Book | Live Pterosaur

September 4, 2013November 14, 2014

“Dinosaur Books” and Searching for Ropens

nonfiction book by Jonathan Whitcomb: "Searching for Ropens and Finding God" - third edition

Nobody who understands the distinction between dinosaurs and pterosaurs thinks of the ropen as a dinosaur. But whether or not it’s a pterosaur—that has been controversial. My first book, Searching for Ropens, a spiritual-cryptozoology cross-genre, is now in its second edition, with a revised and expanded third edition in preparation. It was written entirely on the assumption that at least one species of modern pterosaur could be living in Papua New Guinea.

Most nonfiction dinosaur books available on Amazon seem to be strictly traditional standard-model in foundation, probably with no allowance for modern living forms of creatures thought long extinct. Before examining my book let’s see a bit about two of the most popular Amazon ones for dinosaurs.

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs (Amazon #1 children’s dinosaur book) – by Catherine D. Hughes (Author) and Franco Tempesta (Illustrator)
National Geographic Kids Ultimate Dinopedia: The Most Complete Dinosaur Reference Ever (for children ages 7-10) – by Don Lessem (Author), Franco Tempesta (Illustrator), and Rodolfo Coria (Introduction)

Searching for Ropens (second edition)

Acknowledgements (beginning)

A key to successfully exploring a sparsely populated wilderness is, ironically, people-skills. My father and mother inspired others, lifting self-esteem; following their examples, I’ve tried inspiring others, though I’ve usually been the one encouraged or inspired. In particular, the pioneering investigations of Jim Blume, Carl Baugh, and Paul Nation illuminated the path for my own investigation in Papua New Guinea . . .

Introduction (beginning)

Yes, I did search for giant living pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea, and I criticize the philosophy that causes Westerners to thoughtlessly dismiss any eyewitness report that suggests a living pterosaur; I censure nobody, however, for simply doubting such creatures still fly, for the idea defies an entrenched Western belief. About the ropen, believe what you will; what do I think about this creature? Such is the power of the testimonies of the eyewitnesses I’ve encountered, that it’s as real to me, almost, as if I had stared it in the face.

Chapter One (first paragraph)

It looked like a dead pterodactyl: not fossil bones but with skin, like it had died recently. Could these creatures, non-extinct, still fly? Although I never verified the authenticity of the photograph in the soon-forgotten library book, this idea—living pterodactyls—would be awakened four decades later, plunging me into the most dramatic adventure of my life: exploring a remote tropical island, searching for giant living pterosaurs.

Searching for Ropens – second edition

Searching for Ropens (third edition)

Additional paragraphs are being added to the third edition, and probably at least one additional chapter.

Chapter One (fourth paragraph)

The existence of life I credited to God, from childhood respecting the Bible as nonfiction. When I was ten, my father, psychologist for the San Bernardino School District in California, showed me the largest collection of bird eggs in the Western United States, in the museum in our own little town of Bloomington. The variety of eggs and birds, all dead, fascinated me; but non-birds becoming birds discomforted me, for each form of life appeared to have a role in its own basic form.

The third edition is still being written; expect much more. [was published in the spring of 2014 but was later replaced by the fourth edition in October of 2014]

It was published in April, 2014: Searching for Ropens and Finding God (third edition), yet this was replaced by the new fourth edition, in October of 2014

BUY IT NOW on Amazon: the ropen book (revised 4th edition)

The ultimate edition, number four, also called “the Bible of modern pterosaurs”

Dinosaur Books

Searching for Ropens, second edition was ranked #6, but in contrast to the other nonfiction books this one is about non-extinct pterosaurs, yes, living “pterodactyls.” [Amazon books under a category stream that includes “dinosaurs”]

February 8, 2013December 20, 2014

Part Three of Radio Podcast Interview

cover of ebook - Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea - ver-25

See Part One of Whitcomb-Syrett radio interview, for the beginning of the discussion. This third part of the series is not the end of the interview, which is lengthy. It is continued from the second part. (A fourth part may or may not be added later.) This post includes a quotation from the digital book Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea. Richard Syrett:

How did that skill help you in [interviewing] witnesses?

Jonathan Whitcomb:

Well, I noticed on the videotapes (I got from Paul Nation from Texas, who went on a couple of expeditions before I did), and I noticed on the videotaped interviews of the natives, and I looked at that . . . I realized that the natives are not trying to convince anybody of anything, they’re just casually relating what they saw, and most of them saw just a light in the distance, a flying light, because we believe its bioluminescence from the creature. And most of them saw that, and they admit they didn’t see anything about the form; it’s just a few of them that saw the form like a pterosaur. So I was convinced that they’re telling the truth . . .(in particular one named Gideon Koro—he saw it in the day time: astonishing, frightening creature).

Syrett:

Why do they seem to be so prevalent in Papua New Guinea? Is it because it’s remote, or is there a food source there? Why so many ropens in New Guinea?

Whitcomb:

Well, generally all over the world, for eight and a half years or so I’ve been researching this, and I get a lot of emails from people all over the world [even] phone calls. Generally most of them are long-tailed creatures, no feathers. I don’t know for sure that they’re more prevalent; I believe they’re more prevalent in Papua New Guinea because there’s a variety of different food sources they have in the reefs, for example, [on] Umboi Island, while I was exploring, a creature was dominant there on the island, will go to one reef one night, and then he’ll get food there, giant clams or whatever it is . . . and then he’ll go to the mountain that’s closest to it, and then he’ll go to another mountain and then fly off on another night to a reef that’s adjacent to that mountain.

[May or may not be continued in another post] . From the nonfiction cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea: Introduction

. . . In modern eyewitness reports, long-tailed pterosaurs outnumber short-tails, at least four-to-one. Standard models of extinction make this ratio appear strange, for the long-tailed variety were thought to have dwindled before the short-tailed pterosaurs became dominant, at least that’s the theory. Nevertheless, the ratio is significant in modern sightings, appearing consistent regardless of the culture or beliefs or education of the eyewitness. Furthermore, many of those long tails are reported to have tail vanes that suggest Rhamphorhynchoids. A common word used by eyewitnesses, to describe the shape of the structure at the end of the tail, is “diamond.”

First Chapter: “How can Pterosaurs be Alive?”

. . . Some eyewitnesses fear discovering the monstrous possibility of personal insanity. Others fear not insanity itself but the opinions of anyone who might think them insane. Others fear discovering that some of what they had been taught about science was false; they prefer to believe that scientific proclamations must always be true. How grateful I am for those who, in spite of their fears, report to me their encounters! Of course we’re talking about Western eyewitnesses here. Some Americans and Australians fear what neighbors might say to other neighbors, so some eyewitnesses keep quiet. Natives in Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, might fear the creature itself. Who cares if your closest neighbor is thirsting for gossip? That huge long-tailed flying thing north of your village might become a close neighbor . . . and it might become hungry. You’ll see an example of that kind of fear in the chapter with the interview of Gideon Koro.

$3.99 (U.S. dollars) .

January 19, 2013November 25, 2017

Flying Dinosaur

Of course we mean “pterosaur” when we say “flying dinosaur,” but people use various words and phrases when they refer to this featherless flying creature, and “pterosaur” or “pterodactyl” can be hard to spell. Other common words and phrases people in English-speaking countries use are these:

dragon
dinosaur bird
prehistoric bird

Here is a living-pterosaur sighting report in which the phrase “flying dinosaur” was used:

Pterosaur Sightings in Georgia (USA)

Let’s consider some sightings mentioned in the second edition of the nonfiction book Searching for Ropens. (The 4th edition of this nonfiction book is shown below:

Fourth edition of Searching for Ropens and Finding God

Funeral Gathering Included a Ropen

Eunice, a school teacher’s wife, described to Carl Baugh [who led at least two ropen expeditions, in the 1990’s, in Papua New Guinea] an attempted grave robbery. One night, in April of 1993, near the northwest coast of Umboi Island, after a large funeral procession arrived at the burial location, a creature with a glowing red tail came from the sea. . . . About two hundred mourners were awake when the creature flew overhead. The villagers banged pots and yelled, whereupon the intruder flew into a nearby swamp and the light disappeared.

Ropen Said to Live in Caves on Umboi Island

[A man] interviewed by Jim Blume, examined a magazine-cover illustration of a pterosaur. [The missionary James Blume has interviewed many eyewitnesses of apparent pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea.] The man said that he had seen those creatures himself and that they eat fish “out of the water.” He estimated their size (either wing or wingspan) at six to seven feet, “bigger than a man,” and said that they live in caves (on Umboi Island).

Duane Hodgkinson’s 1944 Sighting

“. . . it was in 1944 that I was stationed in Finschafen, New Guinea, with the U.S. military. While there, I made several trips into some of the surrounding native villages with a friend of mine and a native guide (provided by the Australian government). On this one particular trip, we had the wonderful opportunity to witness a pterodactyl take off from the ground and then circle back overhead and to the side, giving us a perfect side view which clearly showed the long beak and appendage protruding from the back of its head.”

Perth, Australia, Sighting

“We had been walking in the evening and had just crested a hill . . . In the distance, I perceived an object in the sky. . . . I watched it as it approached. Soon I was able to determine that it was some sort of flying creature, and my first thought was that it must be some very large bird. . . .

“By this time, its progress had brought it closer and while its shape did resemble a bird, I thought by now that from its apparent distance, it must be the largest bird I had ever witnessed. . . .

“Within a minute or so it had reached our position and was about 250 or 300 feet above us and slightly inland. The area was moderately well lit and I saw that it seemed to be a light reddish-tan color. It did not appear to be covered with feathers but had a leathery texture.

“Soon after it passed us, it flew over a more brightly lit sports area which highlighted even more the leathery appearance, also bringing more detail to view. The wings were the most definite leathery feature. They were shaped in a triangular arch, similar to a very elongated shark fin. The body also still appeared leathery, though textured as though possibly covered with fine hair or small scales . . .

“The head was close to the body, though whether from a short neck or from having its head drawn in, in the manner of some long-necked water fowl, I cannot say. . . .

“The creature, during the time we observed it, was mostly gliding. There was some wing movement as in a hawk or other bird controlling its flight path, but did not flap as a sparrow or other small bird. . . .

“Size is, of course, hard to determine accurately at a distance, since even a small miscalculation in distance can magnify any error in the estimate. I, at the time, however, estimated the size to be in excess of thirty foot, possibly as great as fifty foot. My eyes told me it was nearer the greater of these, my rational mind wants me to believe the lesser, since either of these is astounding for a flying creature . . .

A long-tailed Rhamphorhynchoid (“basal”) pterosaur

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Flying Dinosaurs (for mobile devices)

Two sightings of pterosaurs in Cuba and one sighting in New Guinea

Ropen Eyewitnesses

Credibility of natives on Umboi Island in Papua New Guinea

Flying Creature Like a Dinosaur in U.S.A.

Sightings in many U. S. states, including Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and Virginia, etc.

April 24, 2012April 24, 2012

Only One Kind of Discovery for Smithsonian

weighing live pterosaurs against universal extinctions of all their species

Regarding pterosaurs, the only kind of discovery allowed by the Smithsonian is the fossil kind. Apparently no number of eyewitness accounts of living pterosaurs can sway their minds. It’s been many months since Brian Switek’s Smithsonian Magazine online post, “Don’t Get Strung Along by the Ropen Myth,” but they have not budged from their dogmatic position, unless Switek is the exception with that institution, which I doubt.

The Smithsonian should judge human experience, regarding eyewitness sightings of living pterosaurs, objectively. Instead, with Brian Switek’s poorly conceived blog post, dogmatic assumptions are taken as if fact. But where will science go, how will science progress, if human experiences are kicked out the back door?

Observe the weight of eyewitness testimonies, especially the sightings of Brian Hennessy, Duane Hodgkinson, and Gideon Koro. Each of those sightings carries its own weight independently. The combination of all three makes dogmatic universal extinction proclamations ludicrous, when taken in context with the real history of that assumption of extinction.

Smithsonian Gets “Discovery” but Runs Away From Discovery

David Woetzel has explored in Africa, searching for a living dinosaur, and has explored in Papua New Guinea, searching for a living pterosaur. But Switek takes this as if it makes Woetzel’s position weak, and the point of all of this is that Woetzel is questioning scientific assumptions that Switek has taken for granted. Putting this in the context of a court trial: The defense attorney cannot prove his case by saying that the district attorney cannot be believed because he prosecutes people.

From the book Live Pterosaurs in America (third edition):

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.

We trust no fox to analyze the automatic switch that turns on the electric fence protecting chickens; why trust a paleontologist to analyze reports of live pterosaurs, for supporters of that idea appear to threaten standard paleontology? Both fox and paleontologist have specialized knowledge, with each specialization tied to its own dogma. Trust neither one outside.

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