Is there a Possibility that Dinosaurs are Still Alive?

Tap to Read ➤ Renuka Savant

Dinosaurs have been subjected to varied concepts throughout time. Their existence today, however, does not need to be. Let us focus on evidence and logical thinking and clear the air of the unfortunately theorized misunderstanding.

"Whenever you can't balance what you see with what you believe you have conflict." ―Shannon L. Alder

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster, Jurassic Park released in 1993, and thus began the average person's unbridled fascination with all things dinosaur. Yes, we'd read about them in school, we'd even seen their reconstructed version in museums, but never before had we imagined a world where humans and dinosaurs would coexist.

The term 'dinosaur' refers to several types of extinct prehistoric animals which lived 230 to 65 million years ago.

A comet/asteroid colliding with the earth, known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event signaled the end of the Mesozoic Era, and is believed to be the primary cause of their extinction.

Are Dinosaurs Really Alive

The extinction of dinosaurs is always a debatable topic. Some scientists believe that a few dinosaur species survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene event, living well into the Cenozoic Era that began 65 million years ago.

Till date, several fossils have been unearthed, which support the theory that present-day birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs which lived during the Mesozoic Era. They are indeed considered to be a subgroup of dinosaurs by many paleontologists.

Thus, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that on a purely technical basis, dinosaurs did survive the Cretaceous-Paleogene event―they have evolved in line with natural progression of species.

So Basically, They are Modern-Day Birds

Birds have a lot in common with the dinosaurs of yore. Also, you'd be surprised to know the alarming number of similarities between birds and modern-day reptiles.

In fact, it has been widely accepted that birds indeed belong to a subgroup of theropod dinosaurs, sharing many features such as the presence of a furcula, air-filled bones enabling flight, and egg-laying and nesting behavior.

There Have Been Dinosaur Sightings In Recent Times, You Hear?

Cryptozoology is a movement (a branch of pseudoscience, if you please) dedicated to finding animals whose existence is clearly open to debate. In all the instances put up by cryptozoologists so far, most of the evidence has been exclusively circumstantial and anecdotal―with no conclusive proof thereof.

We're listing a couple of examples -

Ever since the late 1800s, several purported sightings of dinosaur-like species began to be reported. Among these, the Mokele Mbembe was the most talked-about creature, alleged to be a sauropod.

Several expeditions were sent to the region around Lake Tele in Congo, the place where the creature was sighted by local tribes. Solid evidence like a proven sighting, DNA, or any relic signifying the creature's presence remained elusive.

The Nguma-monene is described to be a large lizard with a serrated ridge on its back, quite like the spinosaurid. It inhabits a tributary of the Ubangi in the Republic of the Congo.

Reports describing the creature vary―with some saying that it is quite snake-like in appearance, whereas others confirming it to be resembling a lizard. While there is speculation that it maybe a yet-undiscovered species of crocodile, the lack of conclusive evidence of the creature's existence has halted any further progress regarding its identification.

Conclusion

And so, we're left to conclude that dinosaurs or no dinosaurs, any living being on this planet deserves to be identified and understood. To gain a deeper and better understanding of our planet, we need to open our minds to each and every possibility that exists―however bizarre it may be.