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Mesa Agustin interviewed
(click: downloadable image)
Mesa Agustin
The American cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb had heard about native
traditions before he began his expedition on Umboi Island in Papua New
Guinea. Some natives fear the ropen, and many natives are hesitant to talk
about the big flying creature of the night. But when the American
interviewed Mesa Agustin, in 2004, he could not help noticing the man
was very nervous, even though he had been smiling just a few minutes
before, when he and other villagers were being videotaped by the
American visitor. Whitcomb concluded that Mesa was still troubled about
his 1990 enounter with the ropen at Lake Pung.
Whitcomb used a local interpreter for translation between English and the
Kovai language.
Whitcomb: “Years ago, he went to Lake Pung with Gideon.”
Mesa agreed.
Whitcomb: “When you got to Lake Pung, did you see anything unusual or
strange, something you saw?”
Mesa agreed.
Whitcomb: “What did you see?”
Mesa: “Ropen.”
Whitcomb: “What did the end of the tail look like?”
Mesa: “Diamond.”
Although Mesa offered little information (he appeared too distraught for
Whitcomb to continue questioning him), his anxiety communicated how
seriously the encounter had affected him. He was still uneasy about it after
about fourteen years. This may be partially from local legends or stories
about the ropen, including what Westerners might call “superstitions.”
Lake Pung averages about 300 meters across, covering an area of perhaps
23 acres. Gideon estimated that the ropen flew thirty meters above the
surface of the lake, which is hardly a hundred feet high. The crater ridges
around Pung prevent anyone from observing it from far away, without
flying above it in an airplane; a misidentified bird or bat seems hard to
imagine for what Gideon described: a flying creature with no feathers and
a tail seven meters long. Mesa’s 14-year-old anxiety suggests there was no
mistake: The seven boys saw a terrifying flying creature, and what Gideon
described is indeed terrifying.
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Other Online Resources
Mount Barik, Umboi Island
Ropen Sighting by Woetzel
Youtube video of Gideon,
Mesa, and Wesley
Gideon Koro interview
Wesley Koro interview
Ropen of Umboi Island
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