Live Pterosaur
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Marsh from which the creature
flew in Orange County, California
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
The eyewitness has a prominent profession in the Irvine, California, area
and wishes to be anonymous. In the nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in
America, he is known as “SNW.”
One day in the summer of 2007, while driving north on Campus Drive,
just north of the University of California campus at Irvine, he saw a huge
long-tailed featherless creature fly in front of his car, “at low altitude.”
The eyewitness eventually phoned Jonathan Whitcomb, of Long Beach,
California, giving the cryptozoologist details about the encounter. SNW
estimated the total length of the flying creature at thirty feet, with fifteen
or sixteen feet being a straight tail that had a flange near the tail end (a
vane or similar appendage) described as “triangle shaped.”
SNW was sure there were no feathers, and told Whitcomb that there were
wrinkles on the underside of the creature’s body, showing the absence of
any feathers. In a later interview, the eyewitness told Whitcomb that the
creature was chasing a big flock of birds.
Whitcomb visited the road and the wildlife sanctuary in the summer of
2008. SNW had estimated the creature’s length to be about the width of
the Campus Drive; Whitcomb verified the road was thirty feet wide,
which was the eyewitness-estimated length of the creature.
SNW estimated the wing flapping frequency at 0.75 seconds up-flap and
0.75 seconds down-flap. This corresponds with the frequency estimated
for the 1944 Finschhafen “pterodactyl,” which was one or two seconds per
cycle. The Finschhafen flying creature seen by Hodgkinson also had a
long tail, estimated “at least” ten or fifteen feet long; this corresponds with
the 2007 wildlife-sanctuary flying-creature seen in California.
###
and wishes to be anonymous. In the nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in
America, he is known as “SNW.”
One day in the summer of 2007, while driving north on Campus Drive,
just north of the University of California campus at Irvine, he saw a huge
long-tailed featherless creature fly in front of his car, “at low altitude.”
The eyewitness eventually phoned Jonathan Whitcomb, of Long Beach,
California, giving the cryptozoologist details about the encounter. SNW
estimated the total length of the flying creature at thirty feet, with fifteen
or sixteen feet being a straight tail that had a flange near the tail end (a
vane or similar appendage) described as “triangle shaped.”
SNW was sure there were no feathers, and told Whitcomb that there were
wrinkles on the underside of the creature’s body, showing the absence of
any feathers. In a later interview, the eyewitness told Whitcomb that the
creature was chasing a big flock of birds.
Whitcomb visited the road and the wildlife sanctuary in the summer of
2008. SNW had estimated the creature’s length to be about the width of
the Campus Drive; Whitcomb verified the road was thirty feet wide,
which was the eyewitness-estimated length of the creature.
SNW estimated the wing flapping frequency at 0.75 seconds up-flap and
0.75 seconds down-flap. This corresponds with the frequency estimated
for the 1944 Finschhafen “pterodactyl,” which was one or two seconds per
cycle. The Finschhafen flying creature seen by Hodgkinson also had a
long tail, estimated “at least” ten or fifteen feet long; this corresponds with
the 2007 wildlife-sanctuary flying-creature seen in California.
###
Other Online Resources
A bayou in the sanctuary
The opinions here expressed are those of Jonathan David Whitcomb.
Media professionals are welcome to use these paragraphs in whole
or in part for news distribution. All of the images on this page may also
be used by the news media.
Contact:
Photographs by Jonathan Whitcomb
Other Images for Media
One of many ponds in this
large wildlife sanctuary
Much of the wildlife sanctuary
is open to the public, with many
trails for hiking. Observe rules
to preserve wildlife, please.
This case is strengthened by a number
of other sightings of giant flying creatures
observed in Southern California recently.
Location of 2007 sighting
