Ropen seen in eastern Cuba in 1965
copyright 2005-2017 Jonathan Whitcomb
Opai Village and the Giant Ropen
Objectiveness - living pterosaur on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
The humble people of Opai Village, Umboi Island, greatly enjoyed being videotaped by the American visitor Jonathan Whitcomb, who interviewed some of them regarding their sightings of the flying ropen light. Whitcomb and his associates believe it is the bioluminescent glow of a modern pterosaur, called by some of the Western eyewitnesses a “pterodactyl” (although some natives of Papua New Guinea may call it a dragon).
Apparently, a nocturnal pterosaur lives on Umboi Island The villagers of Opai are happy to meet visitors who come with some kind of an introduction. They do not seek tourism; for the most part, they do not even know what tourism is, at least before about the year 2017. Some of the islanders of Opai have seen the legendary ropen, as it flies over or near the village on some nights. One old man, Michael, saw the creature long ago, as it robbed the grave of a man who had recently been buried. Most of the people of Umboi Island have never clearly seen the form of the ropen. Eyewitnesses usually see just a bright and distant light. One few exception, however, is the sighting by the young man Gideon  Koro, who comes from a village a few kilo- meters northwest of Opai. Glowing Flyover Opai Village is a small community, one kilometer from Gomlongon. What sets this little settlement apart from the many other villages in less-developed nations of the world? It’s regular flyovers by the ropen, a huge nocturnal flying creature that is seen about once a month as it passes overhead at night. How is it seen in the dark of night? It glows brightly. Islanders in other villages on Umboi— they have also seen the ropen fly over- head at night, yet Opai might be at a place where the ropen flies more often, at least according to sightings by Leonard.
On one occasion, Whitcomb warned the children of Opai to avoid the ropen, although such cautioning was probably unnecessary: Why would any of those children ever approach a ropen?
The ropen that flies over Opai Village may be related to the flying “dinosaur” that children saw at Guantanamo Bay in the 1960’s (Cuba). It was also seen by a U.S. Marine in the year 1971, at that same area in Cuba. In addition, we have many other eyewitnesses in North America and elsewhere.
For those who assume that living pterosaurs are only seen by “superstitious” natives, what about Western eyewitnesses? What about Brian Hennessy, who saw a “prehistoric” kind of flying creature on the island of Bougainville, New Guinea? Hennessy is now a professional psychologist, not a person who would make up a story like that and report it publicly. What about the U.S. Marine Eskin Kuhn, who reported two large “pterodactyls” that flew at the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1971? Over the decades since that sighting, he has been ridiculed by skeptics, at times, yet he continues to maintain the reality of what he witnessed. Others also saw that kind of long-tailed featherless flying creature there at the U.S. military installation in Cuba, in particular in the 1960’s. What about the American World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson, who in 1944 just west of Finschhafen, New Guinea, saw a “huge” “pterodactyl” in clear mid-day light? He was a flight instructor later in life, needing students to trust him with their lives, yet when did he ever waver in his testimony that he had seen that giant flying creature in 1944? Was it only a fruit bat? Nothing of the kind. Hodgkinson estimated the length of the tail was about ten or fifteen feet, or in that neighborhood. That’s FEET, not millimeters. People depended on that man to make observations accurately, for he was, in 1944, a weather observer for the field artillery. He was interviewed numerous times by cryptozoologists like Garth Guessman and Jonathan Whitcomb, and they believed his report. Let us be objective in evaluating many eyewitness reports from around the world, when we see similarities in the descriptions of the flying creatures.
The forest background photo (top of this page) is for the Objectiveness site in general and is unrelated to the forests of Papua New Guinea
Opai Village and the Giant Ropen
Objectiveness - living pterosaur on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea
The humble people of Opai Village, Umboi Island, greatly enjoyed being videotaped by the American visitor Jonathan Whitcomb, who interviewed some of them regarding their sightings of the flying ropen light. Whitcomb and his asso- ciates believe it is the bioluminescent glow of a modern pterosaur, called by some of the Western eyewitnesses a “pterodactyl” (although some natives of Papua New Guinea may call it a dragon).
Apparently, a nocturnal pterosaur lives on Umboi Island The villagers of Opai are happy to meet visitors who come with some kind of an introduction. They do not seek tourism; for the most part, they do not even know what tourism is, at least before about the year 2017. Some of the islanders of Opai have seen the legendary ropen, as it flies over or near the village on some nights. One old man, Michael, saw the creature long ago, as it robbed the grave of a man who had recently been buried. Most of the people of Umboi Island have never clearly seen the form of the ropen. Eyewitnesses usually see just a bright and distant light. One few exception, however, is the sighting by the young man Gideon  Koro, who comes from a village a few kilo- meters northwest of Opai. Glowing Flyover Opai Village is a small community, one kilometer from Gomlongon. What sets this little settlement apart from the many other villages in less-developed nations of the world? It’s regular flyovers by the ropen, a huge nocturnal flying creature that is seen about once a month as it passes overhead at night. How is it seen in the dark of night? It glows brightly. Islanders in other villages on Umboi— they have also seen the ropen fly over- head at night, yet Opai might be at a place where the ropen flies more often, at least according to sightings by Leonard.
On one occasion, Whitcomb warned the children of Opai to avoid the ropen, although such cautioning was probably un- necessary: Why would any of them ever approach a ropen?
Ropen seen in eastern Cuba in 1965
The ropen that flies over Opai Village may be related to the flying “dinosaur” that children saw at Guantanamo Bay in the 1960’s (Cuba). It was also seen by a U.S. Marine in the year 1971, at that same area in Cuba. In addition, we have many other eyewitnesses in North America and elsewhere.
For those who assume that living pterosaurs are only seen by “superstitious” natives, what about Western eyewitnesses? What of Brian Hennessy, who saw a “prehistoric” kind of flying creature on the island of Bougainville, New Guinea? Hennessy is now a professional psychologist, not a person who would make up a story like that and report it publicly. What about the U.S. Marine Eskin Kuhn, who reported two large “pterodactyls” that flew at the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1971? Over the decades since that sighting, he has been ridiculed by skeptics, at times, yet he continues to maintain the reality of what he witnessed. Others also saw that kind of long-tailed featherless flying creature there at the U.S. military installation in Cuba, in particular in the 1960’s. What about the American World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson, who in 1944 just west of Finschhafen, New Guinea, saw a “huge” “ptero- dactyl” in clear mid-day light? He was a flight instructor later in life, needing students to trust him with their lives, yet when did he ever waver in his testimony that he had seen that giant flying creature in 1944? Was it only a fruit bat? Nothing of the kind. Hodgkinson estimated the length of the tail was about ten or fifteen feet, or in that neighborhood. That’s FEET, not millimeters. People depended on that man to make observa- tions accurately, for he was, in 1944, a weather observer for the field artillery. He was interviewed numerous times by cryptozoologists like Garth Guessman and Jonathan Whitcomb, and they believed his report. Let us be objective in evaluating many eyewitness reports from around the world, when we see similarities in the descriptions of the flying creatures.
copyright 2005-2017 Jonathan Whitcomb
The forest background photo (top of this page) is for the Objectiveness site in general and is unrelated to the forests of Papua New Guinea