Female Pteranodon (Jurassic Park III)

> "*Alan: Oh my god... Amanda: What is it? Alan: It's a birdcage! Amanda: For what?*"
> ― Alan telling Amanda they're in the Pteranodons' lair.
>
>

**The Female Pteranodons** are one of the two secondary antagonists of *Jurassic Park III*.

## History

The Pteranodon family living in the Isla Sorna Aviary had a major skirmish with the surviving humans involved in the incident. One of the female adults detected the human visitors' presence in its enclosure as they crossed the bridge that connects the observatory to the Isla Sorna Aviary so they could get in the barge below. The adult pterosaur decided to land on the bridge when it was Eric Kirby's time to cross. Eric let out a scream of terror just before breaking into a sprint when the Pteranodon emerged from the thick fog that was surrounding the back of the laboratory to the front of the aviary.

The large pterosaur responded by snatching Eric Kirby and flying off as his group were racing towards the situation. The pterosaur carried the young human to a rock platform near her nest that was filled with baby Pteranodons chirping out of hunger. With the hungry babies setting their sights on him, leaving Eric to quarrel with the Pteranodons.

Eventually, the juvenile Pteranodons swarmed around him, but there was hope for Eric because Billy Brennan descended towards the nesting area to save the boy using the recovered paraglider of the now deceased Ben Hildebrand and was calling to him, but Jeff used another paraglider to try and kill the two with his shotgun. The baby Pteranodons bit tightly on Eric Kirby's jacket, focused on the appeal rather than their main target, allowing Eric to use this to his advantage by giving his jacket over to the hungry Pteranodons and leaping to a platform behind him afterward. Though as soon as he reached his destination he found there was nowhere else to flee to, allowing the juvenile pterosaurs to continue attacking him.

Thankfully for Eric Kirby, Billy Brennan was coming close to the stone platform that he was on, wanting Eric to jump to him. Eric was eager to escape his attackers so he swiped the Pteranodons off of him and he successfully clinged to Billy soon afterward. The Pteranodon juveniles ceased their pursuit as Eric Kirby drifted away with his rescuer, but there was one that continued the chase and managed to grasp itself onto Eric's back. However, the pterosaur's grip was not very firm and it soon fell to its death as Billy made sharp turns as he glided. Despite being rescued by Billy Brennan, the boy was not safe from danger. As the two paraglided Jeff Rossiter made a huge hole in the paraglider after shooting it with his shotgun. This attack made Billy demand Eric to let go of him and to jump safely into the water below.

Concurrent to the events mentioned above, Dr. Alan Grant, Udesky, Amanda and Paul Kirby were racing through the aviary's walkway trying to reach Eric. But they were put to a halt when they reached a section of the walkway that was completely missing. This gave a female adult Pteranodon the chance to strike them. She tried getting through the open passageway, but her large wingspan and head crest wouldn't allow her to fit through. So she decided to fly up and land on the top of one of the sections of the passageway that was slightly damaged and slide her beak through hoping to bite one of the fleeing humans. Because of her weight, the roof of the passage collapsed, getting the Pteranodon inside the walkway. As the flying reptile cornered her prey to the end of the hallway, the section they were in collapsed from the added weight of the pterosaur, plunging both the humans and the Pteranodon into the water below. The pterosaur quickly reached by emerging to prepare itself for flight, but was killed by the falling segment she unwillingly helped detach.

As Billy Brennan glided away from any of the airborne reptiles chasing him, his severely damaged paraglider became snagged on a bulging nearby rock face. With their prey in a weak position, two Pteranodonsbegan to circle around him like buzzards, preparing to strike. Billy freed himself by removing his harness and fell into the riverbank below, but he was not free from the sight of the Pterosaurs. Dr. Alan Grant and Paul Kirby, who had just reached dry land, reunited with Eric Kirby, and were watching Billy from afar, rushed to rescue him. Once they reached Billy's position, the Alpha Male Pteranodon snatched him with his beak and swallows him whole. As for Jeff, a female Pteranodon pinned him to the rock bed of the river. However, Rossiter broke free from his attackers' grasp. As he was attacked by the female pterosaurs, Alan and the others didn't even bother saving Jeff since the latter caused so much trouble. Angered by this, Rossiter tries to charge at the group and shoot them with his shotgun, but the two female pterosaurs assaulted him at the same time and proceeded to viciously maul him as his body drifted down the river. However, Rossiter somehow survived the lacerations the female Pteranodons gave him, but lost his shotgun, business coat, tie and glasses in the process.

A third Pteranodon began to chase Dr. Alan Grant and Paul Kirby as Jeff was mauled. But when it tried to snatch one of the humans they both took a dive into the deep waters of the river where they swam to the barge and the rest of their group. The Pteranodon followed in pursuit, but was killed when she crashed onto the metal walls of the Aviary. Eric and Amanda Kirby unlocked the door to the Isla Sorna Aviary to escape it. After the two unlocked the door, Amanda soon relocked it, though unknown to her it soon reverted back when she and the other survivors rushed to get to the boat.

The four remaining Pteranodon adults, including the Alpha Male, who spat out Billy hours earlier, escaped their enclosure after the humans had left. For some reason they abandoned their young, this could have been because they didn't know how expansive the world was outside of the Aviary. The survivors and the Marines/Navy who had rescued them saw the four pterosaurs as they flew away from Isla Sorna. When asked by Dr. Grant why the flying reptiles were leaving their home, Dr. Grant suggested that they were looking for new nesting grounds. The survivors hardly showed concern for the escaped pterosaurs, being more focused on the joy of being rescued.

## Gallery

The Female Pteranodon slowly approaches Eric.The Female Pteranodon about to pick up Eric.The Female Pteranodon picks up Eric.The Female Pteranodon about to feed Eric to her babies.The Female Pteranodon cornering Alan, Udesky, Paul and Amanda Kirby in a missing segment of the aviary's walkway.The Female Pteranodon watching the Alpha Male Pteranodon maul Billy Brennan.The Female Pteranodon's evil stare.The Female Pteranodons' defeat.