After painstaking research and much thought the philosophical Joyner has chosen not to totally dismiss the 1893 reports of the Yahoo at Braidwood.

It is exciting to have the Yahoo taken seriously by a responsible, scholarly journal but in any case one's inclination to believe in the Yahoo was already strong because in 1893 it was seen and described by an actual journalist. Journalists are highly respected as seekers after and reporters of the absolute truth. On October 25, 1893 the Braidwood Despatch reported that Arthur Marrin, a cordial manufacturer, had been menaced by ''a formidable animal'' near Captains Flat. Mr Marrin had killed the brute and brought it home.

''We paid a visit to Mr Marrin's factory on Saturday and inspected [the Yahoo] … It was 11 inches across the forehead and had a face very much like a polar bear … Its forearms were very strong with great claws that would be capable of giving a terrible grip … Some people think it is identical with a beast which has frightened several teamsters travelling on the Cooma road at various times, so much so that they have left their horses and run away … It has gone by the name of The Hairy Man. Other persons maintain it is just a wombat and perfectly harmless.''

One wants to believe that from its description the Yahoo was a cousin of the Bombala Anthropoid. In 1912 newspaper artist Will Donald used descriptions of gigantic recent footprints made in Bombala mud to make a persuasive artist's impression, his Bombala Anthropoid, of the probable owner of those awesome feet.

Joyner's ideas about these sorts of hairy manifestations are available online, enjoyably, at yowiehunters.com.au.