we still have them in the mountains of Asia, they call them "Yeti"
Funny you should mention that... I was a bit of an internet bigfoot hunter at a point in my life, and it is theorized that yeti and sasquatch could be an extant population of Gigantopithecus. However, this theory is largely discredited, and I'll tell you why.
For one thing, Gigantopithecus was probably strictly a foliage eater. The reason large grazing animals can evolve and survive in the tropics is the incredible diversity and population density of plant life. Such richness is not present in colder regions, which is why there are very few large herbivores there. Also, if you talk to people who are "experts" on the North American bigfoot (which I'm not sure is real... but I'm optimistic
), most will tell you that they feed very heavily upon deer, particularly during the colder months when plant life is scarce. It's unlikely that Gigantopithecus fed on animal protein in any significant quantity, and it's possible that, like many modern obligate grazers, they were sluggish giants.
There are also some other things we can point to which separates the temperate/boreal cryptid apes from Gigantopithecus. One of them is the nose. Primates that have evolved to live in cooler temperatures have what's called a hooded nose. You can observe a hooded nose in the center of your face. It's tunnel-like and full of blood vessels, and we have it because it warms the air that goes through it before it reaches our lungs.Tropical apes, however, tend to have a flatter, almost slat-like nose. They wouldn't survive in frigid climates because the freezing cold air would severely damage their lungs and respiratory passages.
Sorry for the derail, OP. I have the ability to occasionally nerd out on the topic of bigfoot.
