Pterodactyls!

Just in case you're not already convinced that PNG is one of the absolute coolest places on earth, did you know that there have been reports of live pterodactyl sightings here?!?

I know, I know, it sounds like I'm making that up . . . but whether or not the reports are true, it is definitely true that there have been reports. In fact, only last week I had the privilege of eating dinner with a possible pterodactyl eyewitness! During a hike in the Finisterre Mountains, this guy saw three enormous flying creatures that sure looked like pterodactyls and seemed far too big to be birds. And he's not the only one! In 1944, Duane Hodgkinson, stationed in Papua New Guinea during World War II, reported seeing a large flying creature with a long appendage on the back of its head and a 10-15 foot long tail.

Later, in 1971, Brian Hennessy reported a similar experience. “It was so unusual." he said, "I actually heard it before I saw it. A slow flap . . . flap . . flapping sound. The air was still, and our truck had stopped on our downward journey from the top of the range to the coast way below . . . it was very big (wingspan at least two metres, probably more . . . possibly much, much more). It was black or dark brown. I had never seen anything like it before. . . . I recall seeing this creature with a longish narrow tail . . . the head was disproportionately large compared to the body [no feathers in sight]." (http://www.ropens.com/hennessy/)

Still not convinced? Well, you can hear the testimony of three Papua New Guinean eyewitnesses! People living on Umboi Island (just off the northeast coast of PNG) call these gigantic flying creatures "ropens". Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tynNqRvMrd8

Of course, we don't know what any of these people really saw . . . but what if there are still living pterodactyls???