Author: Jonathan Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb, of Murray, Utah, (formerly of Long Beach, California) has written four nonfiction cryptozoology books (nine total editions), each one about eyewitness reports of living pterosaurs.
image_pdfimage_print
Posted on

Pterosaur Sightings East of Griffith Park, CA

In two separate sightings, two eyewitnesses in Los Angeles, California, reported flying creatures described like pterosaurs. The sightings were a little over a mile apart, both from drivers on the northbound Interstate-5 Freeway, just east of Griffith Park, near Glendale.

The sightings were ten weeks apart, with both eyewitnesses contacting me by email.

March 3, 2013, Sighting of “three dragons”

  1. Flying south at 6:10 a.m.
  2. Eyewitness was sure they were not birds
  3. No wing flaps
  4. Long thin tails had “triangular points”
  5. Observed in early daylight – “it wasn’t dark”
  6. Presence or absence of feathers: “I couldn’t tell, it was too quick”
  7. Was there a head crest? A: Could not tell
  8. Alone in the car, driving northbound
  9. Credibility verified by Whitcomb, but limited

May 13, 2013, Sighting of a “Pterosaur”

  1. Flying northeast at about 4:00 p.m.
  2. Eyewitness was “almost positive” it was not a bird
  3. No wing flaps
  4. Did not notice if it had a tail or not
  5. Observed in full daylight
  6. Presence or absence of feathers: “No feathers”
  7. Was there a head crest? A: “I did see its head crest” [yes]
  8. Alone in the car, driving northbound
  9. Credibility verified by Whitcomb, but limited

.

Observatory and planetarium on a high hill overlooking downtown Los Angeles, California - in Griffith Park

Griffith Park observatory and astronomy museum in Los Angeles

Photograph: courtesy of “Puck90”

.

Dragons or Pterosaurs in Griffith Park

How delighted I was, this past March, to receive an eyewitness report of three “dragons” flying over the I-5 freeway in Los Angeles! . . . How delighted I was, earlier this month, to received an eyewitness report of a “pterosaur” flying over that same stretch of freeway just east of Griffith Park!

Griffith Park “Dragons”

The three flying creatures observed  near Griffith Park, California . . . March 3, 2013, by a driver on the I-5 freeway were not  at first glance assumed to be birds . . . something like three kites . . . But the lady  soon changed her mind when she  saw the tails move.

.

Jonathan Whitcomb's third edition of "Live Pterosaurs in America" - nonfiction cryptozoology genre - sightings of "pterodactyls" still living

Live Pterosaurs in America – third edition (non-fiction cryptozoology)

From this nonfiction book about modern pterosaurs (page 96):

Where did we get the idea of pterosaur extinction? Early discoverers of pterosaur fossils had no knowledge of living pterosaurs; they assumed they were looking at the remains of extinct creatures, and that assumption has been magnified for two centuries. I believe that the idea was cemented into Western thought when Darwin’s General Theory of Evolution became popular in the nineteenth century, but search textbooks in vain for solid scientific evidence of pterosaur extinction, for the conjecture itself is more philosophical than scientific. It is an assumption.

Posted on

Pterosaur Sightings in Hawaii

In reply to one of my blog posts, in the middle of 2012, I received the following email:

I am writing you because I have also seen a Pterydactyl like creature on the Big Island. Twice actually in the last 2 months. My husband and son also saw one about two weeks ago. I have been doing all kinds of research to see who else has seen this because it seems quite crazy, but I am abosolutely positive in what I saw.

However, the bird that I saw was not with a 30 ft wing span. The first time: (about two months ago) [about mid-May, 2012] What I saw, was maybe 100 ft up? But at that height I would estimate the wingspan to approximately 6 feet and it was very dark in color. I saw it in Kona and was completely astonished when looking at it because it was completely unlike anything else I have ever seen and it looked like nothing else I can explain other than a pterydactyl.

I told my husband about it and talked about it quite a bit, because I was so fascinated by it. I saw it again or perhaps a different one about a week or so later downtown Kona on my way to work. The second one seemed a bit smaller maybe 5 ft wingspan.

Well two weeks ago we moved into a new home in Kona about 2 miles South from our other home and my husband and son saw the Pterydactyl fly over our house and circle around.

As of February 1, 2013, I have had no further communications with the eyewitness.

lovely landscape of the Big Island of Hawaii

Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii

.

Another Pterosaur Sighting in Hawaii

When it passed across to the right of me I then realized it was a living creature because it began to flap its wings and continued to flap . . .

Pterosaur Sightings in Georgia

Both birds had what I can only guess to be 15-20′ wing spans and the motion of their wings as they flew saw very slow, the head was long and ended in a point, wings ended in a point and appeared to be featherless . . .

Posted on

Press Releases About Extant Pterosaurs

A number of press releases have been published, over several years, on eyewitness accounts of featherless flying creatures described like pterosaurs or “pterodactyls.” Other press releases are about compiled information from a number of sightings, and this includes declarations that certain statistics prove that no significant number of hoaxes could have been involved, overall, in the many sighting reports analyzed.

.

Live Pterosaur in Georgia?

This news release includes ideas about sightings by eyewitnesses David Schroder, Sandra Paradise, and anonymous persons in Georgia. The creatures observed may be related to the “Gitmo Pterosaur” of Cuba.

No Hoaxes With Pterosaur Sightings Overall

Three factors are examined: eyewitness estimates of wingspan, degree of certainty on featherless appearance, and the dominance of reports of long tails.

Reports of Living Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs, commonly called “pterodactyls,” live in various parts of the world, according to Jonathan Whitcomb, of Long Beach, California. He has written three nonfiction books, based on eyewitness reports . . .

Do Tales of Dracula Come From an Animal?

“The longer we watched, the more spooked we became. It was as though a giant vampire bat (like Dracula-style) was there . . .”

Extinct or not, That is the Question About Pterosaurs

“Not everybody embraces living pterosaurs.” Combined against the idea that some pterosaurs are non-extinct are the large newspaper Houston Chronicle, a Smithsonian blog post, and a distinguished English paleontologist.

.

Pterosaur Tail Vane or Flange

Among scientists, the word “vane” is used for that structure (on pterosaur fossils) at the end of many of the long tails, although some use the word “flange.” [blog post, not a news release]

Posted on

State of Georgia is Hot

Two sightings of living pterosaurs were reported in December, 2012, for the state of Georgia. One of the reports came from David Schroder, who told me, “You can use my name if you like.”

Towns County, Northern Georgia

Along with his wife and some friends, Schroder has seen this flying creature, most recently on December 9, 2012. What he believes was his first encounter with this creature—that was years ago and not a sighting: He and his neighbor heard a strange “scream” that frightened Schroder’s dog enough that “she had her tail between her legs and ran into her dog-house and would not come out for over an hour.” By email, he told me about his first sighting (not edited for spelling or other English errors):

Since then I have never thought too much about it until July of 2010, My wife and I were sitting outside when motion from above the tree tops to our left caught my attention . . . We were looking at two extreamly large birds flying together and heading north towards the N,C, border.

Both birds had what I can only guess to be 15-20′ wing spans and the motion of their wings as they flew saw very slow, the head was long and ended in a point, wings ended in a point and appeared to be featherless, they had a tail of sorts, it looked like it was maybe 1/4 the length of the body and had something on the end that was a little bigger than the tail itself. IThe body of the birds looked to be a dark gray. They were close when they flew over, there wasn’t any doubt that these were part of the family of birds that I suspected might be living in the southern Appalachian mountains & no doubt what I had heard in the past,

He then told me about his most recent sighting:

Anyway, it happened again yesterday, this time there were three of us who saw this bird fly over, in plain sight, in daylight, up  close ….. it was a young Pterodactyl, they are not only alive, they are producing offspring and thriving here in the Georgia/North Carolina mountains, after yesterday’s sighting, I have no doubt and I will defend what we have seen and heard to anyone with out ever second guessing myself again.

East of Winder, Georgia

I began email communications with Sandra Paradise in September of 2008, and in 2012 she granted me permission to use her real name. Over the years that she has been driving to work, on a highway between Winder and Athens (east of Atlanta), she has had four sightings. Consider what she has said about her first sighting (no editing):

The path it took was up and then swooping down, as if it were dive-bombing my car. As it crossed my path, in front and slightly above me, I saw it had a head that was curved, like a hammer; the head had a crest on the top that was solid, not feathery at all; the mouth was closed so I could not make out a jaw structure; I could make out the darkness of an eye.

The tail was long, had a ridge that ran along the underside, and ended in a thick, heart-shaped pad. The tail I got a good look at.The body seemed to have a fat tummy, but was hard to see, being hidden by its wings as it flew across; I could not make out a wingspan because I saw it in almost perfect profile so the wings were foreshortened, but they just flapped along, and the thing made perfect sense as it flew.