OUR PLANET HAS PLENTY OF ROOM LEFT TO EXPLORE, AND JUDGING
BY THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW ANIMAL SPECIES DISCOVERED EACH YEAR, WHO KNOWS
WHAT EXOTIC AND BIZARRE CREATURES ARE WAITING FOR US OUT THERE?
Each year, between 15,000 and 18,000 new animal species are being
discovered all around the globe and are classified using the latest DNA tests.
As it happens, extinct or even unknown creatures are still being found on
Earth. So what happens when the legendary becomes the ordinary or better said:
what happens when creatures believed to be extinct come into the picture?
North American indigenous people often sculpted totems, told tales and also
sang about the great Thunderbirds. These legendary creatures were depicted as
large birds, capable of creating thunderstorms with the beating of their
enormous wings that measured no less than 20 feet.
They were believed to reside on desolate mountain peaks and were the
servants of the Great Spirit of the World. While these creatures were usually
venerated, the indigenous people feared them because of their wrath and most of
the time they were careful not to cross the Thunderbird’s path.
In the modern world, the Thunderbirds are associated with Pteranodon,
a genus of Pterosaurs that included some of the largest known flying reptiles.
Fossilized remains were discovered mostly in North America, more precisely in
present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota.
But what’s the point if these timeworn birds have gone extinct millions of
years ago? Well, as a matter of fact, they haven’t. For more than 200 years,
inhabitants of the areas mentioned above have reported several incidents
involving enormous birds with lizard-like features, very much alike the extinct
Pterosaurs.
A bizarre photograph has surfaced in the 1950s that caused quite a stir in
the U.S. It revealed an unknown event from the American Civil War in 1864 –
Near the city of Vicksburg, a huge bird distinct from any known species at that
time, was standing on the feet of six American soldiers equipped with rifled
muskets.
It had a remarkable wingspan, along with a prolonged break and an
unfamiliar head. Is it possible that this creature was indeed one of the famous
Thunderbirds depicted by the American indigenous people?
Another report from July 25, 1977, highlighted an incident involving three
children from Lawndale, Illinois. They told how two giant birds chased them
until one of them grabbed their ten-year-old friend Marlon Lowe. The bird had
long legs with distinguishable claws, and it managed to get hold of the boy and
lift him up about two feet of the ground before he was released as a result of
his struggle.
The local authorities were informed about this incident but didn’t pay too
much attention until four-fingers footprints were discovered about half a mile
from the area where the boys were chased.
Since our planet has a lot of unknown and inaccessible places, we find it
likely that these creatures exist even today. We might consider the hypothesis
of it going extinct, but because of its predatory features and imposing
proportions, it’s hard to believe that it did not manage to survive.
Even though no recent reports of such birds have surfaced, the known cases
along with a symbolism rooted into the Native American culture might prove that
these legendary birds have surpassed the test of time and managed to preserve
their species for millions of years.
If they are to be found remains once again an issue of time, but with all
the technological progress this century, it’s likely that someday the
magnificent Thunderbirds will be discovered, and hopefully the witnesses will
live to tell about it.
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