Dead humpback whale in
Brazilian Amazon jungle.
Photo ctvnews.ca,
Public Domain.
Native
tribes of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America have extensive legends
of Thunderbird preying on whales. According to mythology the thunderbird grabs
a whale at the surface in his talons and carries him inland to the mountains to
consume. Since whales are very heavy and are struggling and reluctant to be
consumed in this fashion the thunderbird frequently has to put the whale down
to rest or get a better grip, at which times gargantuan struggles can take
place. These struggles are the major cause of earthquakes in the Pacific
Northwest. Years ago I believed that these legends were based upon the
misidentification of megafauna fossils seen in the mountains and interpreted as
whale bones.
Thunderbird and whale pole,
Ketchikan, Alaska.
Photo Peter Faris, 2001.
Thunderbird with Whale, from
Stanley Park, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada.
Drawn by Peter Faris, 2001.
Although I
personally know of no examples of this legend in the rock art of the Pacific
Northwest, whales are a common theme in rock art, and the Thunderbird and Whale
are frequently found portrayed in other art media by Northwest Coast Native
artists.
Petroglyph of humpback whale,
Wedding Rocks, Olympic
peninsula, WA, Photo
by Teresa Weedin, 1992.
Cryptozoologists
and explorers have reported gigantic birds from throughout North and South
America for well over a century. In general, cryptozoological interest in these
reports is to attempt to justify the survival of pterosaurs into the modern era.
Pterosaurs lived during the Mesozoic, from the late Triassic to the end of the
Cretaceous (228 - 66 million YBP) and died out with the dinosaurs (Wikipedia). But,
the gigantic birds mentioned in reports are more likely just that - gigantic
birds.
Thunderbird with light plane.
Photograph from the Internet.
Public Domain.
It now
seems as if we have actual physical evidence from Brazil in this instance of
the body of a humpback whale found not on the beach, but in the jungle. It
would appear that the South American equivalent of Thunderbird dropped him
there and, for some reason, did not retrieve the body.
Dead humpback whale in
Brazilian Amazon jungle.
Photo allthatsinteresting.com,
Public Domain.
The
discovery was made on February 22, 2019 according to reports. "Darlene Silva, a spokeswoman for
Brazil's Department of Health, Sanitation and Environment, told reporters the
animal was found in a mangrove swamp only after researchers noticed vultures
circling in the sky." (Yahoo)
Dead humpback whale in
Brazilian Amazon jungle.
Photo allthatsinteresting.com,
Public Domain.
A team of
biologists from the Bicho D'agua institute led by Renata Emin visited the site
and "said the animal was about 26
feet long. Emin added that the find is extra baffling since the presence of a
humpback whale off Brazil in February is "very unusual" and they are
rarely seen that far north." (Yahoo)
Not so baffling if you assume that the whale was carried there by
a Thunderbird - but not on April 1 - would I fool you?
NOTE:
Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for
public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public
domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner
will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should
read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterosaur#cite_note-pterosaur_distribution-7
https://news.yahoo.com/dead-humpback-whale-mysteriously-appears-182405255.html
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