"We were told that it had a flat face like that of a human being, and that it often walked on two legs, that its body was covered with a thick black fur, and its feet armed with enormous claws; that its strength was terrible, and that not only were hunters afraid of attacking it, but that the inhabitants removed their habitations from those parts of the country which it visited".

- Nikolay Przhevalsky, 1876

"Almases, according to the stories of witnesses, appear half animal, half human, with reddish black hair. The face is hairless, the stomach covered with sparse growth. The head seems pointed at the occiput, the forehead flattened back with projecting brow ridges, and prominent cheekbones. They are the height of an average person. The almas walks with half-bent knees, is round-shouldered and pigeon-toed. It has broad shoulders and long arms. The women have long breasts. Almases are timid, suspicious, but not aggressive, and lead a nocturnal way of life. No-one has heard their speech."

- Damdinzhavyn Maidar, 1981

"According to Dr. Rinchen you can still find old people of the Gobi who have seen the footprints of the almas, but all agree that today you see the almas less and less. Almas have a somewhat stooped figure, the legs are slightly bent at the knees, and the hands are longer than in humans. The hair is long, and the body is covered with sparse dark hair. The females have long breasts. Almas do not know the use of fire, guns and weapons. "It is impossible to deny the existence of our distant cousins so far behind us in their development, and that they are living their last days like wild horses and wild camels in the vast Gobi." In the northern part of the MPR the name almas is almost unknown, or is used for an unreal, mythical creature or evil spirit, perhaps something like a witch. In the east, south and far west of the Republic, the name almas is commonly used, sometimes hong-geresu or zagyin emgen, but this is especially for the females."

- Boris Porshnev, the Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1963

The Alma, Almas, or Almasty is a humanoid cryptid in North Caucasian and Turkic folklore. They are said to roam (or to have once roamed) the Altai, Caucasus, Tian Shan, and Pamir Mountains.

Sources

Przhevalskii, Nikolai (1876). Mongolia, the Tangut Country and the Solitudes of Northern Tibet. Vol. 2. Translated by Morgan, E. D. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington. p. 249.

Damdinzhavyn Maidar (1981). Pamiatniki istorii i kul'tury Mongolii Памятники истории и культуры Монголии [Historical and cultural monuments of Mongolia] (in Mongolian). Moskva: Mysli. p. 21. translated by Heaney.

Porshnev, Boris (1963). Clark, Chris (ed.). The Soviet Sasquatch. Translated by Thomas, Lars. CFZ Press.

Wenzel, Nathan (22 September 2009). The Legend of the Almas: A Comparative and Critical Analysis (PDF). SIT Mongolia (SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad) (Essay). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. Brattleboro, Vermont, United States: School for International Training – via SIT Digital Collections.