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Giant Raptor Terrorizes Alaskan Village

Posted by michael on from the tasty-tasty-children dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A giant raptor, rumored to have a wingspan of 14 feet, has been spotted by a number of Alaskans in the general vicinity of Manokotak. There is speculation that the beast could be a Steller's sea eagle, but Phil Schempf, of the Fish and Wildlife Service, is dubious: He says that no creature that large has flown in more than 100,000 years. Read about it in this Anchorage Daily News article, which notes that residents have been warned to keep their children indoors."

10 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Heard it all before by jeblucas · · Score: 3, Informative
    Sounds familiar... Don't it?

    Invest in some skepticism.

    --
    blarg.
  2. Manokotak by rehannan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Visit the Alaska Community Database for more info on Manokotak (including a better location map).

  3. Alternate link by Foss · · Score: 3, Informative

    More here (in case it gets slashdotted) - http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=BIGBIR D-10-15-02&cat=AN

    --
    You've got mail. Pattern baldness. - Crow
    1. Re:Alternate link by Some+Guy · · Score: 2, Informative

      Or here.

      Or a short one here.

  4. more alternate links (damn slashdot) by diesel_jackass · · Score: 5, Informative

    (yay news.google!)

    Southwest Alaskans say bird is the size of a small plane
    Seattle Post Intelligencer,WA
    A super-sized bird in Alaska-Scripps Howard News Service
    Raptor-like bird spotted in Alaska-Ananova
    Southwest Alaskans say bird is the size of a small plane-Kenai Peninsula

    --
    THERE IS NO DATA. THERE IS O
    1. Re:more alternate links (damn slashdot) by diesel_jackass · · Score: 4, Informative

      Here is a site with some pics of a stellar's eagle:

      http://www.muratasystem.or.jp/~dbjack/nbirds.htm

      --
      THERE IS NO DATA. THERE IS O
    2. Re:more alternate links (damn slashdot) by diesel_jackass · · Score: 4, Informative

      here's a good article on them:

      http://www.nwf.org/internationalwildlife/2000/seae agso.html

      --
      THERE IS NO DATA. THERE IS O
  5. When Raptors Fly!! by blandthrax · · Score: 1, Informative

    IANAP (i am not a paleotologist) but last time I checked, raptors didn't fly. Granted my knowledge of raptors is limited to Jurrasic Park movies and BBC specials but c'mon. Regardless of whether it actually looks like a raptor it would most likely resemble a pterodactyl since it has that massive wingspan and, oh yeah, it flies.

    1. Re:When Raptors Fly!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Um, stop believing what you see in movies.

      A dictionary is sometimes useful.

      raptor n : any of numerous carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals [syn: bird of prey, raptorial bird]

  6. Re:Taste like chicken. by ceejayoz · · Score: 4, Informative

    I think we need a sense of humor transplant here, stat!

    Sheesh... go into your preferences and set Funny moderations to -6, then you won't have to see funny things again on Slashdot.