I received the following email in reference to my post The Mothman Cometh: John Keel's Reports on August 13th. Much of this was included in a piece written by Chris Holly, but there have been a few changes. Note...click images for larger version:
Hi Lon, thanks for responding so quickly. Here are my drawings and report. Chris Holly reported my story pretty much verbatim, so I will repeat it here for you in a slightly different form.
Date: Dec. 3, 2004
Time:6:00 - 7:00pm
Weather Conditions: clear and already dark. Moon hadn't risen yet
Location: Traveling south on Rt.2 in WV from Point Pleasant to Huntington WV. Near Ashton WV (see map)
A friend and I were traveling on Rt. 2 towards Huntington WV. I was on my way to set up my booth for an art show and my mind was occupied with the booth set up and show logistics. We had just gone over the railroad tracks outside of Ashton WV and were on a long straight stretch of road. There was distant oncoming traffic and the headlights were on. There were no cars behind us in sight. I was in the passenger seat and my friend was driving. I noticed a sudden movement in the sky over the Ohio River to my right in front of the car. It was a greyish, smooth, winged shape. the shape swooped in a figure 8 in front of the windshield and then was suddenly gone to the left of us. It didn't fly out of sight, it was just gone. This happened very quickly, but as I am a visual artist, it was impressed into my memory banks!
Size: Bigger than the car. The wingspread was wider than the 2 lane road we were on. The wings seemed to stretch wider somehow as it did the figure 8 swoop. It was never more than 25 feet away from us as it flew towards the windshield. We thought it was going to crash into the windshield! At one point during the swoop it was only about 5 feet off of the pavement.
Color: Grey, translucent like a jellyfish. As it banked and swooped I could see many angles of it and somehow it looked more transparent as it turned some parts to us. I immediately thought it was like a manta ray. The body was flattish like a manta ray or a bat. The wings were long and smooth and sort of pointed at the tip. I saw no texture or roughness on it, only smooth surface.
Characteristics: Only body and wings- no head, eyes, tail, or feet. It did not look humanoid in any way. On the other hand, it wasn't a bird either. It moved more like something in the ocean would move - Did not flap the wings like a bird, or flutter them like a bat, but stretched them instead. My friend (who alas passed away a year ago) said to him the wings looked ragged like there were pieces coming off of them.
He also said he got a good look at the underneath and it looked grey and smooth. This absolutely was not a machine! It was articulated like a living creature and seemed like something organic.
As I look back on this sighting, I wonder if it was something playing with us - It happened so quickly that the only scary part was when we thought it was going to crash into the windshield. It was so beautiful and strange! It reminded me of a sea creature more than anything else, maybe our air is like water to them.
The only other time in my life I have ever seen anything remotely similar was in 2000 in Clay Co. WV, driving along a one lane road along the Elk River (a river was present in both instance -I just realized) In that case, I was alone and for about a mile as I drove, I kept noticing a shimmer in front of the car about 15 feet ahead of the car. This was late morning in the summer. It preceeded the car at the same distance for several minutes, then I noticed a shadow on the road too, large and shaped sort of like a bird. I looked up out of the windshield and there was a large crow flying above me. But what I first saw in front of the car was not a shadow, it was a disturbance in the air in front of my car that looked like a heat mirage sort of but was very close. This was a curvy country road right by the river. I had never seen heat mirages on that road before or since. At the time I thought that it was just sort of weird, then very close to that time I had a very lucid dream that I was in my car flying over the river right near the place where I saw the shadow.
As an artist, my mind is open to many possibilities and explanations - I think the unseen world is just a small vibrational frequency away. As a child I was fascinated by fairies and nature spirits and spent a lot of time alone outdoors.
NOTE: though there have been several variations in describing the 'Mothman', this particular description is unique and most likely represents another cryptid or non-terrestrial entity. As well as the Mothman sightings, the area along the Ohio River (southern Ohio and southwest West Virginia) has had a large number of other paranormal events including UFOs, large apparitions and hauntings, native and folklore based creatures, etc...Lon
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The following are previous humanoid / cryptid encounter reports received by various agencies worldwide:
THE ALIENS AND THE SHAGGY HUMANOID
Location/Date: Kopanskoye, Province of Leningrad, Russia - February 13, 1989 - evening
Three drivers from the Leningrad auto park, Yuriy Vasilievich M, Sergey Yurevich T, and Alexander Viktorovich G. had gone driving on a fishing trip at a location about 130km from Leningrad, 40 km from the town of Sosnovyi Bor where a nuclear plant is located. Suddenly G saw a UFO flying overhead, all of them then noticed a strange white object in the sky, 3-4 times larger than the biggest star. The object seemed to be moving in their direction when it suddenly made a sharp jump to the left, or to east, and continued flying. After looking at the object for about 15 minutes the witness lost interest and ignored it.
Some time later after having dinner and setting up camp M. went into the woods to look for firewood. It was already dark and as he walked about 40 to 50 meters along the shore of the lake and about 8-10m into the woods, he suddenly noticed a landed flat disc-shaped object about 30-40 meters from him. The object was “beautiful” round shaped, with windows around it's broadest section, and made out of a dark material. Soft light emanated from the windows. M. began studying the object and noticed neither hatches nor doors on it; its surface was absolutely smooth, though some indentations were visible. M. felt no fear and stared at the object without moving for about 15-20 seconds. He thought of calling his two friends, but thought better of it not wanting to frighten them.
When M. looked to the left of the object he noticed a moving figure like a shadow, walking towards the back of the object. Then he noticed a second figure on the right side of the craft he also noticed a third figure standing between the first and the second one. He thought that they were leaving and became somewhat concerned but not scared. He thought maybe that he could catch one of the “aliens” and put it in his car, but then discarded the idea. The aliens moved slowly making no sounds (the craft was also soundless).
When one of the aliens was about 10 meters from the witness, he yelled at them making friendly advances and pointing out that he meant no harm. The figures approached in silence. Two of them finally came very close to him. The aliens were generally human looking but not completely. Their mouths were tightly closed, no lips were visible, with a proportional head, with no visible hair, and their imperious faces expressed severe concentration. The aliens were dressed in tight-fitting gray-colored outfits. A third alien stood aside. The witness then saw a flash, like a photo flash. Next the witness felt pressure in his head and heard a voice in his brain. The voice was unpleasant, raspy, and metallic in quality, it said, “What are you doing here” He answered that he had come on a fishing expedition with his friends. “Would you like to come with us?” Said the voice next. He thought about it, and was tempted but then the voice said, “You will not return. We need to know what your inner structure is” The witness then declined the offer and shook his head. Then the alien voice said threatening and imperiously, “If you start a nuclear war we will destroy you” (humanity?). The witness then said (hopefully) that humans would not start a nuclear war. At this point the witness heard a loud buzzing sound, resembling a high voltage wire.
Moments later the witness was terrified to see a huge shaggy humanoid figure about 3-4 meters in height, its head resembling that of an ape. It stood above the witness, a little higher than the trees. He then remembered seeing the alien figures moved suddenly away from him, disappearing behind the trees. He didn’t noticed how they entered their ship, but the object slowly and silently ascended, and before leaving it emitted a bright flash of light the illuminated the area around it. When the craft rose up to about 4 meters it suddenly disappeared. Apparently the huge hairy humanoid (Bigfoot type) also left with the aliens. Source: K. Wolf, PhD, Independent Ufological Newsletter
**********
THE BEARDED BEINGS
Location/Date: Near French Pyrenees - 1972 - late night
The witness was staying in his country house near the French Pyrenees. Night had fallen after a day of rain, when he heard outside a kind of "splashing" sound. He went to his front steps and could see nothing; uneasy about the noise, he moved out further into the darkness and noticed a luminous red sphere of 3 or 4 meters in diameter few dozen meters away in an adjacent field. He suddenly "felt a presence" nearby and turning, he saw in the semi-darkness 3 or 4 beings that terrified him. They were dressed in very dark one-piece jump suits, were small in stature and of horrible countenance, with bald plates and full beards.
In this few seconds of this confrontation, the little beings stood motionless, staring at the witness, while he felt "transfixed" by their gaze. Thoroughly frightened, the witness turned on his heel and rushed back to his house, where he seized and loaded his rifle.
Returning to the same spot, he now saw the little beings moving quickly toward the red sphere at the other end of the field. He put his gun to his shoulder with the intention of firing at them but suddenly found that he was unable to move and could not pull the trigger. The beings entered the object, which then took off silently and at great speed. When it had vanished the witness recovered his movement and went back indoors, greatly agitated. He found himself sleepless for several nights, and subsequently experienced various degrees of psycho-physiological problems for which he needed treatment.
Source: Eric Zurcher, Alain Gamard and the witness
**********
DARK REPTILIANS
Location/Date: Bobadilla Air Base, Malaga, Spain - 1976 - night
While guarding an ammunition depot near a freight train a military guard observed a strange figure about 1.20 meters in height, black in color that was moving over the train tracks in a very quick and agile manner. Two guards approached the figure and pointed their rifles at it and it suddenly turned around and stared at the two men with two large bright red glowing eyes, it jumped up into the darkness and disappeared. Other soldiers at the base had seen a similar figure around the same time and strange objects over the area had also been reported.
One night, in the same base a soldier was given the task to guard a metallic cage, which contained a weird reptilian creature that emitted strange, grunting sounds. One night while standing duty a dark helicopter landed and three military personnel exited the craft, these proceeded to pick up the cage with the humanoid and left immediately. The guard described the humanoid as resembling a “reptilian penguin” with strong jaws and claws. It was about 40 cm in height. The guard observed that the helicopter lacked any identifiable markings on it.
Source: Jose Manuel Garcia Bautista & Rafael Cabello Herrero
***********
THE LITTLE MAN
Location/Date: Southeastern Ohio, exact location not given - May 2000 - morning
A woman was working on her garden one Sunday morning when all of a sudden a strange little man appeared about 200 ft away. Having poor eyesight, the woman edged closer for a better look, what she saw was a bizarre little man with long pointed ears, a shaggy hair-dew, beaver-like teeth and wearing something that looked like bib overalls. The little man ignored her and instead began to dig on the ground and take soil samples, which he put into a strange container. The woman tried to speak to the creature, which startled it, and it ran off into the woods. The woman followed in pursuit to a nearby clearing, there she saw a tiny disk shaped object, which took off into the sky quickly disappearing from sight.
Source: witness statement
**********
FEATHERED LIZARD HUMANOID
Location/Date: Tocopilla, Chile - May 30, 2000 - 2:00am
Local residents living next to the Tocopilla hills were suddenly awaken by strange loud noises. At first they thought it was a person climbing the hill, but after observing it in greater detail, they realized that, whatever they were seeing, not only was not human; it was something they have never seen before. It was a creature that was climbing the hill very rapidly despite the seventy to eighty degrees steep.
They described the being as very agile and fast, making reptilian like movements like a small lizard. The creature appeared to be much bigger than a condor, brown in color, with bright red eyes and what appeared to be feathers throughout its body. It emitted loud quack like noises that were heard every night for a couple of weeks, causing dogs to bark and howl at night. Source: Dr. Virgilio Sanchez Ocejo, Miami UFO Center
walesonline - Witches could be stalking the streets of rural Wales – if calls to Dyfed Powys Police are to be believed.
The force, which covers Mid and West Wales, has received 86 reports of witches in the last five years.
The force’s police incident log reveals details of the calls. One caller reported “that one individual is a witch and had attended at the house to put salt around the bed”.
A caller in January last year claimed he had been fed a “fur ball” during a witchcraft ritual.
Following a call from Llanelli, police recorded: “Caller, who was drunk, who rang regarding a gang of witches who want to sacrifice him.”
Another call was a report of a “malicious communication: rumours that an individual’s mother is a witch”.
The details released to Wales on Sunday under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed the counties of Powys, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire are awash with reports of weird goings-on.
In addition to calls about witches in the past five years, the force has received one call about a werewolf, seven about vampires, 19 about UFOs, 13 about big cats, 73 reports of ghosts, 16 of zombies, 35 of demons, five regarding big foot sightings, 33 of monsters and 18 about wizards.
Haverfordwest appears to be the real hotbed of ghostly activity.
On the same day, one caller reported “that they had seen their father as a ghost”, while another call to the police was “regarding concern for safety – reporting that an individual is stating that ‘ghosts’ are going to kill them”.
In Lampeter, police dealt with a call “reporting concern for safety, individual believes they are a vampire”.
Paranormal investigator and writer, the Rev Lionel Fanthorpe, from Cardiff, said there could be a number of explanations for the reports.
He said: “Powys comes up pretty frequently in terms of sightings of unusual things.
“I share the investigative attitude of Charles Hoy Fort, who said nothing was too ridiculous to investigate because it might be real.
“We can most closely associate werewolves with tales of spectral hounds like that of Shuck in North Norfolk.
“But the power of the human mind is unlimited. There was a Victorian explorer called Alexandra David-Neel, who went to Tibet to study a teaching tool, called a Tupla, which says the mind creates the world of appearances, it can create any particular object desired.
“It’s like imagining something so powerfully that witnesses can see your dream. Another idea is that it is a recording in the fabric of a building or landscape. Or it can just be an active imagination. The human mind abhors a vacuum.”
Richard Holland, an author on the paranormal from Clwyd, who runs websites www.uncannyuk.com and www.paranormalmagazine.co.uk, said he was not surprised to find so many reports of witches, ghosts and other fantastical characters.
“Wales is a frighteningly haunted country,” he said. “Every day, it seems, someone in Wales sees an apparition or experiences some other ghostly phenomenon.
“The British Isles are also rich in folklore regarding fairies, witches, giants, dragons and all manner of strange superstitions and customs.
“But supernatural activity is as prevalent today in Britain as it has always been.
“Ghosts haunt our homes and highways, weird animals prowl our moors and fields, fairies are still to be glimpsed.”
A spokeswoman from Dyfed Powys Police said: “Because the search conducted was for these keywords within all incident logs, the majority of these results on closer inspection will be a caller describing someone or something looking or behaving like this – for instance ‘he was acting like a zombie’. Appropriate action is taken in respect of all calls and enquiries conducted.”
NOTE: I have a psychic friend in Wales who, by the way, has remarkable a ability and tells me a helluva lot of what's going on there. Since 2007, there have been 67 posts on 'Phantoms and Monsters' related to paranormal / fortean activity in Wales. Extraordinary place! Please use the search tool to explore the blog...Lon
signonsandiego - Kristina Rebelo of Carlsbad wasn't prepared for the scene she saw Wednesday at the foot of Pine Street in Carlsbad.
"My husband and I have been going to Frazee, Tamarack, or Buccaneer every single day of the year -- after work and on weekends -- and we have never seen these conditions," Rebelo said, noting that the conditions persisted Thursday. "People were trying to stay out of it. It actually looked like a behemoth can of slime-green paint had been unceremoniously dumped into the Pacific Ocean."
What Rebelo saw was the result of a green algae that has invaded the southern California coastline from San Diego to Los Angeles. Local beachgoers reported seeing greenish tints in the water at Black's Beach, Windansea, Scripps Pier and Torrey Pines in recent days.
Ocean experts at the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, a multi-agency science team, said algae-tinged water is harmless even if it is a little slimy.
Some forms of algae are toxic but there are no documented health hazards related to swimming or fishing in areas with Tetraselmis, the microscopic algae blamed for the discoloration, scientists said. It has been found in concentrations of 15 million cells per liter of seawater.
"The foam has persisted this week, though its patchy distribution make it visible only at some beaches and the foam becomes more apparent in the afternoon when the wind and waves mix the surface waters," said an alert on the coastal observing network's website.
It's not uncommon for Tetraselmis algae to be in ocean water but such noticeable blooms are infrequent, said Melissa Carter, a research associate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of the University of California San Diego. The last time she saw such an explosion was in August 2009, leading to conjecture about what conditions might cause a repeat event.
"There may be some correlation to temperature or surf or light," Carter said. "What are the mechanisms that cause the algae to arrive on the coast That is exactly what we want to know."
She doesn't think it's a function of weather because this summer has been much cooler than last summer. Last year's bloom lasted about a week.
The current bloom was first spotted in Newport Beach in late July, then was reported in Los Angeles before sightings in San Diego County as far south as Imperial Beach.
Carter said Tetraselmis hasn't historically been an organism of concern so there's not much data about blooms in decades past. She said the current growth may present a problem if algae start clogging estuaries and depleting oxygen needed by fish.
This week's green tide is one of several odd occurrences at local beaches this summer. They include tar balls on the beach in Oceanside and numerous large black jellyfish in San Diego Bay.
Serge Dedina, head of the environmental group Wildcoast, reported moderate "red tide" conditions off Imperial Beach on Friday but said they were gone by early this week.
"I've only been surfing since 1977 but do not remember red tide in August since then," he said. "Strange days in California coastal waters."
**********
MUFON Radio
MUFON Radio - The Mutual UFO Network has launched their own radio show hosted by paranormal skeptic Rick Wood.
The Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) has asked paranormal skeptic and radio personality Rick Wood, creator and former host of Audiomartini Radio, to host its new radio program. MUFON has investigated aerial phenomena for more than 40 years. Its mission is the scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity. MUFON Radio will bring the work of MUFON to a wider audience and promote discussion of unexplained phenomena. Wood has hosted a talk radio program (Auiodmartini), based at WEBR in Washington DC, for most of the past ten years. Audiomartini was the longest-running skeptically-based radio show in the world, with affiliates throughout the U.S. and Great Britain.
MUFON Radio will focus on a broad range of paranormal topics to promote discussion among people who disagree, according to Wood. “I want to make sure that both sides are discussed fairly and openly, so that the listeners can decide for themselves what is true,” he said.
MUFON’s new International Director, Clifford Clift, said he hired Wood to bring a different perspective into the MUFON family in hopes of gaining new members, and because “fresh ideas may bring fresh understanding to an age-old mystery. ”
The first MUFON Radio show featured a discussion with a psychiatrist who has studied alleged alien abductions from a social science perspective, with surprising results. Upcoming shows will question whether paranormal events can be explained through prosaic means, or whether there are greater mysteries that science has yet to uncover.
MUFON Radio is a member of Wizzard Media, the largest podcast creator in the U. S.
********** Salon Owner Blames Power Provider For Customer's Bald Head
wtva - A trip to the hair salon leaves one customer partially bald. Now owner of the shop and the power provider are in a debate over who is to blame.
When a woman goes into a salon, the last thing she probably expects is to come out partially bald .
"I was getting color put in and the lights went out and there was no way to get it out of my hair in time," the woman, who did not want to reveal her identity, said.
Tessa Mingo, the owner of People's Choice Hair Salon said her customer's hair is the end result of her salon's power being cut off by mistake without warning.
"I know I just paid my bill on the 19th so there was no reason for my power to get cut off," Mingo said.
Mingo showed WTVA News the papers to prove she paid, but she said the money she gave the power association was applied to her residential account rather than her business account. That led to her power being disconnected, and she said it leaves her credibility in question.
Mingo said, "If she goes home to try to explain it to her friends and relatives and family, will they come back?"
WTVA went to the Pontotoc Electric Power Association to get the other side of the story.
WTVA News reporter Kalisha Whitman said, "We received a complaint from a customer saying that her power was cut off at her beauty salon by mistake. Do you have a statement regarding that?"
Bob Wells, the district manager of the Bruce location of the Pontotoc Electric Power Association said, "Only that the fact that we can't discuss customer accounts because a privacy act is involved that would be as far as I can go. I'm sorry."
For the customer the issue is not about who is at fault, but rather the price she had to pay.
"I feel terrible about this situation because I came in and I wasn't expecting to leave out like this," the woman, who did not want to reveal her identity, said.
The power has been restored, but the debate over who is to blame has yet to be resolved. However, the customer said the price she had to pay drastically changed her life.
Pontotoc Electric Power Association does not service the water, however the owner of the salon said she needed the hot and cold water properly remove the chemicals from her customers head. The owner said the hot water did not work as a result of the power being disconnected.
NOTE: I'm not buying this excuse...hard to believe she could not have asked a neighboring business or residence for hot water. Also, hot water heaters store enough water in order get this one rinse done...Lon
Here’s a disconcerting thought: for the past thirty years, genes have been patentable. And we’re not just talking genetically modified corn – your genes, pretty much as they exist in your body, can and have been patented. The US government reports over three million gene patent applications have been filed so far; over 40,000 patents are held on sections of the human genome, covering roughly 20% of our genes.
Upset? You’re not alone. Critics argue that the patents stifle potential research into disease, keep new treatments off the market, and bring in serious money to Big Pharma – all by exercising property claims that shouldn’t exist. Continue reading at Who Owns You? 20% of the Genes in Your Body are Patented
*********** Recent 'Starchild' Video
Click for video NOTE: Lloyd Pye again tells us that the 'Starchild' skull has extraterrestrial DNA...but, again, provides no actual data. I'm not saying that it may not be true...I would just like something other than conjecture at this point. Lon
I received the following email this morning in reference to sounds heard by a reader and their family recently. If there are other readers in the area or that can help identify the noises, please comment:
Mountain Lion heard in Flemington, NJ on August 14th 2010
Around 4:30 am on August 14th 2010, the deafening sounds of a growling animal woke up our entire family.
It was loud enough to be heard through closed windows, air conditioners and the noisy circulating pump of our pool.
Each growl started out as a rasping sound that rose into a shrieking scream and then ended abruptly in silence. The growling went on and on, one growl right after the other for over five minutes.
Our three terriers and one Chihuahua, who have a huge barking problem, froze in silence and came cowering over to us when it ended.
My children went on Youtube and looked up scary sounds, they came up with a video clip of a screaming mountain lion. It was exactly what we heard and sent chills up our spine. It was called “female mountain lion scream”.
We have a three acre property in the Rolling Hills area, it is heavily wooded and there is a nearby stream on Cherryville Hollow Road. All the properties in our development have deer that roam around all day and sleep under the trees in our yards. One property is 32 acres of woods and until they built a house, was a favorite spot for deer hunters.
Train tracks through the woods lead into our area and intersects with many different streams. I’ve been told that there have been cougar sightings in Washington, which is north of Flemington, by a previous resident. We have had bear sightings in our neighborhood. I think the presence of bears increases the likelihood of lions also being able to enter the area.
We made the report to the police around 5 am, they said they would send an officer to patrol the area.
********** The following is a news report of a sighting in March 2010 in Monmouth County, NJ:
NJ.com - Police and wildlife officials are searching wooded areas and neighborhoods along the Manalapan and Marlboro after two people reportedly spotted a cougar prowling along a roadway early this morning, authorities said.
Shortly before 7:30 a.m., a man was driving on Robertsville Road in Manalapan when he saw what he described as a mountain lion following a deer across the roadway, according to Manlapan Police Captain Chris Marsala. Officers from both the Manalapan and Marlboro responded to the location, but did not find the animal.
A short time later Anthony Lena, a Marlboro Animal Control Officer, claimed he saw a "large cat with a long tail" walking along a creek bed near Robertsville Road, Marsala said. Manalapan officers returned to the scene along with officials from the state Division of Fish and Game and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but the second search also turned up no sign of the animal.
A helicopter was dispatched to aid in the search sometime today, said Marsala.
Officers did find "feline tracks" in a muddy creek bed bear Robertsville Road, according to Marsala, and a wildlife biologist was analyzing photos of the tracks today.
Wildife experts believe that except for a small collection of the large cats in Florida, cougars — also known as mountain lions, pumas or panthers — are extinct on the East Coast, and that most reported sightings are simply a case of mistaken identity.
But in 2007, state authorities said they received at least 70 calls from residents claiming they spotted one of the sharp-toothed felines.
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NOTE: There has been renewed interest in Pterosaur research the past few years. I have posted information as it was forwarded to me. An expedition in Papua New Guinea continues to uncover interesting anecdotal evidence. There have been a few recent videos released but these, IMO, are not convincing and depict only common native species. Nonetheless, I feel there is an excellent possibility that pterosaur-like creatures exist somewhere on Earth. I have posted most of the current information below. I realize that there is a lot to read but I felt it was essential to include it all...Lon
helium - Papua New Guinea, Southwest Pacific Ocean—The Ropen (‘demon flyer‘) is a monstrous creature that’s terrified the natives of Papua New Guinea for thousands of years. Another smaller creature, the Duah-possibly related to the Ropen-haunts some of the far flung outlying islands.
Now sensational eyewitness reports—collected by determined exploration teams seeking strong evidence of the creatures—have led serious researchers to the conclusion that two distinct animals exist.
The descriptions of both monsters match that of fabled pterosaurs—ferocious flying dinosaurs thought to be extinct for 65 million years.
Jim Blume and David Woetzel are two daring researchers that have explored the dangerous regions—including the treacherous outlying islands—where the prehistoric monsters are known to hunt their prey.
Not only have these two compiled eyewitness accounts of the creatures from frightened natives, and physical evidence of gigantic nesting sites in some of the mountainous cliff areas, both men have personally witnessed the soaring creatures—and Woetzel even shot some video footage of one.
First brought to the attention of Western missionaries following WWII, the often nocturnal flying creatures are described as having large bat-like wings, an elongated beak filled with razor teeth, sharp, tearing claws and a very long whip-like tail with a split or flange on the end.
Reports from natives and investigators indicate that the creatures glow in the dark and are clearly visible in the night sky. This phenomenon—called the ‘Ropen light’—was observed at length and videotaped by researcher David Woetzel.
It’s hypothesized the bio-luminescent glow assists the creatures’ efforts to hunt and catch fish—their primary diet—in the deep darkness of the tropical night.
The evidence for two types of living pterosaurs
Although the Ropen and Duah have strikingly similar physical characteristics, the giant Ropen inhabits Papua New Guinea while the smaller Duah stays relatively close to the outlying islands.
Other than actual modern-day sightings of the two, a surviving 16th Century maritime chart lends credence to the hypothesis of two distinctly different creatures.
The 1595 chart cautions sailors about ‘sea monsters’ and depicts various coastal regions of Earth where monsters might be found. In the area of Papua New Guinea, two ‘sea monsters’ are illustrated: one is much larger than the other, yet both have almost identical physical traits. Each have long necks, prominent head crests, tails ending with a flipper like appendage and ridges along their backs. They are shown flying above an island.
Despite the general consensus amongst orthodox zoologists that the creatures don’t exist, those that have actually traveled deep into Papua New Guinea’s primitive rain forests and tiny offshore islands are convinced the creatures are living there now—especially since they have seen them firsthand.
Furthermore, strong evidence exists that one type is very big with impressive 20-foot plus wingspans, while the smaller, island dwellers have 4 to 4 1/2-foot wingspans.
Blume and Woetzel are convinced that two different types of pterosaurs exist and the indigenous natives concur. The locals insist the Duahs are not Ropens.
Mounting evidence supports the contention that the large Ropen are living Dimorphodon pterosaurs, with dermal bumps and a head crest; while the numerous sightings of the smaller creatures that inhabit the caves of the islands dotting the Bismarck Archipelago are that of the supposedly extinct Rhamphorhynchus-a pterosaur with a wingspan of about 3 to 4 feet.
Blume’s investigations indicate that wingspans of some of the pterosaurs may reach 10 to15 feet, though several other investigators point out that natives have encountered Ropens with much larger wingspans.
Most intriguing of all, the living pterosaurs may not be exclusive to Papua New Guinea. Similar creatures have been sighted and reported on and off for centuries throughout Central Africa.
The natives in the Congo, Zambia, Angola, Kenya and Zaire call the creatures ‘Kongomato.’ They assert the reddish African version has large, leathery wings, sharp claws, a split tail, and prominent teeth.
While humans smugly believe they are the masters of this planet, the original rulers may still command some of the darker corners of this shrinking world.
**********
NOTE: I received an email from Jonathan Whitcomb at Live Pterosaur:"Last month I interviewed an eyewitness who lives in the Manus Island area of Papua New Guinea. More interesting than his short sighting one night is the account from an older man: The "kor" (a new name to me, probably the same species as the ropen of Umboi Island, or at least similar) creatures attacked some Japanese, during World War II, with a devastating response from those Japanese. I believe this story, for my contact seems to be credible."
Japanese World War II Ship Shelled Pterosaur Caves
February 18th, 2010 at 5:29
Three days ago, I received an email from R.K. (anonymous), of the Manus Island area of Papua New Guinea. (We starting communicating earlier this month.) The nocturnal flying creatures that he described to me–I believe they are ropens–were common and were dangerous to local fishermen previous to the early 1940’s, when their numbers declined. In these northern islands, the creature is called “kor.”
Here is part of R.K.’s account of the Japanese retaliation against the creatures that had attacked them:
”...it was the japs [Japanese miliary] on the island who were attacked by the kor. They [Japanese soldiers] apparently shot several wounding them then followed them to cves [caves] and blew [blew up] the entrances. They called ships fire on the hills and pounded them for several hours.”
R.K. asks an interesting question: “I wonder if there is a record of that somewhere?” Perhaps there is an old Japanese veteran who knows about this or has written about the battle with those creatures. If so, perhaps the word used for those creatures would be “dragons." ____________________ The Kor of Northern Papua New Guinea
R.K., of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, reports that the glowing nocturnal flying creature of those northern islands is called “kor.” Descriptions strongly suggest that they are at least similar to the ropen of Umboi Island, perhaps the same species: glowing with various colors, a long tail, “skin all over it,” and a few creatures growing to a large size. A few American investigators (some of them exploring in some areas of Papua New Guinea) are convinced that these are living pterosaurs.
According to what R.K. has learned from some older villagers, the kor catch fish “by skimming slowly around on the ocean surface, then as the light under their wings and belly glowed bright and attracted fish, the korr would swoop in . . . ” and “they eat in flight.”
But these are not just old reports. R.K. has reported his own encounter [early 2010 report]: “Two years ago we took a boat out to investigate and could see the lights soaring over us and heard flapping of wings.”
Older web page reports of smaller “ropens” around Manus Island (as if these were a different species because of size) are questionable. One kor was large enough to kill an islander in the 1960’s (according to R.K., this was the last human death from an attack). Perhaps the reports of smaller creatures come from the larger number of younger ones. Larger ones are reported to eat turtles and even young crocodiles. Some animals continue to grow throughout their lives; perhaps the kor, on occasion, also grows to a large size.
Click for video - Three men describe the pterodactyl-like creature of Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea. They saw the giant "ropen" (about 1994) flying over Lake Pung. ______________________ World War II Veteran Saw Giant Living "Pterodactyl"
Duane Hodgkinson, now a flight instructor in Livingston, Montana, in 1944 was stationed near Finschhafen, in what was then called New Guinea. After he and his buddy walked into a clearing, they were amazed as a large creature flew up into the air. The men soon realized that it was no bird that started to circle the clearing. It had a tail “at least ten to fifteen feet long,” (book Searching for Ropens, 2007) and a long appendage at the back of its head: apparently, a live pterosaur.
Jonathan Whitcomb, a forensic videographer, interviewed Hodgkinson, in 2004, and found his testimony credible. In 2005, Garth Guessman, another experienced ropen investigator, video-taped his own interview with Hodgkinson and the session was analyzed by Whitcomb, who became even more convinced the World War II veteran was telling the truth: The man had seen a ropen. ____________________
INVESTIGATIONS
In late 2006, Paul Nation, of Texas, explored a remote mountainous area on the mainland of Papua New Guinea. He videotaped two lights that the local natives called "indava." Nation believed the lights were from the bioluminescence of creatures similar to the ropen of Umboi Island. The video was analyzed by a missile defense physicist who reported that the two lights on the video were not from any fires, meteors, airplanes or camera artifacts. He also reported that the image of the two lights was authentic and was not manipulated or hoaxed.
In 2007, cryptid investigator Joshua Gates went to Papua New Guinea in search of the Ropen for his TV show Destination Truth. He and his team also witnessed strange lights at night and could not confirm what they were.
In 2009, the television show Monster Quest conducted an expedition in search of the "demon flyer" but found no evidence of the creature. Later, they had a forensic video analyst examine the Paul Nation video. The analyst could not definitely conclude what was causing the lights, but ruled out vehicles and campfires believing the footage was of a pair of bioluminescent creatures perched in a tree that later take flight.
In the second half of 2007, living-pterosaur investigators were active in a new sighting area. The location they kept secret but it's known to be on the west coast of the United States. Some of the men had been on cryptozoological expeditions in Africa or Papua New Guinea, including Scott Norman.
On one of the first nights of observation, Scott stayed up later than the other researchers. He'd been skeptical after watching an unclear video that others thought might be a pterosaur; he was sure it was just a bird. But in the early morning hours of July 19th, he saw something large fly nearby: no bird.
Silent, with stars for a background, the dark creature flew twenty feet high, over a shed only twenty feet from Scott. Although it was dark, there was no mistaking it: a wingspan of eight to ten feet, a head three to four feet long, and a two-foot-long head-crest that reminded him of a Pteranodon. The wings were more bat-like than bird-like.
How does this sighting relate to the ropen sightings in Papua New Guinea? Investigators were attracted to this area in the Western United States by a familiar eyewitness description: Flashes of light that often look like meteors but occasionally look different. Also, the landowner, who allowed the men to search on his property, had seen a large ropen-like creature in daylight.
It seems that Scott Norman is the first American cryptozoologist to see the clear form of a living pterosaur while looking for one.
A few months after his historic sighting, he fell ill; to the sorrow of many friends, relatives, and cryptozoology associates, Scott left this world for a better, where extinction itself is extinct and where life never ends.
Scott Norman's passing, on February 29th, just days before he would have turned forty-four, caused a partial disclosure of the secret living-pterosaur searches in the Western U.S.. Investigations continued through 2007 and into 2008, but the landowner insists on location-secrecy. By early 2009, some trespasser had fired a gun at one of the creatures. The landowner has no desire for any curious crowds, even if they trespassed with no guns.
Many areas of the United States have had their sightings: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York State, Ohio, Wisconsin, and California. Reports continue to come in about pterosaurs.
The cryptozoologist Jonathan Whitcomb continues to interview eyewitnesses of ropen-like creatures seen in the United States. He encourages cryptozoological investigations across the U.S.
**********
Myths and legends about creatures from the Chupacabra to the Jersey Devil to Bigfoot are everywhere, but in southern New Mexico and parts of Texas people say they've seen birds so big they seem prehistoric.
One man claims the rugged landscape near Las Cruces hides a mystery that's haunted him for several years.
Dave Zander has lived near the Doña Ana Mountains for more than 30 years spending almost all his spare time hiking, exploring and fossil hunting in the range between the Robledo and Organ mountains.
He saw something that he's unable to explain and many people find hard to believe.
He recalls the day eleven years ago when he spotted something extraordinary: two creatures perched on a mountain less than a mile away.
"These creatures were so huge they looked like the size of small planes," Dave Zander said. "All of the sudden one of them jumped off dropped off the top of the mountain, came down the front of the mountain and all the sudden these huge wings just spread out.
"I would say the wings were at least a 20-foot wingspan."
Definitely something out of the ordinary.
"Not a normal bird, definitely of a giant variety," Zander continued. "It makes you feel like it could come over and carry you off if it wanted to."
Zander witness a real-life scene out of the movie Jurassic Park?
One ancient bird in the vicinity is an Andean condor living at the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque. But it's wingspan of 12 feet pales to what Zander described: birds with an unprecedented twenty-foot wingspan, with pink bald heads and all-black bodies, and feathers on their enormous wings. There is nothing on modern record like it.
"In comparison a 20 foot wingspan would truly be a monster and something undocumented by science," cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard said. "I believe what Dave Zander may have seen are surviving teratorns."
Gerhard has made a career studying prehistoric birds.
"What's interesting the reports of these giant raptor-like birds to continue into modern times," he said. "We seem to have a large concentration of them here in the Southwest particularly in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas as well as New Mexico and parts of Arizona."
Gerhard documented many of these strange reports from all over the globe in the book "Big birds! Modern sightings of flying monsters."
The book includes sightings in different clusters over the past 30 years.
In 1972 in Maxwell in northeastern New Mexico, Ronald Monteleone of Trinidad, Colo., reported what he thought was a pterodactyl flying out of an arroyo.
In Lordsburg in the 1800s locals talked constantly about the sightings of pterosaurs.
And a picture circulated the country in 1890 out of Tombstone, Ariz., but it's never been considered totally legitimate.
"Other eyewitnesses are describing specifically giant feathered dark birds with an enormous wing span," Gerhard said.
Gerhard said his research falls into two different descriptions from witnesses. Some said the birds look like the prehistoric pterodactyl while others, like the creatures described by Zander, resemble the ancient thunderbird from Native American mythology.
You can find thunderbird images atop many totem poles and also carved into the lava rocks of the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque. Similar images are found in petroglyphs all over North America.
According to legend, the thunderbird is said to have a wingspan the length of two canoes with the ability to deafen people with the sound of its flapping wings.
"It is definitely a real animal, according to the native peoples that lived here," Gerhard said. "It's not necessarily a legendary animal." (Andean Condor)
However a word of caution comes from folks like Ben Radford, managing editor of the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which applies scientific reason and evidence to extraordinary claims.
"There is a desire to link modern sightings with these Native American stories but the problem is they're not necessarily the same thing," Radford said.
Radford said believes the eyewitnesses saw something:
"Ultimately a lot of these sightings, whether it's these monsters, these creatures, Chupacabras, what have you, these come down to eyewitness testimony," Radford said. "They're stories, there's nothing wrong with stories, but they're just not good evidence."
Radford has debunked numerous stories about the Loch Ness monster, crop circles and Bigfoot.
He said he relies on evidence.
"You don't have bones, teeth," he continued. "You don't have any hard evidence, so you look to these stories, you look to these myths.
"We know from many scientific experiments people are notoriously unreliable about estimating things."
And in this case, Radford said he thinks Zander and the other witnesses in Texas overestimated the birds' size.
What makes the reports intriguing is that most experts agree scientists have yet to discover every species on the planet and really have no idea what is out there:
"I believe there's a good chance that a number of large prehistoric animals remain undiscovered by modern science." Gerhard said.
Radford readily concedes there are species yet to be discovered, but...
"Do I think there are giant animals and birds and creatures out there?" he said. "No."
For his part, Zander continues to keep his eyes on the skies but hasn't had a repeat visit from the creatures. The one experience has stayed with him.
"I feel honored to have seen the one sighting," he said. "I had if they're still up there still living up there and thriving, I say awesome, more power to them."
********** Jeffrey Gonzalez of Sanger Paranormal forwarded the following accounts:
I received the following statements from three witnesses:
I have a cousin, who is a teacher, state that he was driving home from Fresno, CA to Sanger, CA on North Ave. when something hit the top of his car. He slowed down then came to a complete stop. He looked in his rear view mirror and noticed this 'thing' on the road behind him. The 'thing' got up and stood on two legs...then he told me he saw 2 wings. It reminded him of the movie 'Jeeper Creepers' He said it scared the $%#& out of him and he drove home at at high rate of speed, not stopping at stop signs. He has no clue on what it was. This occurred in 2008.
Another minor incident took place in 2006. Two neighbors were talking outside one night in the rural country east of Fresno. They heard what sounded like something flying overhead with large wings...a flapping of wings, but they did not see anything.
Again, another report east of Fresno. This happened to a friend of mine when he was in high school around 1955. He was helping his dad in his garage working on a vehicle when his friends showed up in an El Camino. They asked him if he wanted to go to the old bridge and mess around. This was at night but he could not because he had to help his dad. His friends took off and an hour later they came back to his garage screaming with fright...they told his father and him what happened. They were on the bridge messing around when they heard something fly over them. It sounded like it had large wings. This 'thing' was swooping down on them and they all freaked out, climbed in the El Camino and as they were driving away, this thing grabbed a hold of the back of the El Camino but was able to out run it. When they got back, my friend and his dad thought they were drinking and smoking some stuff so they decided to check the back of the vehicle. They noticed claw marks on the back. My friend knew these were real because the owner of the El Camino took pride in his car and he would never let anyone scratch his car like that. They never went back to that bridge.
One of the strangest newspaper stories from the latter years of the nineteenth century came from California. It began in the summer of 1891. Several persons from Fresno County were reported to have seen a pair of large flying creatures that resembled pterosaurs (being featherless, with reptilian snouts and fifteen foot wingspans).
The details were first published in the Selma, California, Enterprise, to which I don't currently have access, but it quickly spread to outlying newspapers. So, we can reconstruct the story from articles published by other newspapers.
First, the general details from corresponding newspapers:
"Dragons in California"
"A number of persons living in the vicinity of Reedley, Fresno County, Cal., all reputable citizens, too, according to a Chronicle correspondent, swear that they have seen and hunted two dragons with wings fifteen feet long, bodies without covering of hair or feathers, head broad, bills long and wide, eyes not less than four inches in diameter, and with feet like those of an alligator somewhat, though more circular in form.
They had five toes on each foot, with a strong claw on each, and its track is eleven inches wide and nineteen inches long.
These strange creatures were first seen southeast of Selma, on the night of July 11, and their peculiar cries and the rustling of their mammoth wings were heard as late as 10 o'clock, when all became still. The dragons were last heard that night crying in the direction of King's river.
"Two nights later, A. X. Simmons's poultry yard was visited by the monsters, many of the hens being bitten in two and left partly devoured. Those who examined the dead chickens say the teeth marks on them resemble those made by a very large dog.
On July 19 a carriage loaded with picnickers was returning from a picnic on Clark's bridge, and in the clear moonlight saw the monsters plainly circling in the air and heard the rush of their pinions, snapping of their jaws and fearful cries overhead.
On Monday, July 21, Harvey Lemon and Major Henry Haight, who live just outside of Selma, going after their hogs, who fed on the tules, heard a strangling noise in the deep swale under a bridge, and in a moment, with a heavy flapping of wings, the queer creatures rose slowly from the water, flying so close to the men that the wind from the tremendous wings was plainly felt.
Their description of the monsters tallies with that of the persons who saw them on the 13th and 19th." [sic] (Frederick, Maryland, News, August 11, 1891.)
A second paper adds the following details to the account: "After they had made several appearances a party was organized to hunt them. One of them was wounded and tracked several miles and his track in the mud secured." (Salem, Ohio, Daily News, October 24, 1891.)
Next, we have a newspaper writer who has some fun with the story:
"It is the silly season of an off year and the natural consequence is an unusually heavy crop of the summer story. Ever since Judge Widney discovered the remains of a bobtailed sea serpent at Redondo beach, which stimulated the celebrated Calaveras ophidian to swallow a sixteen inch iron drill and secrete himself in a bale of hay, the thing has been going from bad to worse.
On all sides frightful monsters of the sort that figure in the well worn controversy between science and religion are reported red with [ravin] and the blood of innocents. Fresno appears to be more than usually fertile of this sort of contribution to the lore of science.
It was there the famous stone man and later, the stone woman—presumably the man's wife—were discovered, and it is from there that we hear of the high handed outrages done by a brace of pterodactyls in the swamps near Selma.
We are told that the monsters were seen on a recent moonlight night by a party of young fellas returning from a dance, and as they flew through the air 'with a fearful rush of pinions' they uttered 'weird and discordant cries which were accompanied by snapping of jaws.'
A little later a Fresno county major, engaged in herding hogs in the tule, heard a 'strange strangling noise under a bridge.' In a moment there was a heavy flapping of wings and the two monsters rose from the water and flew so near the gallant officer that 'the wind from their wings was plainly felt.' He stood it like a major.
"The major describes the dragons as resembling birds without feathers. They have long and wide bills and wings not less than fifteen feet across. Their eyes are fully four inches in diameter, although as to this particular there is a grave suspicion that the major is describing his own fine eyes.
"The scientific investigators of Fresno were not to be daunted by anything that a mere major could tell them and they made up a party to pursue and if possible, bag the monsters. Having arrived at the scene they took the wise precaution to dig holes in the ground in which they hid, no doubt to avoid any appearance of intrusion on the revels of the dragons. What they saw is best described in their own words:
"The ominous yells drew nearer, and in a few moments we heard the rush and roar of wings, so hideous that our hair almost stood on end. The two dragons came swooping down and circled round and round the pond in rapid whirls, screaming hideously all the while.
We had a good view of them while flying. Two or three times they passed within a few yards of us, and their eyes were plainly visible. We could also see that instead of bills like birds, they had snouts resembling that of the alligator, and their teeth could be seen as they snapped their jaws while passing us.
"At length they came down with a fearful plunge into the pond, and the mud and water flew as though a tree had fallen into it. "They dived and floundered around in the water, and as nearly as we could judge at the distance of thirty yards, they were about six feet long, and while wading in the water they looked not unlike gigantic frogs.
Their wings were folded and appeared like large knobs on their backs. Their eyes were the most visible parts, and seemed all the time wide open and staring.
"They were very active, and darted about among the tules and rushes catching mudhens. One of these fowl was devoured at two or three clamps of the jaws.
"This cannot be other than the offspring of the famous cross between the bulldog and the window shutter. But the wise men of Fresno are agreed in believing them to be two of the Mistakes of Moses.
"They fired a shot at the monsters, but did not insist on further hostilities. Professor Snodgrass of Selma, however, with remarkable intrepidity and at some personal risk succeeded in capturing one of their footprints in the mud, which he dug out and brought home to confound the unbeliever. The footprints have five toes and a strong claw on each.
They are eleven inches wide and nineteen inches long. The theory that this was the impression of a Fresno girl's foot is rejected by Professor Snodgrass, although his reasoning is not at all conclusive on this point. Nevertheless, his explanation of the phenomenon is most interesting to the scientific student. I quote:
"The most probable solution of the matter is that these dragons are solitary specimens of some geological animal supposed to be extinct. It most nearly fits the description of the pterodactyl, a weird nocturnal vampire, half bat, half lizard, that infested the vast swamps of the earth in the carboniferous age.
The pterodactyl is described by geologists as attaining a size often four times as large as the eagle, while the bill became a snout, and its mouth was set with ghastly teeth that devoured birds, reptiles and all small animals that came in its way.
"The professor does not explain whether the footprint was left by the half bat or the half lizard, but it is understood that in Fresno scientific circles the bat comes first and the lizard is seen later. Some of them see jackass rabbits, but it is always the same old prehistoric bat." (Extract from: Edward F. Cahill. "The Animals. Splayfooted Monsters of Fresno." Oakland, California, Tribune. August 8, 1891.)
This is followed by general notes or witticisms in various papers:
"The Selma pterodactyls have taken their place alongside of the wild man of Kings river canyon and both should be buried in that icy grave of the mountain suicide, with the Chronicle's learned editorial on the paleozoic monsters thereon as a winding sheet." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 7, 1891.)
"Those Selma Dragons.
"What is said about them at home. "The Selma Enterprise, which first gave currency to the dragon story, now has the following on the subject:
"'The Enterprise's article on the pterodactyl monster has been copied far and wide by nearly every newspaper in the country. The writer, quite naturally, has been called a liar, 4,000,000 times the last two weeks, and we are prone to believe that were there are so many of one mind, the majority must rule.
But an explanation is in order. This is how it came about. The writer, a literary man from near Sauders, like all literary men, undertook at a recent picnic to drink up all the refreshments and ice cream on the grounds.
"'After a lively time on the green he took a refreshing snooze near the labyrinthean precincts of the Rockwell marsh, solitary and alone. Awaking, his normal condition compelled him to imbibe freely of the waters of the stagnant pool, after which he sank into a slumber, interspersed with dreams of fairy land, pterodactyls, hades and damnation.
The next day he recalled with vivid reality his experience in dreamland and readily, with fluent pen, added it to his stock of literary manuscripts. It was sent in with instructions for the Enterprise editor to look over and pronounce upon it.
The foreman took it to be a correspondence from a regular contributor and ordered it printed; hence this apology. But subsequent events prove that in the vast intellectual area of this state and especially this county, there are more downright liars than you can shake a stick at.
"'Nearly every paper which printed a rehash of the monster business added a few flourishes of its own until now we have a whole drove of pterodactyls who threaten to depopulate the country. A Fresno liar sent a column and a half to the San Francisco Chronicle, which is a rank steal from the literary man over near Sanders on his pterodactyl.
Another Selma fabricator was solicited to send a thousand words on the monster, but his courage failed him and the Examiner got left, while the yell of the newsboys, "All about the Great Monster," was profitable music to the ears of the Chronicle publishers.
[Hereon] when our contributors volunteer contributions about monsters, serpents and reptiles we want them to distinctly understand that no ordinary pterodactyl yarn goes. We want a real genuine flock of icthyosaurous or nothing.'" (Fresno, California, Daily Morning Republican, August 11, 1891.)
"Our scientific contemporary speaks of 'the overlapping of geological epicycles.' This lapping is supposed to have produced the pterodactyls of Selma. That's pretty good, but Harry Watson will be amused." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 14, 1891.)
"The Tulare County Times thus quietly pokes fun of the Chronicle and its story of the Selma dragons: 'The dragons found near Selma, Fresno county, of which much has been written within the last week or two, are not dragons at all, but simply two Australian birds known in their native country as Boa.
They are a very destructive species and have not been hibernating in the "vast tule swamps of Tulare county," as the San Francisco Chronicle puts it, for the reason that there are no such swamps in this county.
The birds were imported to this country by the Kaweah colonists, at great expense, and were expected to work their destructive arts on the government horses and mules in the Sequoia national park, but having been ordered "off the grass" in that section by a United States [herd] agent, wandered into Fresno county in search of something green.
As they are working toward San Francisco, the Chronicle editor will do well to keep indoors.'" (also, Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 14, 1891.) "What has become of the pterodactyls?" (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, August 28, 1891.) Like so many reports of mystery animals, there were no additional sightings and interest died down. For the next few years, though, the pterosaur story became part of a running gag among regional newspapers.
"A San Bernardino man with the d.t.'s has seen a monster twenty times as large as J. B. Daniels' pterodactyl." (Fresno, California, Bee, June 5, 1892.)
In speaking of a yarn involving a November field of wheat and poppies, one paper declares, "This takes the stocking off old man Maxwell and his pterodactyl story." (Fresno, California, Bee, December 4, 1892.)
Then, a pseudonymous writer (Consomme), describes in a letter to the editor some of the strange fauna of Fresno county, including: "First—the pterodactyl, of Fresno dragon (latin, dragonis alligatis wingis), found only in the neighborhood of Selma, is a reprehensible, hirsute winged alligator. In size about equal to the common 2-year-old Durham heifer.
Is carnivorous and lives mostly on mud hens and the spawn of the house cat. It has an elongated body covered with fur like the sealskin of commerce. A tail similar to the musk-ox. Its most curious feature is a pair of bat-like wings growing out of the middle of its back and from twenty to thirty feet in length.
"The animal's head is almost exactly like that of the alligator. Its mouth is armed with eight rows of teeth about three inches in length. It is supposed to be the descendent of the ancient pterodactyl, crossed with the gnu or horned horse, known to have once been common in these parts. It can be tamed and is very useful, when chloroformed and its wings clipped, as its fur is as fine as the fur-bearing seal, while its pedal extremities (it has legs like those of the wolf) are a great delicacy, highly prized by the natives of Selma." (Extract from Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, December 23, 1892.)
"Editor Dewey of the Sanger Herald, was in Fresno yesterday. He says the quality of Sanger's whisky has improved and no more pterodactyls are seen there now." (Fresno, California, Bee, October 3, 1893.)
"A committee of the board of supervisors, accompanied by County Surveyor Hoxie and N. L. F. Bachman of The Republican, left Fresno yesterday morning on route to the Sequoia mills, where they will view the new mountain road completed there, with the object of determining whether it has been constructed according to contract. ... Bachman is on a tour of adventure, and is expected to slaughter a grizzly or capture a pterodactyl alive ere he returns." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, November 17, 1893.)
"C. J. Walker is here from the town of the pterodactyls." (Fresno, California, Weekly Republican, October 5, 1894.) "This is a great county for productiveness. It produces raisins, grain and pterodactyls for the rest of the world. ..." (Fresno, California, Bee, November 20, 1894.)
At present, the story shows certain hallmarks of classic newspaper fiction, but whether this is due to embellishments as the story passed from paper to paper is uncertain. Without seeing the original story, I can't rule out the possibility that the initial sighting was based on misidentification of a known bird species (e.g., sandhill crane).
The description sounds too much like an early paleontologist's imaginative recreation to be given serious consideration as a "living pterosaur." It was easy enough for an enterprising writer to make up a story with details like five-toed feet and large eyes from Cuvier's work or other commonly published material. (And, often, that's what they did, even with non-fiction "scientific" essays.)
It would be interesting to track down the original Enterprise story; it should answer a few questions. The trouble with newspaper research is access—and this one is not yet online. (If anyone lives near Selma, California, the public library there should have it on microfilm. I'd appreciate a copy.)
One name in the above notes is of particular interest, though there is little to go on for definitive conclusions. J. B. Daniels was a local real estate agent who earned the nickname "Pterodactyl" Daniels. At this point, I don't know whether he was responsible for the original story (as witness or writer), or just began telling tall tales related to the pterodactyl story. (I suspect he was the pseudonymous Consomme.)
Whatever the connection, within a few years of this event, Daniels ran afoul of the law with some real estate dealings and disappeared, just like the pterodactyls of Fresno County, California.
Stingrays Invade South Padre Island, Texas...100+ People Injured
krgv - Authorities on South Padre Island say they have received reports of at least 100 people being injured by stingrays within the past four days.
The South Padre Island fire chief states calm water brings the stingrays closer to shore.
Burney Baskett says, “When the water gets calm, they tend to come in. This just happens to be the right time of year, the right type of weather conditions. And we just had a lot of people on the beach, and, you know, good season for stingrays apparently.”
Baskett explains the stingrays attack when they're stepped on. He tells us there are simple things you can do to protect yourself. “Instead of walking like you normally walk, you need to shuffle your feet and just scoot them along on the sand," he explains.
The fire chief says this will alert stingrays that someone is approaching, so they can get out of the way.
He adds as long as the waves are calm, stingrays may be hanging out along the shore with the rest of us.
**********
Lightning Strikes 13-Year-Old Boy at 13:13 on Friday the 13th
dailymail - For some people 13 is an unlucky number.
St John Ambulance volunteers improved the luck of a 13-year-old boy when they treated him after he was struck by lightning - at 13:13 on Friday 13.
The boy was struck at Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival today, Firday 13th, and it was only while the ambulance team was treating him that they noticed the time - 1.13pm.
The unnamed buy suffered a minor burn and was taken to James Paget Hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Two other people have been treated at the event today for lightning strikes - they were all holding umbrellas at the time.
Rex Clarke, who leads the team of St John Ambulance volunteers at the event, said: ‘There’d been very heavy rain all day, but this afternoon we saw a big flash of lightning over the sea and a loud clap of thunder.
'We got a call that someone had been struck by lightning so we immediately sent our paramedics to the scene, followed by an ambulance. Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest, but when our volunteers arrived the boy was conscious and breathing.
'We treated two more injuries from lightning burns in the space of twenty minutes - all three people were holding umbrellas at the time, which acts as a conductor for electricity.'
Clive James, first aid expert at St John Ambulance, says: ‘The biggest risk of a lightning strike is that it could stop the heart and breathing.
'If this happens, you need to start CPR immediately and call for an ambulance. Other likely effects are burns - which happened in this case - or injuries from being knocked down by the force.
'If the person can walk, move away from the area immediately as lightning can strike in the same place.’
"It has actions that will kill cancer cells. It kills bacteria. It sedates. It's a sedative"
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Pennsylvania Woman Receives 21 Years of House Arrest in Order to Repay Theft
townhall - An office manager who admitted stealing $475,000 from her employer has been sentenced to 21 years of house arrest so she can work to repay it.
Lanette Sansoni's unusual sentence came after her ex-boss said he was more interested in restitution than jail time, her lawyer said.
"This was just a creative compromise," defense attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr. said Thursday. "I think it will encourage her to pay it off, so the judge was pretty smart about it."
Peruto, a veteran defense lawyer in the region, guessed the two-decade term may be a record for house arrest in Pennsylvania. State officials could not immediately confirm that.
Sansoni, 40, has repaid about $275,000 after selling her home in Warminster, just north of Philadelphia, and moving in with her mother. She will remain on house arrest until the remaining $200,000 is repaid to Kenneth Slomine, who owned JRS Settlement Services, a title company in Lower Moreland Township.
Montgomery County Judge Joseph A. Smyth on Wednesday set a payment schedule of $750 a month, which works out to about 21 years.
Sansoni can leave home to work but could go to jail if the payments stop. She has a job paying $700 a week, Peruto said, but he wouldn't disclose what it is.
Prosecutors had argued for incarceration for Sansoni, who also served as a title clerk at JRS before it went bust because of her theft.
"This is a case that just cried out for jail time," said Assistant District Attorney Steven Bunn, who called Sansoni's crimes "egregious."
"She's not stealing to make ends meet," Bunn said. "She was buying luxury vacations, designer handbags, designer jewelry, and basically living the high life while this company went under."
Sansoni earned $60,000 a year plus benefits managing Slomine's small family business. About six people lost their jobs when the company closed, including Slomine and his wife and son.
Sansoni began working for the company in 2003 and started skimming from various accounts three years later. She used the proceeds to pay off several credit cards, including nearly $17,000 racked up on her daughter's card and nearly $47,000 on her mother's account, said Slomine's lawyer, Gregg Cotler.
The credit card company raised the first red flags about the possible fraud, said Cotler, who called Sansoni's sentence "unusual."
"He (Slomine) was conflicted by the fact that if she were to serve an extended sentence, that would mean she wasn't working and generating money and wasn't able to pay the money back," Cotler said.
Peruto said he expects Sansoni to pay off the debt early and be released from house arrest.
"I wouldn't be shocked," he said, "if it was paid off in a couple of years."
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Rabid Vampire Bats Have Bitten Over 500 People in Peru
Peru's health ministry has sent emergency teams to a remote Amazon region to battle an outbreak of rabies spread by vampire bats. Four children in the Awajun indigenous tribe died after being bitten by the bloodsucking mammals.
Health workers have given rabies vaccine to more than 500 people who have also been attacked. Some experts have linked mass vampire bat attacks on people in the Amazon to deforestation. The rabies outbreak is focused on the community of Urakusa in the north-eastern Peruvian Amazon, close to the border with Ecuador.
The indigenous community appealed for help after being unable to explain the illness that had killed the children. The health ministry said it had sent three medical teams to treat and vaccinate people who had been bitten.
Most of the affected population had now been vaccinated, it said, although a few had refused treatment. Vampire bats usually feed on wildlife or livestock, but are sometimes known to turn to humans for food, particularly in areas where their rainforest habitat has been destroyed. Some local people have suggested this latest outbreak of attacks may be linked to the unusually low temperatures the Peruvian Amazon in recent years.
