saying that there is evidence and of course one of the very difficult things ever to do is prove a negative, to prove that it doesn't exist."

Earlier this year, scientists Bryan Sykes analysed the DNA of "Yeti hair" samples to find out if the creature exists.

Published in the journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B, he found one sample matched with the DNA of a polar bear dating back to 40,000 years ago, leading him to suggest that the Abominable Snowman could be a hybrid species of polar bear and brown bear that might still exist today.

"If these bears are widely distributed in the Himalayas, they may well contribute to the biological foundation of the Yeti legend," he said.