a bird...? A plane?

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My Canadian friend says everything is bigger up yonder...maybe so, eh?

;-)

A super-sized bird in Alaska

By PETER PORCO

Anchorage Daily News

October 15, 2002

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A giant winged creature, like something out of Jurassic Park, has reportedly been sighted several times in Southwest Alaska in recent weeks.

Villagers in Togiak and Manokotak say they have seen a huge bird that's much bigger than anything they have seen before.

A pilot says he spotted the creature while flying passengers to Manokotak last week. He calculated that its wingspan matched the length of a wing on his Cessna 207. That's about 14 feet.

Other people have put the wingspan in a similar range.

Scientists aren't sure what to make of the reports. No one doubts that people in the region west of Dillingham have seen a very large rapto-like bird. But biologists and other people familiar with big Alaska birds say they're skeptical it's that big.

A recent sighting of the mystery bird occurred Oct. 10 when Moses Coupchiak, a 43-year-old heavy equipment operator from Togiak, 40 miles west of Manokotak, saw the bird flying toward him from about two miles away as he worked his tractor.

"At first I thought it was one of those old-time Otter planes," Coupchiak said. "Instead of continuing toward me, it banked to the left, and that's when I noticed it wasn't a plane."

The bird was "something huge," he said. "The wing looks a little wider than the Otter's, maybe as long as the Otter plane."

The bird flew behind a hill and disappeared. Coupchiak got on the radio and warned people in Togiak to tell their children to stay away.

Pilot John Bouker said he was highly skeptical of reports of "this great big eagle" that is two or three times the size of a bald eagle. "I didn't put any thought into it."

But early this week while flying into Manokotak, Bouker, owner of Bristol Bay Air Service, looked out his left window and 1,000 feet away, "there's this big ... . bird," he said.

"The people in the plane all saw him," Bouker said. "He's huge, he's huge, he's really, really big. You wouldn't want to have your children out."

Nicolai Alakayak, a freight and passenger driver from Manokotak who was flying with Bouker, said the creature looked like an eagle and was as large as "a little Super Cub."

Comparison to an eagle, certainly. Super Cub? Probably not, scientists said.

"I'm certainly not aware of anything with a 14-foot wingspan that's been alive for the last 100,000 years," said federal raptor specialist Phil Schemf in Juneau.

Schemf, other biologists, a village police officer and teachers at the Manokotak School said the sightings could be of a Steller's sea eagle, a species native to northeast Asia and one of the world's largest eagles. It's about 50 percent bigger than a bald eagle.

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), October 16, 2002

Answers

You know I think its funny that many scientists would say that people misjudged what they saw rather than consider whether their theories may be mistaken. This discovery fits right in with the Creation Worldview. In fact, there have been many many sightings of dinosuar- like animals which are supposed to have been extinct millions of years ago! Either all these sightings are hallucinations or maybe the evolutionary model needs to be modified (like it is every week). Just something to think about!

-- Benita Joy (benita_joy@hotmail.com), October 18, 2002.

In reply to Ms. Joy's contribution, I would like to contribute a more likely explanation based on a simple optical illusion. Because the bird is in the air, there is no real way to get an accurate idea of its size. This is because there are no familiar objects in its immediate vicinity for the eye to compare it to. Because the bird was larger than any bird the observers had previously seen, and because there was no way to accurately judge its size, imagination and perspective most likely exaggerated the perceived size of the animal. Sorry, no need to re-write 150 years of solid science this week!

-- Susan Smith (susansmith808@hotmail.com), October 18, 2002.

Well, this sounds like the ancient "ThunderBird" of South American Andes fame which is "blown" up here upon occasion in centuries past and which occasionally picked off small animals on the ground for dinner and generally gave the local indians a fit. Big Birds and Pterodactyls have to eat too you know...

The National Geographic did a special article on the legendary thunderbird some years ago. (don't remember the copy date) Made good reading.

Our own Ford Thunderbird Automobile is named after this "legendary" animal. What we need are genetic samples to clone the beasties and bring them back to the 21st Century.

Apparently, there is "enough food" up north in Canada to keep the bird happy. (one of the benefits of a socialist state...) Alternatively, enough material to keep talented model makers happy flying their toys.

-- FredrickBrennan (brennanf@pacbell.net), October 18, 2002.


I find the stories of the two sources conflicting: the equipment operator said the the wings on this alleged bird was larger than an Otter aircraft, and the Pilot of the Cessna Skywagon, the 206, said it was as large as one of his wings. I wanted to mention this because I have been a tour aircraft pilot here on the Big Island flying volcano tours for over twenty years now.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>: First off an Otter is an aircraft manufactured by the Dehavilland aircraft co of Canada, and it has a wing span substancially larger than both wings (left and right wings) of the Cessna 206. Some times certain atmospheric visability conditions give a false sense of size---creating an acute optical illusion. So what gives? Gene Hamilton

-- Gene Hamilton (Goldnrock@aol.com), October 19, 2002.

A close-up picture of the bird would be the most exciting thing. So that my mum could see it and believe it, if its true. So to all out there in Alaska: Take a picture coz there are many ppl who are very interested in it. It would really baffle the scientists. It could be anything. Maybe one of those living fossils.

-- Gabi (egiimaa@hotmail.com), October 20, 2002.


Hi Gabi,

It IS interesting to think about, isn't it?! :-)

Who knows if the bird was really amazingly large or not? It certainly is open to debate. Anything is possible, I suppose. I mean if we can have potatoes that glow because they have jellyfish genes, a huge bird isn't that inconceivable! LOL! Truth CAN be stranger than fiction!

I looked up the Thunderbird Legend that someone mentioned, I thought it was interesting, as well. Here it is. :-)

http://www.angelfire.com/realm/bodhisattva/thunderbird.html

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), October 20, 2002.


Ooooooooo, maybe it's a Teratorn!!! This site even quotes the above article. Yup, pretty interesting, all right.

http://sped2work.tripod.com/evidence.html

This a fun site as well, actually was bestowed with the "100% weird website" award from TNT! hehe.

http://www.pibburns.com/cryptozo.htm

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), October 20, 2002.


as much of the world that has been explored there are still places that have not or are rarely seen by man.if its true that on occation giant squid have been sighted up too 18 feet in length and people have even found parts of the giant and until not long ago mythical creatures now thought to be what sailors in by gone times refered to as a kraken .then why cant there also have been a large bird with a wing span of 14 foot that has remained in hiding for all this time!it could be that until now this bird has only now showed its self because its normal hunting grounds have become devoid of game or that the human race in its never ending quest for expantion have finally pushed this bird out of its hunting ground?or maybe it was a pipe line that disturbed it ?its hard to tell how ever i belive that any who dismiss these sightings without first thinking of the many wonders this world of ours reveals to us every day msut be mad thats not to say its true either i guess the point im trying to make is this the truth is out there how can one dimiss these sightings without first finding out if there true!what are these people going to say if someone catches this bird on film?i bet these same people that were so quick to say 'not possible' now will be the first to say i told you so later.as for me i'm keeping an open mind who knowswhat tomorrow will bring ! - - john

-- john minford jr (ambrose000@hotmail.com), October 21, 2002.

Actually, that's the contention of this gentleman.(articles below) He amassed a fair bit of information/documentation on similar sightings. What struck me was the similarities in descriptions. For example the color, and musculature. Frequently compared to a Stellar Sea Hawk. If you have ever seen a picture of this species, it's very distinctive...also I noted, reminscent of the description of the Teratorns. Sure doesn't sound like a very "nice" bird, though. :-/ LOL

Who knows???? OOooooooooooOOOO, Believe it? or not??? ;-)

http://www.cryptozoologicalrealms.com/english/reflections/return.html

"How can an immense unknown avian species elude detection? If the "thunderbird" exists then why haven't people reported it?

People have. But the reports are denied and trained observers fail to investigate. Most reports come from people who live in the areas and have a greater chance of sighting the bird than infrequent visitors. To dismiss the reports as "too incredible" lacks scientific rigor."

http://www.cryptozoologicalrealms.com/english/reflections/fossil.html

"Most zoologists attribute mis-identification, embellished or falsified reports, hoaxes or tall tales. More diligent scrutiny of the phenomena might reveal an avis of such proportions could exist. Error in scientific paradigms and excessive skepticism of traditional and living folklore have obscured many zoological discoveries in modern times."

-- Patty (SycamoreHollow@aol.com), October 21, 2002.


I hear there's a lot of ice melting in the solar caps these days. Solar warming and all that. Is it possible the sun warmed up an egg that was previously covered by ice for a very long time? If so, I suppose it's possible there are other eggs out there. Maybe a Jurassic park scenario. Just a thought. Of course I'm no scientist. Just an artist with a vivid imagination. :-)

-- Maggie LaNoue (maggie@albionmich.com), October 21, 2002.


just because they have not seen it, it cannot exhist..... have they seen $1000000000? well then, it cannot exist either, can it?

-- genie bowechop (mermaid_29@hotmail.com), November 21, 2002.

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