Will the Yeti turn out to be real?

Certainly a question which proves your sense of humour, Kruijs!

Maybe it's Yeti Bin Laden?

what exactly would make it a yeti and not another species that was unknown?

I don't know exactly. The article uses this sentence:
"Marak believes the hairs come from an ape-like Indian version of the fabled yeti, or abominable snowman, called mande barung, which he believes stands about three metres (10 feet) tall."
Whatever they will find out about that hair, I assume they will say whether they think it's the yeti species or just another unknown (sub)species which does not match the description of a yeti.

Regarding the option related to 'ape' species are apes defined as

"Apes—the group of primates most closely related to humans—includ gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and gibbons. The hands, feet, and face of an ape are hairless, while the rest of its body is covered with coarse black, brown, or red hair."

This means, other primates such as lemurs, lorises, tarsiers,langurs and monkeys are not considered "apes"?

We all know that there is no yeti so its just a competition to see which one of the top ones it is. A very interesting question built upon very dumb assumptions by some hippy scientist in Britain.

jchiang, right apes and monkeys are separate families, however homo sapiens is an ape species (as DNA tests show, there is less genetic variation between male human and chimp than between male and female humans (same for females of the two species)), all apes are properly labeled "Hominids" or Hominidae.

Heres a good taxonomy:
http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/primate/photos/species.html

Cheirogaleidae Dwarf Lemurs and Mouse Lemurs
Lemuridae Lemurs
Megaladapidae Lepilemur
Indridae Avahi, Indris, and Sifakas
Daubentoniidae Aye-aye
Loridae Pottos and Lorises
Galagoniidae Galagos
Tarsiidae Tarsiers
Callitrichidae Marmosets and Tamarins
Cebidae Cebid Monkeys
Cercopithecidae Old World Monkeys
Hylobatidae Gibbons and Siamang
Hominidae Great Apes and Man

If this researcher found commonalities between this hair and other great apes and man, then it is likely a hominid of some sort. That negates the boar, bear, and yak choices. If it was from a known ape species, you'd think an ape expert could tell you which one.

Fauna of Meghalaya region:

"The Animal Kingdom
The species found here are - Hoolock - the only tailless ape in India, Golden Cat, Leopard Cat, Jungle Cat, Large Indian Civet, Binturong or Bear Cat, Himalayan Black Bear, Barking Deer, Pangolin.

Some species of various families of mammals namely Primates, the Cats, Civets, Mongooses, Dogs, Bear, Weasels, Bats, Rodents, Elephants, Gaur, Wild Buffalo, Serow, Deer, Pigs and Pangolins are seen roaming in the forests of Meghalaya. In Meghalaya we come across apes as well as monkeys and lemurs. In Meghalaya you will also come across Hoolock Gibbon, macaques and langurs, Rhesus Macaque and Assamese Macaque. The Golden Langur is a very rare species of Meghalaya and is on the verge of extinction. Among lemurs, the Slow Loris is found in Meghalaya."

Hoolock Gibbon and Golden Langur are the likely culprits if it is not something new altogether, however there are a couple bear species in that area, though nothing that is three meters tall.

@intlibber - my goodness, you do know your stuff! an asset to the science category - what's your background?

Excellent link intlibber

Settlement Requested
August 19th as of 1:45:24 p.m. reports came in that the Bigfoot was a costume.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_10245944?source=rss
Major news sources:
USA Today - http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-08-19-bigfoot-hoax_N.htm?csp=34
CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/19/bigfoot.hoax/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Sorry, this is for the Yeti. I was talking about Bigfoot. Oops.