First, although I love cryptozoology (otherwise you wouldn't be reading this), I am not closely related to the famous cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, and we have no close ties regarding ropen (or demon flyer) investigations, nor in researching potential living pterosaurs.

 

I enjoyed the June 3rd, 2009, television episode of MonsterQuest; but I noticed some problems, casting doubt on the validity of what the producers appeared to be attempting to prove to us. I know that some of those who were interviewed on the show are creationists. In addition, they are avid promoters of the creationist perspective on the concept of living pterosaurs. Why then was this carefully covered up by the producers?

 

And Duane Hodgkinson's account is well-known from web pages. He saw what he described as a "pterodactyl" with a very long tail. In fact, he put it

at 10-15 feet long "at least." But the MonsterQuest episode was about the idea that short-tailed pterosaurs are believed by some persons to fly in Papua New Guinea. They even had an impressive short-tailed pterosaur in 3-D animation. The phrase "demon flyer" was used, but that comes from the word used on Umboi Island, where natives call the glowing creature "ropen." Expeditions for many years have given us detailed descriptions from native eyewitness testimonies: The ropen has a long tail.

 

But what were the producers trying to prove? Most of the interviews were

of a pterosaur-fossil specialist who impressed me with his participation in exploring a remote tropical wilderness: He hoped to find something new.

But he did not impress me with his conviction that whatever he found, it

could not be a living pterosaur. He was already convinced it was practically impossible. Apparently the producers had the same pre-planned idea.

 

Overall, the producers of this show seemed to care little for objective research: They had no intention of allowing viewers to end up believing

that the reports of giant flying creatures could be living pterosaurs.

 

See the front page of a small-town newspaper: report of a pterosaur.

 

 

 

 

Duane Hodgkinson reported a giant "pterodacyl"

 

The ropen of Papua New Guinea (nonfiction book)

 

Do "pterodactyl" reports come from the Flying Fox fruit bat?

 

MonsterQuest "Demon Flyer" of Papua New Guinea

 

The cryptozoologist and author Loren Coleman