Pterodactyls In South Texas?

[Redbird]

I-Team: Expert trying to identify mysterious bird flying around S. Texas

More sightings of a huge flying creature, originally reported by KENS, have prompted an investigation to determine if it is a monster or myth.

"Even though it was dark, the thing itself was black. The blackest I'd ever seen," said Frank Ramirez.

Years ago, Ramirez thought he was after a prowler in the back of his mother's Southwest Side home. But what greeted him on the garage rooftop still gives him goosebumps now.

"That's when the thing up there turned to me, and it was in a perched state, and it started to turn," he said. "It started to move its arms and this giant blackness was just coming out. At that point, I dropped the stick and I ran."

Ramirez sketched a drawing of the large, bird-like creature. The image is disturbing, and similar to dozens of sightings across San Antonio and South Texas.

"If you were to take a man's face and pull his chin down, just like a stretched face," said Ramirez.

"I was just terrified and as I was running. I just thought it was going to carry me off or something."

An earlier KENS story about a large, prehistoric-like bird drew more than 100,000 hits on MySanAntonio.com. More than a few people in San Antonio came forward to say they'd seen the creature, too.

One woman contacted KENS by e-mail, saying that because of our story, she now knows she's not crazy.

KENS caught up with cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

Gerhard recently wrote a book, called "Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters" on the large, dark birds.

"When investigating mystery animals, it's important to point out that there are vast areas of land, even here in South Texas, that remain uninhabited," said Gerhard. "If an animal like big bird does exist, it certainly needs some habitat, somewhere to hide."

The Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge has 88,000 acres, and the marshes and prairies are home to 413 species of birds, but no flying pterodactyls.

"Raptors of all kinds, from hawks to falcons, come throughout. Our most common is the Harris Hawk, " said Park Ranger Stacy Sanchez.

But even Sanchez admits that blogs spiked with reports this summer of something.

"People were posting about a very large, raptor-like bird, and they were talking about an 18-to-20-foot wingspan. I don't know ... It's kind of a myth," said Sanchez.

Critics say where's the proof? Eyewitness testimony without a feather or other body of evidence leaves these stories as they are — just stories.

"We know that it's rare, and we know that this area's been pretty popular hangout in the past," said Gerhard.

Gerhard has been installing cameras in Harlingen, where Guadalupe Cantu wants his big bird sighting documented and validated.

Back in San Antonio, Ramirez has mounted an outdoor light to keep the creature at bay.

"I know what I saw. It took me more than a week to step out of this house. I wouldn't step foot out of this house," said Ramirez. "It had this very, very horrible demeanor-look on its face. Like I was lunch," he said.

On Nov. 21, Gerhard will be featured in a History Channel documentary called "Birdzilla."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/global-i...s.7e017e4.html

[Redbird]

[Redbird]

Living Pterodactyls?

Pterodactyls are members of group of prehistoric flying reptiles known as pterosaurs. Based on fossil evidence, namely the lack of any known post-Cretaceous pterosaur remains, most scientists believe pterosaurs went extinct with the dinosaurs over 65 million years ago.

However, a number of individuals have made suggestions that pterodactyls or other pterosaurs survived into modern times, and may still be alive today. I do not dispute this possibility, but remain skeptical, since the main evidence for living pterosaurs is a handful of reported sightings, rather than actual specimens or even clear photos of the creatures. Generally anecdotal evidence is not considered a sound basis for firm scientific conclusions. However, I for one would be thrilled if a modern pterosaur were apprehended (alive or dead) and made available for scientific examination.

Most advocates of living pterosaurs are strict creationists or cryptozoologists. Some of the former suggest that the finding of modern pterosaurs would refute the standard geologic timetable and evolution. While finding a living species of pterosaur would be a monumental discovery, it would do nothing to refute mainstream geology. It would merely indicate that a remnant population of an ancient group survived much longer than originally thought -- similar to the situation with the Coelacanth, a type of lobe-finned fish thought long extinct until a modern species was discovered alive in 1938. Indeed, if the discovery of such creatures was a threat to conventional geology, one would expect scientists to be dismayed by them, or even try to cover them up. The opposite is the case: they celebrate them.

Even among creationists and cryptozoologists, only a small portion actively promote the idea of living pterosaurs. The likely reason is that the evidence is even more scant and equivocal than for controversial creatures such as Big Foot or the "Loch Ness Monster." Much of the supposed evidence for living pterosaurs relies on reported "sightings" which typically lack credible photos or other convincing documentation, making their credibility difficult to confirm. Other alleged evidence for modern pterosaurs relies on artifacts or rock etchings of questionable origin or subjective interpretation.

Reported Sightings http://paleo.cc/paluxy/livptero.htm

[Redbird]

[Redbird]

Pterodactyl Causes Car Crash

Giant flying reptiles, believe it or not, have routinely been sighted in the Olympic National Park’s rainforest in Washington State. I’ve been hearing about reports from there for decades. Now comes an intriguing, if unbelievable, account from the same area.

First, here are some quick footnotes about pterodactyls vs pterosaurs vs pteranodons, which the media creatively confuse. No telling what this person really saw.

Pterodactyls are any of various small, extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs) of the genus Pterodactylus of the late Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Pterodactyls had long, narrow jaws with sharp teeth, and a wingspan of 3.3 ft (1 m) or less.

Pterosaurs are any of various extinct flying reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods with wings consisting of a flap of skin supported by an elongated fourth digit on each forelimb (rather than an elongated second digit as in birds). Some pterosaurs were unique among reptiles in being covered with hair. Pterosaurs had wingspans ranging from less than 1 ft (0.3 m) to close to 50 ft (15.2 m).

Pteranodons are a genus of extinct flying reptiles, descendants of the pterodactyl. Fossils are known from Late Cretaceous (99 – 65 million years ago) deposits of Europe, Asia, and North America. Pteranodons had a wingspan of 23 ft (7 m) or more. The largest specimen had a wingspan of 50 ft (15.5 m). The body was about the size of a modern turkey.

Pteranodons had a crest at the back of the skull and long, pelicanlike, toothless jaws. They probably made nests and spent much time gliding over the ocean searching for fish. They probably depended on air currents for liftoff rather than on flapping their wings.

Now, in breaking news this week….

A 29-year-old Wenatchee man told police a pterodactyl caused him to drive his car into a light pole about 11:30 p.m. Thursday [December 27, 2007].

Wenatchee police cited the man with first-degree negligent driving. A breathalyzer test showed “a minimal amount of alcohol,” said Wenatchee police Sgt. Cherie Smith.

Witnesses told police the man was northbound on Wenatchee Avenue and drifted into a southbound lane for less than a block. Oncoming traffic stopped and waited for the man to pass, Smith said.

He then totaled his car on a light pole, Smith said.

When police asked the man what caused the accident, his one-word answer was “pterodactyl,” Smith said. A pterodactyl was a giant winged reptile that lived more than 65 million years ago.

The man was treated and released at Central Washington Hospital, hospital officials said.~ by Rachel Schleif, Wenatchee World
“Man blames car wreck on prehistoric winged reptile,” Saturday, December 29, 2007.

http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo...rodactyl-wash/ / http://www.rense.com/general79/crac.htm