A large wingspan became a wingspan wider than a car.

This is not necessarily evidence that anyone was deliberately exaggerating.

Human memory is complicated.

When people discuss a surprising event with one another, their memories can influence each other. Details that were uncertain at first can become more vivid with every retelling.

A witness may initially remember seeing “a very large bird.”

After hearing someone else describe a ten-foot wingspan, that number may become part of the story.

Over time, the event can become larger in memory than it was in reality.

Yet that psychological possibility does not mean that everyone saw nothing.

It simply means that the interpretation of the event may be less reliable than the basic observation.

Something was seen.

The question is what it actually was.

Wildlife Experts Had Several Possible Explanations

When biologists and wildlife specialists heard about the reports, they approached the claims with understandable skepticism.