There may be a connection between the indava lights on the mainland of Papua New Guinea and the Marfa Lights of Texas. Both kinds of flying lights are often seen in a group; both kinds confound common-place explanations; both kinds have been connected to living-pterosaur concepts; both kinds have been videotaped with camcorders or video recorders that have been insufficient to show details of form for the objects that create the lights. What we need are the expensive cameras that can pick up those details, for common video cameras are incapable of showing things close to a bright light source at night (similar to the problem the human eye has in discerning the features of a car that has its headlights shining into our eyes).
Paul Nation’s two expeditions deep into the interior of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, in late 2006 and in 2007—those have given new knowledge of the indava, although he was not able to personally see any detailed features of the creatures he observed at night; he saw only the lights produced by those creatures. But his associate, Jacob Kepas, did see one of the creatures and in daylight: The large indava was sleeping high up on a cliff, near Tawa Village.
I think it unfortunate that some critics point out what particular investigators have not experienced personally and fail to point out what others have experiences personally. For those who have read criticisms of the living-pterosaur investigations, have you noticed anyone comment on Jacob Kepas’s sighting in late 2006? It reminds me of a recent article printed in the Houston Chronicle, in which the things I have not experienced personally are emphasized and all the eyewitness sighting reports, seven years of investigations and eyewitness interviews, are completely ignored. What difference does it make that I, Jonathan Whitcomb, have not yet seen a living pterosaur, when countless people around the world see these creatures?
Other languages in Papua New Guinea have other names for this creature. On my 2004 expedition, before I arrived on Umboi Island, I met an old sailor who is from the small island just off the southwest coast of New Britain Island (I believe his island is called “Pilio”). There the “dragon” is called “wawanar.”