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A resident of Palm Coast, Florida, has shared a video which she is convinced shows a “baby dinosaur” crossing her yard in the wee hours of the morning. Captured on a home security camera in April of this year, the footage has prompted a flurry of debate on social media as to the true identity of this mysterious nocturnal intruder.
Cristina Ryan, whose property was visited by the strange creature, told FOX 35 News that "any animal we can come up with that would be 'walking' at 3:40 in the morning, wouldn't walk this way.
"Maybe I've watched 'Jurassic Park' too many times, but I see a raptor or other small dinosaur!"
To be fair, it’s reasonable to assume that any resurrected dinosaurs would probably escape from their enclosure at some point and start invading other habitats, and anyone who has seen the latest installments of the famous movie franchise will understand just how dramatic such a scenario is likely to be. At the same time, there’s plenty to be said for the old adage that the simplest explanation is usually the best one, which is why it’s worth looking into more prosaic solutions before jumping straight to baby dinosaur.
As one social media commenter pointed out, the animal in the video does sort of look like a dog, possibly with a bucket or some other item stuck on its head. Someone else suggested a sandhill crane, a large species of crane that lives in North America. Other viewers have suggested that the creature may be a reptile of some sort, with bearded dragons and brown basilisk lizards – the latter of which is often found in Florida – being identified as possible culprits.
In spite of these suggestions, Ryan insists that “there has never been an answer to what it was. Even despite asking neighbors. We are all still convinced it's a dinosaur!"
More specifically, she says the yard invader appears to be a raptor, yet it’s worth bearing in mind that these prehistoric predators most likely didn’t resemble the scaly monsters depicted in Jurassic Park. For one thing, they would have been covered in feathers, and given that the Floridian creature doesn’t appear to boast much plumage, it’s not looking too good for the raptor theory. Also, dinosaurs are dead.
Having said that, research has suggested that velociraptors were most likely solitary hunters rather than pack animals. The fact that the specimen caught on the video appears alone, therefore, counts as a point for team raptor.
Then again, it’s probably a dog.
