Let’s make the question more precise: Does anybody believe in a large flying creature in Papua New Guinea, an animal that is much bigger than a flying fox fruit bat but which also appears to be without any feathers, an animal that has a long tail and glows brightly at night? Some persons believe that an animal called ropen lives on Umboi Island, flying at night between a mountain and the reef that surrounds the island. Some persons would call it a dragon.
A few Americans believed in the ropen enough to travel to Umboi Island in several short expeditions, beginning in 1994. My name is Jonathan Whitcomb. I led a small expedition there in 2004, and I interviewed natives who had seen the ropen. Over the past eleven years, however, I have done more than just go on a short expedition to a tropical island in the southwest Pacific.
I published the fourth edition of my first nonfiction book in October of 2014: Searching for Ropens and Finding God, about eyewitness reports of apparent living pterosaurs, what many people call “pterodactyls.” I have also written two other smaller books about these flying creatures. Some people do believe in real dragons, especially those who have seen this kind of animal themselves.
Nonfiction book on modern pterosaur sightings
This is a long book, written mostly for adults. I plan on writing a book for younger readers, I hope before the end of 2015.
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So if you live in the United States, how do you report your encounter with a dragon in a cave? Most important, try using the word “ropen,” rather than “dragon.”
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