Speaking about the secrets of antiquity - do not forget about animals. Perhaps someone will think that this is not so interesting, but remember the excitement caused by the Loch Ness monster in its time. Today we will talk about the "thunder bird", the history of which has haunted researchers for several decades.
In particular, the American naturalist and writer Ivan Sanderson was studying this issue. A widespread version is that in one of the expeditions he and a group of cowboys allegedly managed to kill a bird of enormous size.
It seems that they even took a photo of their amazing trophy. But now it is impossible to find it. Those who surf the Internet are nothing more than late forgeries and reconstructions.
Among the Indians of North America, there have long been legends about the existence of huge birds. It is believed that they come from the Appalachian mountains and can do bad things to people. For example, carry away babies with which they feed their chicks. However, there are many similar legends around the world. Usually, scientists are skeptical about them. But some researchers want to find something that will become a sensation and bring them fame.
That was Ivan Sanderson. He wrote articles and books about the "Moth Man", "Loch Ness Monster", "Jersey Devil" and just about animal life. One day he decided to go to Pennsylvania (USA) to see the "thunder bird" with his own eyes. It was here that the most rumors about the existence of such a miracle of fauna circulated. Since the end of the 19th century, there have been reports in the media that someone saw a huge bird. For example, in 1890, she was allegedly noticed by two cowboys.
It is believed that birds descend from the Appalachian Mountains once every 30 years. In 1966, Ivan organized an expedition of cowboys and an Indian guide. They tracked the bird for a long time. Finally, she descended the mountains and pecked out the Indian's eye. The cowboys started shooting and they managed to kill the creature.
The bird turned out to be so huge that it was unrealistic to transport it without a truck. I had to go to the nearest town for a car. When Sanderson and the cowboys came back, the dead carcass was gone. The naturalist suspected the Indians of having stolen it. But they said they didn't. In their opinion, the dead bird, most likely, was carried away by its own relatives for feeding the chicks.
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The Indians were very unhappy with Sanderson. They said that because of him their fellow tribesman lost an eye. Warned that misfortune could happen to Ivan. And so it happened. The following year, during an expedition to Canada, the researcher froze his feet and became disabled. He died, however, much later - in 1973.
To find out if the bird really existed, they tried to find members of the Sanderson expedition. It turned out that they had already all died. This greatly complicated the search for the truth.
If birds of this size really existed / exist, then it is difficult for them to remain unnoticed. You need to hunt to get food. It is problematic to be constantly in the mountains, because there is not so much prey there. Better to go down to fields or forests. And you can fly to people to carry away their poultry (as, for example, a hawk does). But why doesn't anyone see these birds? Probably, they are no longer there, and perhaps they never were.
In general, this story with Sanderson raises serious doubts. Although the theoretical possibility of the existence of such large birds, today, cannot be completely ruled out.