Mountain Shoria in southern Kuzbass is the setting of Russia's loudest wild-man story. From 2009 hunters reported tracks and silhouettes near the Azass Cave, and the regional authorities behaved unusually: a million-rouble reward, an international conference brought here in 2011, and a dedicated laboratory opened at the local university. Sceptics noted how neatly the surge of interest coincided with a push to develop tourism in a depressed district.