Living-Pterosaur
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Archives: Newsletter 013
Feb 06, 2009

To living-pterosaur investigators and to those interested

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CONTENTS 

Introduction to Living-Pterosaur Expeditions
 
Florida Sighting Around 2002
 
Philippines Sighting Around 1994
 
New Insights Into Early History of LP Investigations
 
New Web Sites (including non-English pages)

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Introduction to Living-Pterosaur Expeditions

Living-pterosaur investigations began around
1993, when Carl Baugh (founder and director
of the Creation Evidence Museum, in Glen Rose,
Texas) and missionary Jim Blume interviewed
nationals (natives) in Papua New Guinea. Baugh
was later assisted by Paul Nation in their 1994
expedition to Umboi Island, PNG. In 1996, Baugh
and Blume searched for pterosaurs in Northern
Papua New Guinea, with one indistinct sighting
of what may have been a ropen.
 
In 2001, an American (who later informed
me that he wishes to be anonymous) explored
on the mainland of Papua New Guinea. He
interviewed native eyewitnesses of a giant
nocturnal flying creature that was reported
to have killed a child years earlier. We
suspect that it may have been a ropen.
 
In 2002, Paul Nation and his son, Nathanael,
explored on Umboi Island, but saw no ropen.
 
In 2004, the investigations continued with
my own expedition and that of David Woetzel
and Garth Guessman; we explored on Umboi
Island and interviewed many eyewitnesses,
in two separate expeditions. There were
two distant sightings: one per expedition.
 
More expeditions followed (Papua New Guinea):
2006 (Paul Nation) and 2007 (two). These three
expeditions resulted in two separate video
recordings of strange glowing objects that
could not be explained, by scientists, as any
commonplace light.
 
From 2007-2008, most investigations involved
sightings in North American.

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 Florida Sighting Around 2002

I received a sighting report from a man who lives in Florida. He
says that he is acquainted with birds (that might be mistaken for
a pterosaur). In his own words (spelling and grammar corrected):
 
"About 6 years ago I was sitting outside my house with a buddy
of mine . . . about 2 or 3 in the morning . . . something caught
. . . our attention . . . [a] flying creature that flew over our
heads towards my backyard . . . pointed wing tips, no feathers,
pointed beak and . . . long pointed thing protruding from the back
of its head.
 
"I live in florida so I've seen my share of cranes . . . but this
WAS NOT a bird. A second later, something made us look across the
street where we saw a second one flying over a house flying down
into that house's backyard. . . [The first creature had] about 4'
long (wingspan).
 
"We were not drinking or on drugs! As soon as we saw the second
one across the street we immediatly looked at each other and . . .
I said, 'was that what I think it was?' He said 'naaa it had to
be something else.'
 
"I promise they were not birds."

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Philippines Sighting Around 1994

[grammer and spelling corrected]
 
Late in 2008, I received a report from a man in his 20's who saw
what he called a "pterodactyl," in fact two flying together, when
he was a boy in the city of Pagbilao, Quezon Province (not to be
confused with Quezon City).
 
According to the eyewitness, "I think we're not the only ones who
saw it, because my classmate told me that there are sightings of
this thing in Atimonan, Quezon [Province], just one-half hr travel
from Pagbilao, and I was told by the local fisherman there that he
saw it several times, flying above the sea."
 
I asked the young man some questions:
 
Q: Did the two creatures have tails?
A: YES! they have long tails about 3 to 4 meters long . . .it is
   not a bird: They don't have any feathers.
 
Q: Did you have a good view of them?
A: Yes! I was not the only one who saw it . . .
 
Q: What time of day was it?
A: It was around 2:00-3:00 pm in the afternoon . . .
 
He added more:
 
"I saw them clearly: the SHAPE, their BAT-LIKE WINGS, a LONG NECK
and . . . I dunno if it is a horn behind their heads. They have a long beak.
I even saw their claws between their wings. They don't have any feathers;
their body really looks like a bat. They seldom flap their wings, about
every 3-4 sec.; thats why I knew it is not just a big bat. . . ."
 
I know of other similar reports from the Philippines. It seems to me
that this creature is a ropen, like the one in Papua New Guinea. (JW)
 
We receive many reports of individual ropen-like creatures, but these
two reports remind us that there are exceptions: Sometimes ropens do
not fly alone. (JW)

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New Insights Into Early History of LP Investigations
 
Soon after sending out the last newsletter (012), I
received a comment from Garth Guessman (one of the
most active living-pterosaur investigators of the
past few years). Garth contacted Dr. Carl Baugh (one
of the pioneers of these investigations) and received
this response from Baugh (about how this got started):
 
  Hello Garth and Duane,   [late 2008]
 
  . . . If I remember correctly, the late Walter Lang met
  Fred Brauer at one of Walt's speaking appointments. After
  hearing of our mutual interest, Fred related to Walt his
  knowledge of the . . . sighting by Duane Hodgkinson . . . 
  I visited with Fred and Walt at the Minneapolis Creation
  Conference. As a result of these connections I proceeded
  with the first venture to Papua New Guinea. Without these
  vital connections none of the work would have been possible.
 
  Blessings, Carl Baugh
 
In other words, without the brave openness of eyewitness
Duane Hodgkinson, none of these living-pterosaur expeditions
would have gotten started, for Baugh's expeditions of 1993,
1994, and 1996 prepared the way for the other expeditions.
Hodgkinson got these investigations started. (JW)

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New Web Sites (including non-English pages)
 
Three redirections for old AOL pages about LP
("Hometown has been shutdown.")

 
Another page about eyewitness Gideon Koro:

 
Reply to the Site "Prehistoric Reptiles"

 
Criticism of living-pterosaur reports, part two

 
An Undiscovered Modern Pterosaur?

 
The Indava--Is it a Pterosaur?
 

SPANISH:
 
El Ropen de Papúa Nueva Guinea
 

FRENCH:
 
"Ropen" de Papúa la Nouvelle-Guinée

 
Nouvelles dans le Français
Les renseignements sur un animal ont appelé "ropen"
 
 
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See the archive of the previous newsletter (012)
(about "Lines of Influence," Near-collision over
Indonesia, and Georgia sightings)
 
 
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Archives Contents of the first eight issues of this newsletter

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Thank you for your interest in living pterosaurs.
 
Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested.
 
And please send me email addresses of those who might
be interested in living-pterosaur reports. Thank you.
I need email addresses of others who might like to
receive these newsletters.
 
Jonathan Whitcomb
 
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