How often are dinosaurs and pterosaurs depicted as ancient creatures that became extinct millions of years ago! It was not from “modern science” that we got the doctrine of universal ancient extinctions of dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Fossils discovered before the nineteenth century (long before any carbon-dating or any other dating method), were unknown to those who dug them up. Since they were not similar to any living creatures known to those persons, they were assumed to be extinct. By the time Darwin’s ideas were becoming popular, the fossils were used as evidence for ancient extinctions. But eyewitnesses from the early twentieth century to the present have seen living dinosaurs and living pterosaurs.

Note that “eyewitness” does not usually mean “anecdotal,” at least with the many credible accounts that I have investigated with interviews, for ”anecdote” does not apply (contrary to top-of-the-head speculations of some of my critics). Neither does cryptozoology always mean unscientific or pseudo-scientific procedures. The real problem is dogmatic belief in universal extinctions of general categories of creatures: dinosaurs and pterosaurs in particular. And eyewitness accounts keep coming in.

We were sitting in the late afternoon shade of a ridge, on lawn chairs, enjoying the solitude and peace and quiet of the desert when it passed over. I caught the sight of it with the corner of my eye and looked up. It was soaring along the side of a plateau not far from us . . . I remember saying ‘. . . that looks just like a Taradactyl!’ . . . My friend looked in the binoculars and said it looked like one but it had to be a kite or something because they were extinct. . . . I grabbed the binoculars . . . What I saw was large and very much alive. Its hue was close to the hue of the desert sand but more the color of rust. Its skin, I say skin because there were no feathers, . . . looked like dull leather sort of dusty looking. . . . The back of the head was pointed.

[From page 16 of the first edition of the book] I interviewed this eyewitness and questioned her about details. She answered thoroughly, demonstrating her credibility. I have communicated with her since that 2007 interview and she maintains the truthfulness of her account; I have no reason to doubt her experience. This sighting seems to have been of a Pterodactyloid pterosaur, for it had no tail: only “a nub where a tail would be.”

Another Youtube video, “pterosaur type creature part 1,” is the identical video footage but with text: “While on holiday in Papua New Guinea with my wife . . .” I am not accusing any person of dishonesty here, but that barren hillside above the beach looks nothing like any beach that I saw while I was in Papua New Guinea. In addition, the two telephone poles and the two cars and the almost total lack of humans appears to add up to some beach other than one in that remote tropical part of the world; I don’t say that this is a fraud, but it appears very strange, regardless of birds and ropens. I don’t say that this beach is in Mexico or some other country other than Papua New Guinea; I just feel that the strangeness of the barren hill and the strangeness of the lack of natives thronging around those two cars—they deserve an explanation.

I am concerned that some of the 176,000 viewers may have been mislead in some way, for that Frigate Bird looks nothing like the descriptions that I have received from eyewitnesses of the ropen, regardless of what beach is in that video. Ropens are nocturnal creatures, for the most part, appearing dark and featherless, not with a white throat-chest common for some Frigate Birds. This video has been put up on Youtube with apparent blocking of  negative comments for about two years. It seems that this version of the footage is purposefully protected from a criticism like ”Frigate Bird,” an obvious explanation.

I don’t know that all photos and videos of proclaimed pterosaurs are non-pterosaurs; but frauds and jokes through photos and videos are so common that it has interferred with publicizing the results of legitimate investigations and research.

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The nonfiction cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America is the undisputed best seller among nonfiction books that have much content about apparent living pterosaurs (Amazon.com, late 2009 through early-August, 2010). Purchase your own copy and discover these amazing eyewitness accounts for yourself: large “pterodactyls” flying through the skies of California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, New York state, South Carolina, and elsewhere in the United States.

This is probably the only nonfiction book ever written about eyewitness sightings of apparent living pterosaurs seen across many of the forty-eight states, from West Coast to East Coast and from North to South: “Live Pterosaurs in America!”

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Child Care in Long Beach — Childcare Resources in California

Pterodactyl

Regarding the creationist cryptozoologists who have explored in Papua New Guinea, searching for the ropen (also known as “pterodactyl”), this web page says:

Regardless of what people think about living pterodactyls, regardless of what people think about creation and evolution, the enthusiasm of these few Americans, searching jungles, is noteworthy. And what if they’re right? Wouldn’t modern living pterodactyls be good news in a world sorely needing good news about life?

 Flying Dinosaur

Note that “dinosaur” is technically inaccurate, as pterosaurs were not actually dinosaurs.

The “flying dinosaur” of Papua New Guinea is often called “ropen.” It seems to be a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur . . . far larger than any of the fossils of Rhamphorhynchoids known, at least into the early 21st century. . . . much more like a pterosaur than anything else.

Prehistoric Bird

Note that the creationist cryptozoologists who search for these creatures do not believe that dinosaurs and pterosaurs are really prehistoric. They believe that they are as modern as common animals that we take for granted.

Years of investigations have validated the cryptozoologists who have been searching for “prehistoric birds” (mostly ropens) and interviewing eyewitnesses. This long-tailed flying cryptid is seen around the world, but reports are common around New Guinea.

Also note that “bird” is not technically correct, for these flying creatures have no feathers.

Flying Creature

This designation, “flying creature,” is accurate, for it is a creature that flies.

. . . “giant bat” is not really a reasonable explanation. In Papua New Guinea, the Flying Fox fruit bat is large . . . but that bat is huge only in comparison with most of the bats. The “ropen” is much larger, with some of the reports suggesting a wingspan greater than twenty-five feet. No fruit bat has a wingspan much greater than six feet at the very most.

See “What Flies in the Night” (ropen poetry)

A hoax can challenge any serious investigation, whatever is investigated. But one hoax perpetrated by an anonymous person or persons has been expecially challenging. Around 2003 or 2004, a web site popped up called “Objective Ministries.” It is now widely believed to be an elaborate hoax. But one page declares much about living pterosaurs, including apparent plans for an expedition in Africa. The “university” named and the persons named now appear to be fictional, part of the joke. The problem for serious researchers and investigators of modern living pterosaurs is this: Some people will be so repulsed by those “objective ministries” pages that they might reject any serious investigation. Tragic!

Another challenge to our investigations is the “tiny minority” position of Wikipedia. This makes any very unusual research or investigation almost impossible to portray in a very positive light on a Wikipedia page. Popular opinions rule on certain web pages and Wikipedia is a good example of that. Of course other wiki’s cover that problem, in particular is this seen on “Creationwiki” (see Pterosaur on their site).

Another problem comes from a few paleontologists who insist dogmatically that fossils, somehow, are evidence that all species of pterosaurs became extinct many millions of years ago. But those critics make no distinction between extinction and near-extinction. And they fail to acknowledge that fossilization is not a common way for a living organism to pass away after death, thereby making a “lack of recent fossils” practically meaningless in the subject of eyewitness accounts of living pterosaurs.

Am I mistake about lack-of-fossils evidence? Then why are there so few pterosaur species that did leave fossils, compared with all the pterosaur species that could have lived during all those supposed millions of years when standard models insist that they lived? No, an apparent lack of “recent fossils” cannot reasonably be used to dismiss eyewitness accounts. To insist that a lack of pterosaur fossils in particular strata is evidence that no species of pterosaur could now live is no more reasonable than insisting that no species of pterosaur could have lived anciently unless we now have a fossil of that species. That kind of faulty reasoning is another problem we face, for educated paleontologists may be assumed to reason reasonably, and sometimes that is far from the case.

What’s the difference between a fox and a paleontologist? After a successful hunt, one is lick’n bones of chicken; the other is pick’n bones of therizinosaurus. It makes no rhyme, but a paleontologist is not usually associated with light verse: Don’t confuse Darren Naish and Ogden Nash.

How else is a fox like a paleontologist? When fully mature, neither one should be mistaken for a playful puppy, else you may be lick’n your wounds. More important, both of them can sometimes roam outside their proper place.

One Monsterquest episode involved an expedition to New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. On the surface, it appeared to be a search for giant nocturnal flying creatures that some cryptozoologists believe are modern living pterosaurs (in reality, it was a dramatic production project to make an intertaining show; it was not a scientific investigation). Of all the potential explorers to take with them, Monsterquest chose a paleontologist. What’s wrong with that? It’s like inviting a fox to inspect an electric-fence security system for a chicken yard; you know that the fox will advise you to immediately stop wasting electricity on the worthless contraption. Likewise a paleontologist will be totally predictable, regardless of eyewitness evidence that a cryptid is a “living fossil.”

That brings up another similarity between a fox and a paleontologist: They both have to eat. I condemn neither of them for the need to survive. But I must point out that crytozoology is far outside the realm of paleontology, and any apparent or real lack of known fossils in any particular series of strata is not evidence for the non-existence of life. The world of living organisms is far bigger than all the fossils ever found. When paleontologists dismisses a large number of eyewitnesses with insinuations of misidentifications and improper motivations, those paleontologist have gone far outside the special field in when they are experts. They have no more right to ridicule those specific eyewitnesses than a fox has a right to eat chickens in a specific chicken yard.

The paleontologist Glen Kuban has been associated with a mild case of bulverism because of his web page criticizing the concept of modern living pterosaurs. I have known of some non-paleontologists who seem to be trying to defend traditional models of that field by using extreme bulverism. I invite all critics to keep to the issues involved: Avoid personal attacks such as insinuations of lies. Kuban has at least used a number of examples of eyewitness cases, even though he has avoided the more important cases. His portrayal of problems in the objectiveness of investigators or their lack of clear thinking seems to be in the background rather than the foreground, so I classify his page as using mild bulverism.

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Darren Naish criticized the idea of extant pterosaurs in a late-2007 online post. He believes that there are ”no indications from the fossil record that pterosaurs survived beyond the end of the Cretaceous . . .” He also proclaims that “the fossil record convincingly demonstrates that pterosaurs became extinct . . .” What he fails to include in his long post, however, is an explanation for how any fossils can demonstrate the extinction of even one species, let alone all species of a general type.

Mr. Naish seems to have failed to apply simple clear reasoning. Fossils tell us nothing about true extinction, notwithstanding one  worldwide catastrophe that killed many individual creatures; near-extinction is a world apart from true extinction. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the difference between extinction and near-extinction is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

But Naish is not the only paleontologist to miss this critical point. Glen Kuban also appears dedicated to ridiculing living-pterosaur investigators or at least actively fighting against any hope that pterosaurs still live; he also appears to believe that fossils are evidence for the extinction of all species of pterosaurs. But his long web page bears a striking resemblance to the one written by Naish: Both paleontologists concentrate on old questionable accounts, avoiding the critical eyewitness sightings that most heavily support the concept of modern extant pterosaurs.

See “Extinction or Near-Extinction, What Distinction?”

See also Live Pterosaurs

To the best of my knowledge, there is no cryptozoology book, as of July 1, 2010, primarily about living-pterosaur sightings around the world. Dinosaurs, Dead or Alive is about worldwide sightings, but dinosaurs, not pterosaurs, are the main topic; Searching for Ropens (second edition) is only about pterosaur sightings, but refers almost exclusively to the Southwest Pacific; Live Pterosaurs in America is only about pterosaur sightings, but relates only to the forty-eight states of the U.S.A.; Big Bird is about large flying creatures, be they bird-like or pterosaur-like, and emphasizes sightings in Texas.

Descriptions of these cryptozoology books are from Amazon.

Live Pterosaurs in America

LPA was by far the best-seller, with 47% of the sales for these four nonfiction books (Amazon.com sales for the combined months of May and June).

Live “pterodactyls!” In the United States? Prepare for a shock if you thought they all died millions of years ago. In California, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other states, eyewitnesses have been shocked by featherless creatures flying overhead. Many of the apparent living pterosaurs are much larger than any bat; Many have long tails; many have head crests. Where are the news headlines? How did living pterosaurs avoid the media spotlight? Rare and nocturnal, they have always lived here.

Big Bird

BB had 26% of the sales for these four non-fiction books.

A LEGEND ON LEATHER WINGS! The Indians called it the Thunderbird, a winged monster so vast that the beating of its mighty pinions sounded like thunder. But this ancient beast is not to be held in the cage of mythology. Today, from all over the dusty U.S. / Mexican border come hair-raising stories of modern day encounters with winged monsters of immense size and terrifying appearance.

Searching for Ropens, second edition

SFR-2 had 15% of the sales for these four non-fiction books.

Expanded second edition: An American flight instructor, an Australian psychologist, many natives on tropical islands, an Australian couple, a Baptist minister, a teenaged farm-boy–each saw a giant living pterosaur. Each was amazed, or terrified, or shocked by a brown or dark-colored featherless creature: long-tailed and with a wingspan as great as fifty feet.

Dinosaurs, Dead or Alive

DDA had 12% of the sales. (No Amazon.com description is available.)

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Living pterosaurs have been reported in the United States, for years. Astonishing! Eyewitnesses had been afraid to come forward, for the most part; now those who choose can remain anonymous and tell of their encounters. Read the many eyewitness sighting reports  by purchasing a nonfiction book on Amazon or buy Live Pterosaurs in America from the publisher.

For the months of May and June, 2010, this has been by far the best-selling nonfiction book (Amazon.com) about living pterosaurs. It is in pure cryptozoology genre, unlike some books about modern living pterosaurs and dinosaurs, packed with exciting observations by shocked eyewitnesses. Find out for yourself why many Americans are awakening to the knowledge that these strange creatures still fly, and right here in the United States.

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Child Care for Long Beach (California)

Why so few eyewitnesses?

I’ve lived more than half a century in Southern California, but I have never seen a mountain lion in the wild. It’s not that I’ve never walked through a wilderness area; mountain lions keep hidden, most of the time. But a few Southern Californians do see them.

At the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, in Southern California, near Irvine, in the summer of 2007, a man was driving north from the university, with the ponds on his right. From the marshy area on his left a very strange flying creature flew across the road, right in front of him, flying into the sanctuary.

American eyewitnesses (1400) of pterosaurs

 I have learned, over the years that I have promoted attention to the eyewitness evidences, that some vocal critics are overly anxious to discredit all those who promote the idea of living pterosaurs. I welcome comments on the eyewitness evidence itself, rather than weaknesses (real or wrongly-supposed) of the interviewers and investigators.

Marfa Lights and Min Mins (and ropens)

Come with me to Victoria, Australia, along Salisbury Road in Mt. Macedon. Notice, as we enter an open window, that Mr. Fred Silcock is sleeping in the easy chair by the fireplace. Now search for a thin brown book on the bookshelf. That’s the one; the spine says “The Min Min Light  F.F. Silcock”. Notice the drawing of a glowing barn owl on the cover.

Science and Clear Thinking

“The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.” I believe Nikola Tesla was thinking clearly when he said that. I also believe that we need clear thinking in the scientists of today, at least as much as in the time of Tesla. It appears to me difficult to define, although its opposite appears easy to expose. Perhaps we should be grateful for extremes that help us to distinguish between foggy and clear thinking. I suggest a couple of examples.

Glowing Orbs of the Mekong River

What attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, every October, to Nong Kai Province? The Naga Fireballs of Southeast Asia have attracted crowds for many years, and these strange glowing orbs have been seen emerging from the Mekong River for centuries.

. . . We know that some insects glow and some insects emerge from rivers to fly away. This may be a large bioluminescent insect.

Cryptozoology Book Live Pterosaurs in America

“The world’s greatest expert on chickens—that’s a fox. The details of that expertise culminate in picking bones, executed differently than, but for the same purpose as, the work of a fossil expert: to make a living. The hope differs: The paleontologist searches for ancient bones somehow protected from the destructive forces of time; the fox, for fresh meat, somehow unprotected by the farmer for a time. Interminable dogmatism keeps both of them searching: one for death anciently; the other, death soon-to-be.”

According to this eyewitness, “It looked as big as any car, and had NO feathers, not like a huge crane or egret. . . . it swooped down over the highway and back up gracefully over the pines.” Years later, she learned of my investigations and reported her sighting. I have since interviewed her several times by email and she has convinced me that she saw basically what she described. I believe it was similar to the ropen of Papua New Guinea: a giant Rhamphornynchoid pterosaur.

Large long-tailed pterosaurs do not seem to be confined to South Carolina, however. I have also interviewed an eyewitness of two similar creatures in Georgia. They appeared to be of the same species, (but not necessarily the same species as the South Carolina pterosaur) seen on different mornings, and both were large, but they were not the same size; that is how the eyewitness concluded that there were two. Contrary to other descriptions of long-tailed pterosaurs, however, these two had rather fat tails and rather fat flanges at the end of their tails.

More about the South Carolina Pterosaur Sighting

More about Pterosaurs in Georgia

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Did you know that living pterosaurs have been reported in North America, even in the United States? Yes! Get the details of many eyewitness sighting reports  by purchasing a copy of this nonfiction book on Amazon.

Learn much more about the South Carolina sighting by Susan Wooten. But this cryptozoology book is packed with many more sightings, eyewitness encounters from across the United States: California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, and many more states.

“The problem with science is that we think we know it all and that is far from reality. This book shows courage to continue the search. If you have an interest in cryptozoology you should read this.” Dale Reeder, Pennsylvania

For many weeks, this has been the best-selling nonfiction book (Amazon.com) about living pterosaurs. It is in pure cryptozoology genre, unlike some books about modern living pterosaurs and dinosaurs, with exciting observations by shocked eyewitnesses. Find out for yourself why many Americans are awakening to the knowledge that these creatures still fly, not just in remote jungles but right here in the United States.

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Long Beach Child Care Services (California daycare, licensed)