In a Nutshell

Wikipedia, under “Ropen,” mentions the 2009 television show that MonsterQuest conducted “searching” for the “demon flyer” of Papua New Guinea (one of the participants in that expedition later revealed that the team was not there to do scientific investigating but to make a show). But recent writings on the ropen counter the idea that the word means “demon flyer.”

Ropen: a Demon Flyer?

The second Umboi Island expedition of 2004 (a few weeks after mine) turned up an interesting perspective on the word “ropen.” Jacob Kepas, the native interpreter for the American cryptozoologists David Woetzel and Garth Guessman, knew the word but was puzzled. Why go to such trouble flying on a small plane to Umboi Island to search for a bird? In his village near Wau (mainland Papua New Guinea), “ropen” is the word used for a common bird. The large nocturnal flying creature that glows—that frightening creature they call “seklo-bali.”

The origin of the word “ropen” is something more likely meaning simply “flyer.”

Three flying creatures, with an appearance suggesting a pterosaur, were seen flying together over a beach in Belize, Central America. The eyewitness, Vito Kobliha, who now lives in Southern California, was involved in a film project for an unrelated documentary, in 2006, when he and another member of the production team witnessed the three apparent pterosaurs. They were able to videotape them with a high-definition camera, although the creatures were flying high and at a distance.

Belize Pterosaur

The apparent pterosaurs were high and rather far off, but Kobliha had the impression that they were not ordinary birds.

Videotaping three apparent living pterosaurs with a professional camera—that set this sighting apart from other sightings. I hope to have a copy of his video soon, so that I can analyze the footage.

From Hayley Stevens, an amateur cryptozoologist, we learn about the Bownessie Lake Monster:

Lake Monster Mysteries

The latest episode of the Monster Talk Podcast features an interview with yours truly about the Bownessie lake monster and the Tom Pickles photograph that first really hooked my attention on the case. Hello to those who may have been brought to my blog because of the interview – I want to reiterate the point that I am an amateur researcher when it comes to things such as ghosts and monsters – and Bownessie is the first lake monster case that I’ve ever really gotten involved with.

Brownessie Photographed in Lake Windermere

England’s version of the notorious mystery — dubbed “Bownessie” by locals — is hogging the spotlight after a kayaker’s recent cell phone photo of something strange in Lake Windermere has been spreading fast around the web.

According to The Telegraph, the photo — which shows multiple humps rising above the surface of the lake — is said to be the best evidence to date of Bownessie, and reminiscent of similar photos that some have alleged were of the Loch Ness Monster.

According to CNET, 24-year-old Tom Pickles snapped the pic. “Each hump was moving in a rippling motion, and it was swimming fast,” Pickles said of the Loch Ness Monster-like creature. “Its skin was like a seal’s but its shape was completely abnormal–it’s not like any animal I’ve ever seen before.”

New Ogopogo Sighting

1. We did not set out to find Ogopogo on a short trip onto the lake. We were hoping to visit a few well-known “hotspots” in order to plan out a later expedition.

2. The film only shows the wake left by the creature. However, I did observe 3-4 humps just above the waves, which were darker than the waves themselves. Dorsal ridge was also clearly visible on the humps as I was focusing on the humps with a pair of binoculars. Dave Woetzel and my son, Andrew, may have briefly observed the head of the creature for a few seconds just above the waves.

3. The film shot by David Woetzel and the subsequent (still) images were remarkably similar to the Fletcher photo of an alleged Ogopogo, taken in 1976 and featured on page 111 of Arlene Gaal’s book, ‘in Search of Ogopogo.’ . . .

The flying creatures were named by the eyewitness “monkey-birds,” not from an appearance resembling any monkey or bird but from the strange sound they make. Their appearance more resembled some kind of a pterosaur.

Sighting of a Pterosaur or Bat-Like Creature

(Near Tacoma, WA) on many acres of mostly tree covered land . . . We have seen and heard a strange nocturnal, bat-like creature. This thing is huge, light grey, skin with no fur, feathers or scales . . . There were two of them together and they seemed fearless of me when they swooped down at me more than once and returned way up to the top of the highest trees.

Washington State Reports of Pterosaurs

Peter Beach, a professor of biology, at night witnessed what he suspects was a bioluminescent flying predator over the Yakima River in the state of Washington. Much of his account is in the nonfiction cryptozoology book “Live Pterosaurs in America.”

“One of the flashes took off from a big tree overhanging the river and made a kind of flashing coma turn. Many flashes were parallel to the river. . . . with bioluminescence. At first I thought I was just seeing shooting stars, but they were all parallel to the river and close to the horizon. Next I noticed that when the cloud cover came in, I could still see the flashes. They were under the cloud cover.” [report from Professor Beach]

Flying cryptids like giant pterosaurs have been spotted in various parts of Australia, including coastal areas and the outback. A common feature described by eyewitnesses is a long tail and an apparent absence of feathers.

Dragons or Pterosaurs in Australia

“My husband and I both sighted a huge creature flying over a densely populated area, while we were out walking one night in Perth, Western Australia on the coastline around 10:30 pm . . . it had a long tail and a wingspan that we estimated at between 30-50 feet across . . . “This creature was huge and never in my life have I ever seen anything that remotely resembled it until I found a page on Pterosaurs.”

Pterosaur Sightings in Australia

An email to the American cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb:

Late in 2009, I received an email from a man in Victoria, Australia.

“Dear Jonathon, after many misgivings about going ‘public’ as it were, I have decided to contact you with my experience of sighting what I believe to have been a Pterodactyl.

“I live in Australia in the state of Victoria near the Dandenong Ranges about 25 klms east of Melbourne.

“I was standing outside about nine o’clock one night. It was full moon and very bright with a cloud bank to the south east extending to and over the Ranges. . . . I glanced to the south and [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 a light plane, say a Cesna.  It was about 5 klms away and was lazily flapping it’s wings . . . It appeared to be lit up by the moonlight and shining as if it had no feathers. . . . I could see it quite clearly. . . . for about 5 mins whence it disappeared into the cloud bank.”