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South Carolina Pterosaur Sighting
Between Columbia and Florence
Was it a pterosaur? Probably.
Details of this extraordinary pterosaur sighting are found in the nonfiction cryptozoology book "Live Pterosaurs in America," by Jonathan
David Whitcomb
(look to the right ---> ).
Book for sale
Typical swamp country in South Carolina, photo courtesy of greenkayak73
In the words of Susan Wooten:
Definitely no feathers, this thing was not only huge, but was practically on top of me, maybe twenty feet (?) above and twenty-five feet (?) in front of me, crossing the highway.
Definitely no feathers, this thing was not only huge, but was practically on top of me, maybe twenty feet (?) above and twenty-five feet (?) in front of me, crossing the highway.
Sketch by Susan Wooten
This pterodactyl or pterosaur sketch is Copyright 2007 Susan Wooten
It started out above pine treetops and swooped lower between and up again to fly up above treetops on other side. It came from the left towards me . . . then over median, and over me, then up over treetops on my side, to the right.
The pterosaur was “gliding” but it flapped its wings slowly once or twice. The wingspan was about twelve to twenty feet.
The weather allowed for a good observation: “nice pretty day--clear, in the fall, but don't remember which month.”
The huge featherless creature swooped down over the highway, maybe only “twenty feet” high and only “twenty five” feet in front of the car. (Highway 20, South Carolina)
The pterosaur was “gliding” but it flapped its wings slowly once or twice. The wingspan was about twelve to twenty feet.
The weather allowed for a good observation: “nice pretty day--clear, in the fall, but don't remember which month.”
The huge featherless creature swooped down over the highway, maybe only “twenty feet” high and only “twenty five” feet in front of the car. (Highway 20, South Carolina)
Read much more in the nonfiction book (pub 2009) "Live Pterosaurs in America" --- Buy it on Amazon.com.
Susan Wooten was interviewed by Jonathan Whitcomb, by emails, beginning in late 2007
Susan Wooten, of Greenville, South Carolina, was driving from Greenville to Florence (about 1989) when she saw a giant creature glide over the highway in front of the car. Her friend, who was driving in a car ahead, saw nothing behind her. “It looked as big as any car, and had NO feathers, not like a huge crane or egret. . . . it swooped down over the highway and back up gracefully over the pines.” It was in a remote swampy area.
It was 3:00 p.m. and some cars in the opposite lane pulled over after the pterosaur-like creature flew over the highway. Susan wanted to pull over to talk with them but she would have been separated from her friend who kept on driving.
It was 3:00 p.m. and some cars in the opposite lane pulled over after the pterosaur-like creature flew over the highway. Susan wanted to pull over to talk with them but she would have been separated from her friend who kept on driving.
The eyewitness referred to her condition at the time as being free from anything that might have impaired her judgment.
“was embarrassed to tell anyone, and who I told laughed at me. Now that I have internet, have looked it all up. (as I did then in local libraries, noting that there were at the time also sightings in our area as well as Texas and California) ”
“was embarrassed to tell anyone, and who I told laughed at me. Now that I have internet, have looked it all up. (as I did then in local libraries, noting that there were at the time also sightings in our area as well as Texas and California) ”
From Jonathan Whitcomb, author of the two nonfiction books "Searching for Ropens" and "Live Pterosaurs in America"
Although my email contact with Susan has been for only a few weeks, there is no obvious sign of any hoax; I believe her report is genuine with little potential for any hallucination or dream.
The clarity of the weather, close distance to the creature, and its large size and clear lack of feathers—these combine to refute a misidentification of a bird. Also, the large size and slow flapping of wings combine to refute a misidentification of a mechanical pterosaur (a model airplane also would sound like a model airplane or like something mechanical).
Although my email contact with Susan has been for only a few weeks, there is no obvious sign of any hoax; I believe her report is genuine with little potential for any hallucination or dream.
The clarity of the weather, close distance to the creature, and its large size and clear lack of feathers—these combine to refute a misidentification of a bird. Also, the large size and slow flapping of wings combine to refute a misidentification of a mechanical pterosaur (a model airplane also would sound like a model airplane or like something mechanical).
"Could Susan have dozed off for a second? Brief dreams that wake up a driver are common. But if that happened, Susan would have remembered waking up or at least being sleepy. In addition, the drivers of the other cars would not have pulled over to talk about somebody’s dream that had flown over the highway. I think that Western civilization needs to wake up to the reality of living pterosaurs. Why believe that all species are extinct?"
Jonathan Whitcomb
Jonathan Whitcomb