At least one reader of my first book, Searching for Ropens, misunderstood my comment about the idea that ancient pterosaurs, sometimes, get caught in a time hole and appear briefly in our modern world. I never believed in anything like that;  it smells of superstition.

I mentioned that idea in my book to show how dogmatically some persons hold onto the idea that pterosaurs lived only many millions of years ago, even imagining time-traveling pterosaurs (to keep ancient extinctions alive.)

A true-life adventure in cryptozoology–that focus, in the third edition of the non-fiction book Searching for Ropens, will replace the creationist emphasis in previous editions. (A new book will cover religious and philosophical perspectives regarding living pterosaurs.) Traditional book publishing requires clear genre positioning, and the first two editions of SFR (published-on-demand) were mixed, emphasizing both adventure and religion.

The religious perspectives of the explorers will not be hidden in the new edition, for their searches for living pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea were inspired by their beliefs. The content of the revision, however, will not be used as a preaching podium to convince readers to become creationists.

The new clarity of genre should increase sales of the book greatly, bringing the news of living-pterosaur investigations to much more of the general public. The publisher should be determined later in 2010.

I just received a sighting report from a man who was about eight years old when he saw a “featherless flying animal” near Jefferson, Texas. Several details suggest that this is no hoax: a genuine sighting.

He estimated the wingspan at 4 1/2 to 5 feet with a long tail that had a “diamond type shape” at the end. The creature had leathery skin rather than any hair or feathers. One unusual feature was a series of highly contrasted stripes on the animal’s topside (back); the underside (stomach), however, had a much more neutral coloring. It had a “long mouth/beak” with teeth. It was flying only about eight feet above the ground, making a noisy flapping. Nothing obstructed the boy’s view of the creature.

The boy was alone at the time. The creature left before the boy’s mother came outside; she told him “it was just a bird and it was my imagination.” I believe the boy’s version of what happened, for several aspects of his report are supported by other eyewitness testimonies for other sightings in the U.S.

In Orange County, California, this encounter, around 1997, was more of a hearing than a sighting. This account should be read in full: Rancho Santa Margarita Cryptid. In brief, it includes:

“One night I was awakened . . . with the most . . . awful screeching and screaming that I have ever heard. . . . like . . . pigs being slaughtered. . . . I opened the window . . . the sound was accompanied [by] some thrashing around in some hedges or bushes in the backyard of my . . . neighbors  [vacant] house . . . The unearthly screeching continued . . . like . . . [a] struggle to the death. . . . I went into the front yard . . . Chills shot up and down my spine. As I stood holding my breath, a heard a deep, soft, ‘hushing’ sound, like giant wings lifting something heavy into the air. This came from around the side of my house . . . I didn’t ’see’ so much as ‘felt’ it. Whatever it was swept up and onto the chimney of the next-door-neighbors house. the night sky was incredibly dark so I could not really make out anything, but a large hulking ‘presence’ sat on that chimney. As I stared hard into the dark, trying to make out a shape or a movement, I realized whatever it was was staring right back at me. I left the yard quickly and went inside. . . . The next day I called around and finally got a hold of a wild animal control center in Orange County . . . they told me that it was most likely a great horned owl.”

In itself, this cannot prove that pterosaurs live in Southern California, of course. But it contributes to the accumulating cryptozoological evidence that those who contact me with their experiences are, in general, obviously not hoaxers. I have received similarly vague accounts, occasionally, from various parts of the world, including the U.S.A., Greece, Africa, and Australia. Hoaxers would not try to convince anyone of a pterosaur sighting with such vagueness. But if actual living pterosaurs have indeed been observed (at least on occasion, in various places in the world) then at least a few encounters would naturally include less-clear sightings, with sound-evidence more than visual. This puts one more nail in the coffin holding the hoax hypothesis.

The Antwerp Bee-Argus newspaper (Aug 5, 2009 issue) gave an account of two sightings over the Maumee River: 2002 and 2003, both in the daylight heat of summer. (More detailed information is in my book Live Pterosaurs in America, published two weeks before the newspaper article.)

When I first interviewed the young man, years ago, the amazing description made me hesitate publishing it; after studying the details, however, I included it in my book, for this eyewitness is credible, describing a real creature that he observed. I also stand by my opinion that his description of a flexible tail came from his observation of a stiff tail that moved back and forth with the unusual flight pattern of the creature as it was trying to catch sparrows over the river: Tail-flexibility was an optical illusion but the eyewitness saw a real creature.

I interviewed the two eyewitnesses separately, by phone, on Sep 23rd (soon after their sighting). Both of them told me that the creature they saw flying about 300 feet above them, at about 10:30 p.m. in the San Fernando Valley, was too big to be a bird. (They had been walking their dog as usual; they had never seen anything like that before, nor had either of them known anything about living-pterosaur investigations.) Less than two weeks earlier, I had spoken with a man who had seen something that may have been similar; it was also in the Los Angeles area, but flying further away from that eyewitness, preventing detailed observations. The date of that sighting, however, and lack of detail about location, make it somewhat unlikely to have been the same individual creature as that seen by the couple.

I found the two eyewitnesses of the Sep 21st sighting quite credible in the substance of their descriptions and manner of speech. To help prevent assisting any potential future hoax, I am withholding most details from publication, for the moment. I would like to find at least one more eyewitness of this particular creature. It was seen near the intersection of Burband Blvd and Woodman, near the border between the cities of Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks. It was flying either east or southeast, either towards North Hollywood or the foothills just south of Studio City (or inbetween).

Should anyone feel any desire to help with this investigation, please contact me:  whitcomb-<at-sign>-livepterosaurs.com

Scientific study of fossils and cryptozoological study of reports of ropens in Papua New Guinea–they both point to the idea that many pterosaurs like (or liked) sea food, including fish; I know that. But some of my associates, in recent years, have observed apparent ropens (or ropen-like nocturnal flying creatures) that fly among bats. It now seems probable that some of our modern pterosaurs eat bats; that is covered in my new book Live Pterosaurs in America.

Sightings of ropen-like animals sometimes coincide with observed bat activity. One of my contacts, living in West-Central Africa, once told me about a report (from a missionary who does not want to get involved with cryptozoological investigations) of a tree full of fruit bats that scattered when a large flying creature approached. I know that is rather vague, but a number of sightings of apparent pterosaurs in the United States are more suggestive.

This gives us two obvious avenues of investigation: Someone could question bat experts; someone could search for records of eyewitnesses of any “giant bat” or giant flying creature that appeared to have attacked one or more bats. I would greatly appreciate any volunteers.

Bat Conservation International . . . . . Bats, order: Chiroptera . . . Home Page Introduction to this blog

I’ve never interviewed this eyewitness, but I find the report interesting; it is by “Stew,” who was visiting Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in 2000. (”pterodactyl” sighting details) I hope that he will someday get in touch with me.

” . . . about one and a half miles away, a huge black bird-like creature came from the more mountainous region to my left, and flew toward the ocean . . . wingspan about equal to the length of the taller palm trees, I thought about 30 to 40 feet. The wings moved very slowly, almost touching on the downward swing . . .”

I believe RM-2 has information about another sighting in Mexico. [Blog Intro]

Welcome, RM-2

I’m grateful to this new subscriber, from the UK, who has been active in cryptozoological research (he recently gave me important information on another unrelated sighting report). By the way, Namibia, on the southwest coast of Africa (much desert), is the second most sparsely populated country in the world, according to Wikipedia. [Blog Intro]

Early Sep 11, 2009

An eyewitness recently told me that he saw, “the largest flying creature I’ve ever seen,” at the Cooney Reservoir in Southern Montana, on Friday, September 4, 2009. I’m presently interviewing him, with the hope of communicating with another man who was with him that evening at the Red Lodge campground. Several preliminary signs indicate that this is a genuine sighting, unlikely a hoax. (See the press release on the elimination of hoax potential in overall testimonies; nevertheless, individual credibility is judged rather differently. The report of this Montana sighting has its own individual aspects that give it credibility.)

Early that night, it flew over them: about 50 feet high; the eyewitness estimated the wingspan: 20 feet. “We could hear the sound of the wings flapping.” Two other eyewitnesses may have seen something similar at different times in the area, giving us three additional potential eyewitness testimonies involving as many as two additional sightings. I’ll follow up on those as well. [Introduction to this blog]