Reports of Live Pterosaurs

in the Southwest Pacific

Does a live pterodactyl fly over villages of some Southwest Pacific islands? Numerous testimonies suggest nocturnal Rhamphorhynchoid-like creatures,

having names like “ropen” and “duwas” (Don’t confuse with “duah”),

live in coastal areas of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, as well as

on the islands of Umboi and Manus. A similar one was seen over Perth.

by Jonathan D. Whitcomb,

certified court videographer

Due to both negative and positive reactions to my

conclusions about this research,  it seems needful

for me to explain what this is about. The idea that

some giant pterosaurs are flying around without any

pterosaur photo being seen in newspapers or on any

television news broadcasts, may seem odd to many

people in developed countries. It deserved careful

attention rather than a quick dismissal.

 

The subject of Western cultural/scientific views on

pterosaur extinction needs careful examination.

“Standard models” of science are often taught in

Americans schools and colleges as if they were

unchallengeable fact. In reality,  they are simply

the more popular theories or ideas based on the

more widely disseminated philosophy. Any idea

appearing to contradict “Naturalism” is avoided

or ridiculed, in some educational circles. Ancient

extinctions of all pterosaurs and dinosaurs is an

idea that supports the philosophy of Naturalism,

so it is repeated continuously in the media and in

education. “Living Pterosaur” research is a niche

of cryptozoology and is not considered “standard”

by those of the philosophy of Naturalism, though

some Naturalists are involved in cryptozoology.

 

Most of those who have been most active in this

research are classified as “Creationists”. Though

there are some philosophical/religious differences

in details of belief among some of them, they are

known for  using scriptures, such as the book of

Genesis, as a foundation for scientific research.

 

The philosophical contest between Creationism

and Naturalism should not be confused with any

idea of conflict between religion and science. It

is important to understand that all scientists have

some philosophy on which to work with. Many

researchers use Naturalism, or the philosophy

that denies any miracles or Divine intervention

in the universe. This itself is not scientific but a

philosophy on which to stand, in interpreting any

data that is observed. Creationism accepts many

miracles such as are found in scriptures. It also

assumes that natural operation of laws or physical

processes are predictable and very consistent, in

the present and since the formation of the earth.

 

It should be noted that many of the most notable

scientific advances have been made by those who

were Creationists namely: Isaac Newton, Galileo,

Johann Kepler, Francis Bacon, William Herschel,

Michael Faraday, Samuel Morse, Charles Babbage,

George Washington Carver, Wernher von Braun,

Joseph Lister, Louis Pasteur, Lord Kelvin, etc.

Introduction

Background

Some eyewitnesses of strange

lights at night (“ropen light”):

 

1) Jim Blume, missionary, Papua New Guinea

 

2) Leonard of Opai Village, Umboi Island

 

3) Luke, the interpreter, Lae, Papua New Guinea

 

4) David Woetzel, American

 

5) David Moke of Opai Village, Umboi Island

 

6) Mark Kau, government official, Umboi Is.

 

7) Jonah Jim, near Owangai Village, Umboi Is.

 

It’s important to note that Jonah Jim is an important

witness in tying in the night light phenomenon with

the sightings of  creatures that  strongly resemble

living pterosaurs. He noticed both the glow and the

form of the creature, including a long tail. His is a

pivotal testimony in this investigation.

 

Some of the differences between “shooting stars”

and the ropen lights are that “ropen lights”:

 

1) are at a low-elevation

2) move horizontally or close to horizontal

3) are usually consistent in where they come

    from and where they’re headed

4) sometimes light up a beach or village

5) have a reputation of lasting 5-6 seconds

6) rob graves (before coffins were used)

 

It should be noted that whatever produces this

light has characteristics suggesting a biological

origin. In former times, when human burials

involved wrapping bodies with leaves instead

of using secure wooden caskets, the lights were

sometimes seen close to or at the grave sites at

night. The bodies would be found missing from

their graves the next morning. In more recent

years, burials involve caskets that are not very

easy to open. Grave robbery is no longer heard

of. These facts do not correlate with paranormal

or supernatural explanations. The light seems

to be produced by a scavenger or at least by a

creature that scavenges when it can.

I became actively involved with this

research in 2002. I sent an email to

a missionary in Venezuela and got

an interesting reply. The natives in

the area of the Erebato River never

drink from that river. Long ago the

people were attacked by a “giant

bat” at times. On one occasion, it

caught and ate one of them. It was

later seen defecating into the river.

(In fact, “Erebato” means bat feces)

Although this may have happened

many generations ago, the people

still remember it to the extent that

they do not drink the water from

that river. Any bat-like creature

large enough to carry off and eat

a human, suggests a pterosaur.

 

In 2003 I began communicating

with Paul Nation of Texas. We

planned on exploring an island

in Papua New Guinea in 2004,

to search for the creature called

ropen (also known as “duwas”).

Unforeseen circumstances left

Paul out of the expedition and I

went to Umboi Is. late in 2004

with an interpreter, but not Paul.

 

I interviewed a number of eye-

witnesses in the villages of Opai,

Gomlongon, and Owangai. There

did not appear to be any ulterior

motives beyond the simple desire

for these local people to help me

in my research. I found almost

all the testimonies very credible.

 

I left Papua New Guinea with a

firm conviction that one pterosaur

lives on Umboi Island. I later was

impressed with other eyewitnesses

whose testimonies correlated well

with what was told me on Umboi.

 

Two other Americans left for the

island soon after I returned to the

States. (Garth Guessman & David

Woetzel) They explored more of

the northern side of the island and

had many successful interviews.

 

I wrote the book Searching for

Ropens (first edition in 2006).

Glowing nocturnal flying creatures

Sightings involving form and features

If ropen lights were all there was, it might be of

some interest to a few people. What makes this a

truly amazing phenomenon, however, is that there

are some eyewitnesses who have seen the form of

the creature that creates the light. Not only are there

some eyewitness of what this creature looks like,

but there are traditions about it. If these traditions

were vague and we had no witnesses of the details

of the ropen’s appearance, we would not believe a

living pterosaur is responsible for these things. It’s

the combination of the traditions and the eyewitness

testimony of the ropen that is so convincing to us.

 

Some of those who have seen details of the ropen’s

appearance on Umboi Island are:

 

1) Gideon (lives near Owangai Village)

 

2) Wesley (brother of Gideon)

 

3) Mesa (friend of Gideon and Wesley)

 

4) Jonah Jim (works not far from Owangai)

 

These eyewitnesses describe features of the ropen

that in and of themselves indicate the ropen is a

very large Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. There is

more, however. Missionary Jim Blume has talked

with dozens of people from various coastal areas

of Papua New Guinea. He has noted a number of

details in the descriptions of a creature that has a

number of different names among different tribes.

These details not only correlate with a pterosaur

but differentiate the creature from any bat or bird.

It is not a bird as it has no feathers. It is bat-like in

some ways,  however, it has a long tail  and eats

fish. There is much more, however.

 

In a village that may be near the area where the

American saw a “pterodactyl” in 1944, there was

an attack in the mid-1980’s. A man was taken from

his garden by a large creature that carried him up

into the air, dropped him, returned to the ground

and took the body and carried it up into a large tree.

The villagers got there just in time to see the man

being eaten by the creature.

 

This is not the only case of human death from the

larger creatures. These attacks do not seem to be

frequent but may occur several times per decade.

The point is, these creatures are surely pterosaurs.

No other featherless flying creatures are know to

ever have existed with a size that would allow for

carrying away adult humans.

 

Another significant sighting was by a couple who

were taking a walk at night in Perth, Australia. It

was about 10:30 p.m. in December of 1997 that

they noticed a “huge creature flying . . . “it had

a ruddy reddish brown leathery skin . . . . a long

tail and a wingspan that we estimated at between

30-50 feet across . . .” Not only are both of these

testimonies credible in themselves but a number

of details correlate with eyewitness testimonies

of local people in Papua New Guinea.

 

 

During the Second World War an

American, Duane Hodgkinson, and

an Australian were on a trail not far

from Finschhafen on the mainland

of what was then New Guinea. Just

after entering a clearing, they saw

a huge creature take off into the air.

It was obvious to them that it was a

“pterodactyl”, with a wingspan of

over twenty feet and an appendage

at the back of the head.

Duane Hodgkinson’s sighting

of the “pterodactyl” on the

mainland of New Guinea

Woman describes flight path

of the ropen of Umboi Island.

Many valuable interviews were

done by Paul Nation and by Carl

Baugh in the 1990’s and in 2002.

They made friends with many of

the local people of Umboi Island.

This greatly helped set the stage

for the 2004 expeditions of three

Americans: Whitcomb, Woetzel,

and Guessman.

 

One of the witnesses of the

bright ropen light (Umboi)

The great majority of sightings of

the ropen are of what one researcher

calls the “ropen light”. Most of the

witnesses did not get a clear view

of any form though many can give

some description of the colors or

the direction of flight.

 

The testimonies of the ropen light

are very credible. The mannerisms

and composure of these people is

a strong support to believability of

their testimonies. In addition, had

they had any desire to promote any

tourism or to attract researchers to

their village, they surely would

have given some detail other than

just a moving light at night. These

people have surely seen what they

have told us they saw. The light is

seen moving from specific moun-

tains to the beach or visa-versa. It

is seen often in many villages in

the central part of Umboi Island.

Seven young men were terrified

when a giant flying creature

(ropen) flew over a crater lake.

Interview techniques of

Woetzel and Guessman

http://www.objectiveness.com/SW-Pac

updated May 25, 2007

(Pterosaurs are not flying dinosaurs)

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