expedition | Live Pterosaur

February 14, 2019

How to Videotape the Ropen with a Drone

"How to film a ropen" - a mechanical drone follows a pterosaur in a semi-circle

By the nonfiction cryptozoology author Jonathan Whitcomb

Introduction

I assume at least two explorers are at a major crater lake on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, probably one of these lakes:

Pung
Malangpot
Bono

I also assume that the explorers have obtained the needed permission, from local village leadership, to be there. I also assume the you know and understand the following:

Looking for the ropen

I also assume that you know how to fly a drone well and are prepared to videotape (film) a flying bird, or at least one of the explorers has those skills. If not, learn and practice until at least one of you is proficient. Before getting to your crater-lake location on Umboi Island, I recommend practicing filming birds that are in flight.

A Few Simple Ideas for Filming a Ropen

Get the drone ready before making noise that could awaken a ropen. As the procedure progresses in circling the lake and yelling, be ready to launch the drone. Whether you launch before a sighting begins or not is your decision.

If a ropen flies over the lake, fly to get on one side of it, if possible. In other words, avoid getting directly in front of it or directly behind it, if you can.

One way to film a ropen with a drone

If the drone gets closer to the ropen than you had planned, be prepared for the possibility that the animal may turn to approach the drone. It may be best, if they are very close to each other, to turn to get onto the tail side of the ropen, like World War II fighter pilots did in dog fighting.

One way to avoid allowing the ropen to catch the drone

Final Message From Jonathan Whitcomb

Those are just some general suggestions for consideration. I take no responsibility for how any operates a drone and I take no responsibility for what happens should one or more persons attempt to film or photograph any ropen or any other flying creature.

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How to Find the Ropen of Umboi

This is about how to get close enough to a ropen, on Umboi Island, (and under reasonable conditions) to be able to get reasonable photos and video footage of this featherless flying creature.

Pterosaurs still living in the southwest Pacific

Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, is not the only place in the southwest Pacific where people see pterosaurs or pterosaur-like flying creatures . . . with a long tail and no sign of any feathers.

Filming with a drone

Several techniques for videotaping with a drone

Ropen humor

Everything you wanted to know about non-extinct pterodactyls but you were afraid to admit that you’d seen one

Non-extinct pterosaurs

In about 2004, two eyewitnesses saw an apparent pterosaur in Kerman, which is about 15 miles west of Fresno, California. The following is a small portion of an email I received from one of those eyewitnesses.

Ropen pterodactyl

In the United States, it is called “flying creature” or “pterodactyl” or “dinosaur bird” or “prehistoric bird.” Sometimes it’s called “pterosaur” or “ropen.”

Pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea

Pterodactyl Kills Fisherman

Ropen expeditions

Woetzel and Guessman and their interpreter Jacob Kepas flew to the southern coast of Umboi, where they soon took a banana boat around the eastern coast. The first part of their exploring was on the northern side of the island, but for now I will cover just one of their discoveries: the clam-eating of the ropen.

January 25, 2019

How to Find the Ropen of Umboi

Lake Pung on Umboi Island in Papua New Guinea

By the nonfiction-cryptozoology author Jonathan Whitcomb

Introduction

This is not about details in the form and features of the ropen or about why the sightings in general are not from misidentified birds or bats or about the scientific and philosophical ramifications from a discovery of a modern living Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. This is about how to get close enough to a ropen, on Umboi Island, (and under reasonable conditions) to be able to get reasonable photos and video footage of this featherless flying creature.

I led a two-week expedition on Umboi (called by natives “Siasi”) late in the year 2004. I now abbreviate this expedition “WPEU” for Whitcomb-Paina expedition on Umboi (Luke Paina was my native assistant). A few weeks later, after my return to the United States, David Woetzel and Garth Guessman conducted their own expedition on Umboi (late in 2004); Jacob Kepas was their native interpreter. I now call this expedition “WGK.”

Lake Pung on Umboi (crater lake), photo by G. Guessman

Be aware that no expedition on Umboi Island should be undertaken before receiving significant advice from at least one explorer who has been on that tropical island and who has successfully worked with local natives in hiking in the interior. The following ideas about searching for the ropen, or a number of the nocturnal animals, is not advice for going to Umboi Island or advice for how to conduct oneself after arriving there. I take no responsibility for any decisions any other person may make regarding going on any expedition.

Several expeditions on Umboi preceded my own, but their successes were almost entirely with interviewing native eyewitnesses. The native Rex Yapi Epa has been searching for the ropen on Umboi, with his expedition team, in recent months. As of the beginning of 2019, however, nobody has been able to provide the scientific community with any photo or video footage of a ropen on this remote jungle island, at least not to my present knowledge.

I now emphasize that any or all of the following pieces of advice may be dangerous to life and limb, for anyone who follows any of my advice. I take no responsibility for any result, or lack of result, related to the following.

Off the southern coast of Umboi Island (WPEU expedition, 2004)

I will not go into details about why I offer the following pieces of advice, although I may later publish another blog post with such explanations.

Search Possibility #1

Camp out near Lake Pung, either on or near the shore or on the lookout point where Woetzel and Guessman camped in 2004. Some members of the expedition team will need to be there continuously for at least two weeks. This can get boring, so you might want to rotate this watch between members of your expedition team.

Every day, during those 14+ days near Lake Pung, get your cameras and video camcorders ready, including taking the lens caps off each lens and turning the power on for each device. Every day, go through the same routine, or keep to it as closely as reasonably possible:

Pick a spot on the shore of the lake, to begin the routine. Have every person present yell moderately loudly (not as loud as possible) for about 20-40 seconds, always keeping a watch for a ropen that might fly out of the jungle somewhere (anywhere).

Walk about a third of the way around the shore of Lake Pung, if possible. Repeat the 20-40 seconds of yelling. Walk a similar distance around the lake and repeat that, but each time, at each location, shout a little louder.

The above routine should be followed at least three times a day, with each yelling session starting at moderately loud and ending (at a different part of the lake shore) very loudly. Remember to keep the cameras completely ready to record at each time that the people shout.

Those three times should be something like this:

About an hour after sunrise
At about midday
About two hours before sunset

If possible, don’t skip even one day with this routine, and keep it up for at least fourteen days.

For the next search possibility, I’ll write another blog post.

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Ropen

Some of the names for this creature [in Papua New Guinea] are as follows: seklo-bali, ropen, duwas, kor, wawanar.

About Umboi Island

Jonathan Whitcomb answers many questions from a high school student who wanted to write a novel about the ropen of Umboi Island.

What is a ropen?

The ropen is a modern Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur, the long-tailed type that is sometimes labeled “basal.”

“Flying Dinosaur” book

It’s a short cryptozoology book about apparent living pterosaurs. Let’s begin with a list of some of the benefits available to young readers, for this is for kids and teenagers . . .

Is the ropen a modern pterosaur?

What is this flying creature called “ropen?” Countless eyewitnesses, in many countries across the planet, have pondered what it was they had seen. But ropens continue to fly overhead, continuing to shock humans who had assumed that all pterosaurs had become extinct millions of years ago.

Lake Pung on Umboi Island

The crater lake where seven native boys were terrified at the appearance of the huge ropen (at midday, late 1993 or early 1994)

April 22, 2015

Pterosaur Expedition in Papua New Guinea

On Saturday, April 18, 2015, two American explorers returned from Papua New Guinea, after searching for living pterosaurs on a tropical island where the creatures were previously reported. At last, after eleven expeditions in 21 years, we have a ground-breaking success: Both Americans saw, in daylight, a huge apparent living pterosaur.

Typical village huts in Papua New Guinea

Seek and ye Shall Find . . . Modern Pterosaurs

The following are expeditions in which at least one American has traveled to Papua New Guinea to search for modern pterosaurs or at least to interview native eyewitnesses of those flying creatures or to make a television show with an apparently similar purpose:

1994 – led by Carl Baugh and James Blume (with Paul Nation)
1996 – led by Carl Baugh and James Blume
2001 – led by an anonymous American explorer
2002 – led by Paul Nation (with Nathanael Nation)
2004 – led by Jonathan Whitcomb (with Luke Paina and Mark Kau)
2004 – led by David Woetzel and Garth Guessman (with Jacob Kepas)
2006 – led by Paul Nation and Jacob Kepas (assisted by James Blume)
2007 – led by Paul Nation (probably again helped by James Blume)
2007 – Destination Truth (TV show) expedition led by Joshua Gates
2009 – Monsterquest (TV show) expedition, with Garth Guessman
2015 – led by two Americans (details to be revealed)

Only on the recent expedition in early 2015 did an American observe the form and features of a probable pterosaur flying overhead (#11). In fact, two Americans saw the creature in daylight. It’s been a long 21 years.

That’s not to say all ten of the previous expeditions in Papua New Guinea were failures, with no sighting at all of any living pterosaur. In #7, Paul Nation saw and videotaped flying lights that a physicist later found to be anything but common, and two natives observed, in daylight, what appeared to be a huge winged creature sleeping on a cliff. On at least seven of those ten previous expeditions strange flying lights were observed (#2, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10), lights which investigators believe are bioluminescent pterosaurs. In addition, hardly any of those ten previous expeditions failed to obtain an interview with one or more eyewitnesses of an apparent pterosaur or at least a flying light.

Early-2015 Expedition in Papua New Guinea

One of the two American explorers has allowed his name to be used in publications about this expedition: Milt Marcy of Portland, Oregon. He had previously been on an expedition in Africa, searching for a sauropod dinosaur. A third American was involved in the recent expedition in Papua New Guinea, but he had to return to the United States earlier than the other two.

Marcy I interviewed by phone, on April 21, 2015, and he frankly told me that he could not be 100% certain that the large flying creature he observed was a pterosaur. He did agree with my assessment that it was more than 50% likely to have been a pterosaur.

The other American (who will probably soon give permission for his name to be revealed) gave me no indication of any doubt. When he responded to Marcy’s yell, the other eyewitness looked up and saw a huge flying creature with leathery wings. It was not flapping like a Flying Fox fruit bat but was gliding or soaring.

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Pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea

Pterosaurs Still Living is here to document, then analyze, eyewitness accounts of living pterosaurs or pterosaur-like creatures and to support expeditions and investigations to obtain relevant evidence.

Papua New Guinea Pterosaur

. . . a large creature flew up into the air. The men soon realized that it was no bird that started to circle the clearing. It had a tail “at least ten to fifteen feet long”

Pterosaur Sighting by Scott Norman

The animal I saw had an 8-10 foot wing span, the wings were bat-like in shape, the inside had that wavy type of look. The body was about 5-6 feet in length, the neck about 1-2 feet in length, the head was about four feet in length . . .

Two Expeditions in 2004

I led the first of the two pterosaur expeditions on Umboi Island in 2004, but I would like to comment first on the second expedition: the Woetzel-Guessman exploration of that tropical island in Papua New Guinea.

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Ad:

Searching for Ropens and Finding God – “The Bible of modern pterosaurs”

From an Amazon reader comment:

This is a fascinating chronological and eyewitness account of finding “Ropens” (pterosaurs), written by Jonathan D. Whitcomb, who has spent many years with his associates (Garth Guessman and David Woetzel) to track down these creatures. The “ropen” is a flying prehistoric reptile such as the pterosaurs, such as the Pteranodon or the Rhamphorhyncus. Whitcomb tracks down sightings of these creatures in places like Umboi Island, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Europe, Cuba, Mexico and even in the U.S. . . .

If you’re interested in cryptozoology and wonder if dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures exist today, this is an excellent book for you to read. I found it to be a fascinating read.

June 14, 2010December 8, 2011

Objective investigations

Critics have sometimes questioned the objectiveness of investigators of eyewitness accounts of living pterosaurs. It seems that those critics have been hasty. Consider details, then judge for yourself.

Woetzel-Guessman expedition of 2004

When the American cryptozoologists David Woetzel and Garth Guessman explored Umboi Island late in 2004, they used a sketches in some of their interviews. Dozens of silhouettes were available for native eyewitnesses to compare: birds, bats, and pterosaurs. Detailed interview forms were used. To be more objective than previous explorers, they used those sketches and forms to interview native eyewitnesses.

When Woetzel had his sighting one night, he described the strange flying light that he had observed. He did not imagine any shape to the light, no form that would suggest a modern pterosaur. He only reported what he had seen. (Contrary to some of the vague ridicule from critics, we can really be quite objective.)

Nation-Kepas expedition of 2006

When Jacob Kepas climbed up a mountain ridge with a local guide, their first viewing location was insufficient for Kepas to be sure that what he was observing was a large winged-creature. Only after the guide had climbed up to a higher viewing location was it ascertained to be what they had suspected.

On that expedition, when Paul Nation videotaped the two strange lights on the ridge, he did not say that he had observed the shapes of two pterosaurs. He described the lights that he had seen; he admitted that no shape was observed.

Nation expedition of early 2007

Paul Nation returned to the Tawa Village area of Papua New Guinea only weeks after his first expedition there. He scrutinized the various lights that he had observed in late 2006 and determined that the bright white lights far to the east were from automobile headlights. After he had returned to the United States, he reported his findings to me and admitted his previous mistake, notwithstanding the other lights were genuine indava lights. This may have been somewhat embarrasing, at first, but it verifies the objective purity of the investigations. It shoots down the ridicule that we are grossly biased and therefore incapable of conducting objective investigations.

More about the Living-Pterosaur Cryptozoologist Jacob Kepas

Science and Clear Thinking (from The Bible and Modern Pterosaurs)

Follow living-pterosaur investigations on Twitter

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Third edition of "Live Pterosaurs in America"