Pterosaur Eyewitness

The legend or tradition of the Oran-bati (of Indonesia) flying away with village children reminds me of what Paul Nation learned from the natives of Tawa Village, on the mainland of Papua New Guinea: At one time, indavas occasionally carried away a child or a pig.

Orang-Bati of Seram Island

The kor of the northern islands of Papua New Guinea have also been said to attack people, especially in the past. This nocturnal glowing creature is probably closely related to the ropen of Umboi Island, if it isn’t actually the same species. They are thought to be pterosaurs.

Pterosaurs around Singapore

Also west of Papua New Guinea, the “vegetarian pterosaurs” of Singapore fly, or at least are reported to have flown many years ago, according to an eyewitness who contacted me a few months ago.

My sighting occurred probably between the period 1958 – 1960 thereabouts when I was still a little kid. In those days we lived in a small village which was near a densely wooded area. Of course with the general development of Singapore to a metropolitan state it is today, the creatures, if they had propagated, would have [ventured] further south to the wilder regions to avoid civilisation (to ensure their survival).

Live Pterosaurs

Perhaps the first web site, or series of web pages, devoted to being used by the new media, “Live Pterosaurs” makes images and text available for unrestricted use by the media.

In a 2009 press release, the cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb estimated that at least 1400 Americans have seen a living pterosaur between 1980 and 2008. After a number of cryptozoologists objected to the speculative nature of his estimate, Whitcomb maintained that sightings are far more common that the few news reports, in the late twentieth century, would suggest. . . .

Acknowledgements in a recent cryptozoology book includes, “I give special thanks to Duane Hodgkinson, whose unflinching testimony gave birth to modern living-pterosaur investigations. His account of the 1944 sighting on the mainland of Papua New Guinea helped inspire Carl Baugh’s first expedition of 1993. Ignoring previous ridicule from those who would not listen, Hodgkinson told us of his experience, helping prepare the way for many expeditions . . .”

The ahool of Indonesia, a flying cryptid, is described by Michael Newton in his cryptozoology book Hidden Animals:

. . . the Salak Mountains of western Java reportedly harbors a winged cryptid known as ahool, in imitation of its distinctive hunting cry. Witnesses describe the ahool as having a 12-ft wingspan, a coat of gray hair on a torso the size of a one-year-old child’s, and a round head resembling that of a monkey with large, dark eyes. It is a nocturnal hunter, armed with long claws on its flattened forearms . . .

With limited eyewitness evidence for this flying cryptid (be it a living pterosaur or otherwise), it may or may not be related to other flying cryptids in this part of the world.

Vegetarian Pterosaurs Near Singapore?

[The two pterosaurs were] circling some tall palm trees (those with small orange coloured fruits) and then helping themselves to the fruits. They were making cries which sounded like squawking in the process. They were large . . .

My sighting occurred probably between the period 1958 – 1960 thereabouts when I was still a little kid. In those days we lived in a small village which was near a densely wooded area. Of course with the general development of Singapore to a metropolitan state it is today, the creatures, if they had propagated, would have [ventured] further south to the wilder regions to avoid civilisation (to ensure their survival).

Flying Fox Fruit Bat

These large bats, common in many areas of the southwest Pacific, have been suggested as explanations for reports of living pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea; but most sighting reports of “pterodactyls” do not relate well to this idea, especially when the large flying creatures are described with very long tails. In addition, when a native sees something whose description strongly suggests a living pterosaurs, a fruit bat misidentification can be highly unlikely, in particular when that native is well aware of fruit bats (as most natives in these islands often are).

A few years ago, at an undisclosed location, several investigators saw many bats flying where flying lights were common. The bats appeared more numerous than the flying lights, and the cryptozoologists were sure of at least two kinds of nocturnal fliers. Since the lights are seen throughout the year, by the local land owner, I pondered why ropen-like creatures would be flashing so regularly. Catching-bats jumped out at me, far ahead of a mating-ritual explanation . . . pterosaurs eating bats. [quote from the cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America]

With all the recent reports of apparent pterosaurs flying in North America, let’s turn aside for a moment and consider a small sampling of the amazing sightings of modern pterosaurs in the southwest Pacific. Some encounters are in Papua New Guinea, some in Australia, some over the sea; none of the sighting could reasonably be interpreted as coming from any misidentification of any flying fox fruit bat.

Scientific Analysis of Paul Nation’s Video

. . . Ropen lights (or indava lights) are not caused by fire, airplane lights, or meteors.” Analysis, by the physicist Clifford Paiva, regarding Paul Nation’s video footage of two indava lights observed near the top of a ridge deep inthe interior of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, late in 2006.

The guided missle cruiser USS Joett, years ago, had an encounter with what may have been a giant ropen one night, somewhere between the southwest Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

With a fellow cryptozoologist, some time ago, I interviewed a man who had been a sailor on the U.S.S. Jouett (guided missile cruiser), CG-29. He told us about the night when he was surprised by an excited shipmate who summoned him out of his bunk. Many sailors had just witnessed a giant “pterodactyl” that had flown directly over the ship.

Victoria, Australia Sighting

. . . near the Dandenong Ranges about 25 [kilometers] east of Melbourne. . . . around the late 1990′s . . . I saw . . . something flying that appeared to be at the height of light planes that fly around here . . . This thing was at least as large as . . . say a Cesna. . . . lazily flapping it’s wings . . . It appeared to be lit up by the moonlight and shining as if it had no feathers. Very strange . . .

Giant Living Pterodactyl in New Guinea

Duane Hodgkinson . . . was stationed near Finschhafen, in what was then called New Guinea. After he and his buddy walked into a clearing, they were amazed as 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,” (book Searching for Ropens, 2007) and a long appendage at the back of its head . . .

Jonathan David Whitcomb, a forensic videographer, interviewed Hodgkinson, in 2004, and found his testimony credible.

Aaron Tullock was only eight years old when he encountered what could only be called a ”pterosaur,” in northeastern Texas, in 1995. Although some critics may discount the experience of a child, he has no doubt what he saw. He is now one of a number of pterosaur eyewitnesses who may be interviewed for a film documentary that may be produced within the next eighteen months.

Aaron Tullock’s 1995 Sighting in Texas

In Aaron’s own words, “This thing flew over my head, about eight feet off the ground, and stopped and hovered in mid air. . . . the creature flew from east going west . . . it came from our land across the road, which is a nice mix of oak and pine forest and thick swamp. . . . It stopped in mid air and hovered there by flapping its featherless, bat-like wings, which were about four feet in span, maybe five. It had a tail about three feet long, with the . . . flange on the end . . . no head crest and no feathers at all, although there was kind of a longish bump on the back of the head. . . .”

Many reports of living pterosaurs suggest a nocturnal behavior for the flying creatures, but this sighting differs, for not only was it in daylight, but the apparent pterosaur had distinctive markings of orange and black, colors most useful in daylight.

Texas Flying Creature

Recent analysis of eyewitness data (eyewitness testimonies of apparent living pterosaurs in the United States) reveals many interesting things. California and Texas account for many of the sightings. This may be from a combination of large human populations and large areas of land in which the flying creatures can live.

“. . . what [at first] looked like a . . . tall man . . . [He] turned and I realized that this man didn’t have a face like a man at all!  I froze in fear trying to figure out what I was staring at. . . . I watched . . . black leathery . . .  bat-like wings [unwrapped] . . . I was so scared . . . [it] stared right at me with its large black eyes and walked closer to me (it had been about 40 ft away maybe) . . . it turned its head . . . I realized the shape of its head . . . it somehow looked like a pterodactyl.   . . . it turned its head back to me . . . the thing appeared to just lift off the ground . . . gliding . . . I ran into my house and slammed the sliding glass door behind me . . .”