California – Cryptid Eyewitness

September 15, 2017May 3, 2019

Pterosaur Sighting by Scott Norman

By living-pterosaur expert Jonathan Whitcomb

Ten years ago this summer (2007), the young cryptozoologist Scott T. Norman had a sighting of an apparent Pteranodon in Central California. I will not allow his encounter to evaporate from the memory of cryptozoology enthusiasts. He was a highly respected investigator, having gone on an expedition to Cameroon, Africa, in 2001, in search of the Mokele-mbembe, what some cryptozoologists believe is an extant sauropod dinosaur.

I think it’s time to say more about the sighting location than I have done in the past. It’s been ten years now, long enough, I think, for the explorers to have done their searching in secrecy. I will not reveal the precise location, only that it may be in the Fresno area of California. Scott Norman would probably have agreed for that general revelation to be made, since it’s been ten years since his pterosaur sighting. Chad Arment had already revealed the general location (Fresno area) in early 2008.

Scott Norman talks about his pterosaur sighting (about two days after the encounter)

Overview of Encounter

Sighting was at about 2:00 a.m.
It flew overhead, over a building and into a field
At least 8-10 feet in wingspan
The wings were bat-like
The flying creature had a head crest: at least two feet long
It flew completely silently
Sighting was for 15-20 seconds
Scott was the most skeptical of the observers
It looked like a pterosaur, but he was not 100% sure

Garth Guessman also lectured on living pterosaurs (2007, in California)

From Garth (at the same meeting in 2007)

Big flying creature in that area
Has a big head crest
Long tail has a diamond-shaped flange
Pterosaur-like wings

Missing Persons: Strange Cases in National Parks

One of the American national parks that has been long plagued by strange cases of missing persons is Yosemite, in central California. I doubt that it is only a coincidence that some of the eyewitnesses of pterosaurs in California have reported huge flying creatures.

I do not speculate that the apparent Pteranodon observed by Scott Norman, in the Fresno area of California in 2007, was one of the those that may have attacked people, but some of the apparent pterosaurs seen in this state seem to be even larger than the one seen by Scott.

Youtube Video on Pterosaur Sightings in the USA

Watch the following mini-documentary on these flying creatures:

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Scott Norman and the “Pterodactyl” Photograph

. . . the large sizes of apparent extant pterosaurs, reported by some eyewitnesses in North America, may be connected to some of the more mysterious missing-persons cases that have never been solved.

LDS Author Jonathan Whitcomb

Nonfiction dragons, or “pterodactyls,” as described by eyewitnesses around the world, beginning in Papua New Guinea . . . the “Bible of modern pterosaurs” . . . Searching for Ropens and Finding God [nonfiction book]

Scott Norman, Pterosaur Eyewitness

Scott T. Norman, American cryptozoologist and explorer, passed away on February 29, 2008, at the age of forty-three. He was a passionate investigator of cryptids, even taking part in an expedition in central Africa to search for the Mokele-Mbembe.

Missing persons and modern pterosaurs

Some of the strangest missing-persons cases may relate to a few individual animals of one species of ropen in North America . . . [a theoretical example follows] When a person is alone in a wilderness area in the United States, a large hungry ropen may attack, subduing the human by a mist or vapor that is debilitating when inhaled by prey.

Flying Creatures and Missing Persons

I’ve finished reading the nonfiction [book] Missing 411 Western United States & Canada, by David Paulides, an extraordinary book that brings up many questions.

January 24, 2012March 8, 2012

“Big Bird” in San Diego, California?

The two men first assumed that it was a bird flying inland from the west, at low altitude over the city of San Diego, California. This was at about 8:00 p.m., on November 4, 2011. As it got closer, things became stranger: The flying creature was huge and had a long tail. Stranger still, it stopped nearly over the men’s heads and hovered while another apparent pterosaur joined up with the first one. The two of them flew away to the east.

One of the eyewitnesses reported to me, by emails and a phone conversation, more details, although he did not often use the word “bird.” The tail was long and straight. Each wing was 10-15 feet long (making a wingspan about 20-30 feet long). Where color was discernable, on the belly, it was somewhat golden brown.

Pterosaurs in San Diego

The problem with notifying the news media, in this case, was that just three months previously somebody had played a practical joke. A statue in northern San Diego County was found to have a model “pterodactyl” fixed onto the top. This was carried in the news, becoming well-known in the San Diego area. What news reporter would thereafter give serious consideration to a report of two giant pterodactyls flying over the middle of San Diego?

Buy your own copy of this cryptozoology book on Amazon.com

March 22, 2011June 27, 2011

New Sightings or New Reports of Living Pterosaurs

First, a summary of reports from the Modern Pterosaur blog:

More Recent Sighting Reports of Pterosaurs

California:

The “long woolly tail” is interesting, perhaps meaning the creature’s tail had hair; some pterosaur fossils show evidence of hair. Is was obviously no bat, being described as the size of a horse.

New Zealand:

“She became aware of a little creature sitting next to her,” but gave it little attention at first. She thought it to be just a small green bird with a long tail. . . . the creature bit her finger, spread its leathery wings, and flew away.

Canada:

It had a long tail “with something on the end of it just like the Ropen. Then I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the wings and they weren’t feathers, they were like huge bat wings.”

New York, mid-1970’s

On a clear day around 1976, a young man saw a “dinosaur-flying-reptile” soaring over a beach on Long Island, New York. Observers thought, at first, that it might have been a kite, but they noticed that it did not have any string attached and it flew differently than a kite flies. Some drivers pulled off the road to take photos of the flying creature that had a long beak and something “pointy” at the back of its head.

Secret Location

Several cryptozoologists, who wish to be anonymous at present, have been watching the sky in an undisclosed location. This has been going on for some time, with numerous sightings. One of the recent sightings involved an apparent bioluminescent glow on the wings of one of the flying creatures, and the internal structure of one of the wings could be seen as lights from the other wings penetrated that wing.

Although the location is secret, some evidence suggests it is not in Papua New Guinea, possibly not even in the southwest Pacific. This investigation has been going on, off and on, for a few years, if sources are correct. If reports continue to be discreet (regarding location), we can hope to receive more information about sightings, at least about the creatures’ appearance and flights.

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February 13, 2010April 7, 2010

San Fernando Valley, Sep 21, 2009, Possible Pterosaur

The San Fernando Valley sighting of last September reminds me of some ropen sightings in Papua New Guinea: Portions of the body of a large flying creature glow. (I’ve interviewed eyewitnesses of apparent pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea and the United States.)

A couple was walking their dog at about 10:30 p.m., near the corner of Burbank Blvd and Woodman in the city of Sherman Oaks, California, when they saw a “very large, winged creature” gliding about 300 feet overhead. The woman described glowing or reflective portions of the wings; she described them to me in a way that suggested they were much dimmer than the bright flashes of ropens. The man emailed me the next day (Sep 22). Within 48 hours of the sighting, I had separate phone interviews with the eyewitnesses.

It was impossible to accurately estimate the size of the creature they saw that night. The man thought the wingspan may have been 10-15 feet; the woman estimated larger. Visibility was limited enough that the man had no idea about the presence or absence of a tail. But both eyewitnesses were sure that it was too big to be a bird.

Although I have not yet found any other eyewitnesses of that flying creature for that date and general location, I have found these two eyewitnesses credible.