The results are in. Or are they?

In a much-anticipated announcement this morning, Dr. David Coltman, of the University of Alberta, announced the tuft of hair some believed had been shed from the body of a sasquatch, is, in fact, from a bison.

After rigorous DNA testing, he found a 100-per-cent match between gene sequences from the tuft and those found in North American bison.

'This hair sample could not have come from the hairy bipedal animal that was reportedly sighted in Teslin last week,' Coltman told assembled journalists in Whitehorse and Alberta.

The tests involved extracting and comparing strands of DNA from the hair sample, with sequences of known animals.

As there is no existing sample of sasquatch DNA, no one knows what the gene sequence would look like.

However, due to descriptions of the sasquatch as a hairy, human-like creature that walks on two legs, DNA strands would likely bear a resemblance to human or primate sequences.

The DNA drawn from the coarse hairs did not have these characteristics.

'It also bore little similarity to other groups of mammals such as primates or carnivores,' Coltman said.

The DNA results confirm earlier tests conducted by Philip Merchant, a longtime laboratory technician with the Yukon Department of the Environment.

In earlier interviews, Merchant said there was no visible difference between bison hair and the hair found at the sasquatch sighting.

He proceeded to analyze the scale patterns on the tuft of hair, comparing them to patterns found on bison hair.

These results yielded the same answer. The scale pattern on the tuft closely resembled those found on bison hair.

By all accounts, Merchant concluded that the hair was indeed bison.

'There's more to the story, however,' according to Coltman.

The hair sample was not fresh.

'We found that the DNA in this specimen was highly degraded, and it took repeated attempts and much perseverance to be able to amplify sufficient mitochondrial DNA for sequencing,' he said.

At first, Coltman and his colleague, Dr. Corey Davis, were unsure they would be able to extract any testable DNA from the sample.

This could mean that the hair had been exposed to weather for an extended period of time left out in the cold winter winds or under a harsh summer sun.

It could also mean the hair fell from a hide that was chemically treated to preserve it, likely as a result of the tanning process.

Neither Coltman nor Merchant would speculate on whether the hair was planted as a hoax.

'A raven might have pulled it from a hide off of a shed in Teslin,' Merchant said.

The results do not mean the sasquatch doesn't exist, though, according to the scientists.

'We're not saying it wasn't stepped on by a sasquatch, but it was a piece of bison hair on the ground,' Merchant explained.

The well-travelled tuft of hair has caught attention the world over. Word of possible proof of the mysterious sasquatch made news headlines across the country, in Europe and as far away as India.

The investigation began when a large, thin footprint was found in the woods in Teslin after up to nine witnesses claimed to have seen a hairy creature roaming about the bush one night.

Broken trees, as well as the footprint and the hair sample, were found close to where the residents say they saw a sasquatch earlier this month.

This was not the first sighting in the Teslin region either.

Early one morning, about a year ago, two local adults said a sasquatch crossed their path. Reports taken after the sighting say the pair was familiar with local wildlife and clearly shaken by what they had seen.

While the verdict is in for the hair sample, the jury is out on the existence of the sasquatch.

'You should never confuse an absence of evidence with evidence of absence,' Merchant said.