The Thunderbird

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In my meanderings around the internet and the apps I have on Roku I found a series on Hulu about cryptozoology* that I found interesting. From 1932 to 1973 Ivan Sanderson, the founder of cryptozoology, built the most extensive archive of unexplained creature evidence on Earth. Two experts rediscovered it after it had been lost for decades. They started investigating his most compelling cryptids and are reevaluating what he found. One episode of Lost Monster Files which aired in October of 2024 on Hulu I watched was about a reported 'thunderbird'(bigger than a condor) in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania. A huge bird with a 25 foot wing span. In an area called the Chestnut Ridge. They explored the area and found several large pellets left by a large raptor. Upon examination they were found to have eagle DNA and also some other bird species as well. They interviewed a man who at age 10 had been running in his back yard and was physicalled picked up and carried for several feet by a huge bird before being dropped. He had a 6 inch scar on his back from the experience. A body language expert went along with the interviewers and found his demeaner to be calm and not stressed like one would be if lying. After a full examination of the area they concluded that these stories could be of an eagle with giantism, a bird who was off his migration for some reason, or, an extinct species. I find this sort of thing so interesting. A couple of years ago when the leaves were off the trees outside my window I saw a huge bird fly out as if it had flown over the apartment and out across the sky. It was massive. I later saw on a show I was watching where another person had seen this same bird and was also here in Idaho. We have the World Center for Birds of Prey here in Boise, Idaho which I have visited several times. They have eagles, owls, and all manner of birds out there. If you ever get the chance it is a really interesting place to visit. * the search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the Loch Ness monster and the yeti.