Some people will go to great length to prove something exists; even if it means posting videos that were obvious hoaxes. Case in point: during the summer of 2010, flying dinosaurs were soaring above the beaches of Papua New Guinea. At least, that was what a person who posted two videos on YouTube wanted people to believe.
The videos were far from perfect, as well as misleading. They depicted one “ropen,” a legendary flying creature known mainly by natives in the island nation and to a few outsiders, flying over the ocean in broad daylight. One video used audio commentary from the incredulous videographer and his wife, while another one had suggestive captions added to it, possibly to sway viewers into believing they were seeing a “living pterosaur”.
These are not the first video or film footage to be presented to the public as evidence of the creatures’ existence. In fact, the videos were originally taken in 2007, and then posted in 2008 and 2010. Also, if viewers were to look up ropen on YouTube, they would find several videos on the subject posted there.
Still, these particular postings created a minor sensation over the summer of 2010; cryptozoologists, fringe scientists, creationists and bloggers who were searching for proof for the existence of these elusive creatures were taking notice and wasting no time promoting the videos.
While the videos were short and basically showed a large bird with a “tail” flying over a beach, they were edited in a way that made them sensationalistic and persuasive. There’s no doubt that the subject of the clips was a Frigate bird – a common bird (with a long feather as a tail) in the region. However, the captions that popped up on the screen in “Part One” suggested that this was “huge” and was “not a kite.” It even suggested that the locals on the beach were just as amazed as they (the videographer and wife) were.
The second caption in “Part One” proved to be its undoing. While it states that the locals were surprised by this, the camera panned toward the beach only to show a few people in the distance going about their business, not the least interested in the “phenomenon” flying above them.
The second video shows the same bird at a slightly different angle. This time, one can hear what the husband and wife are saying. “Part Two” is not very compelling; however, the wife’s disbelief when she says that the bird looks “prehistoric” is possibly the most convincing part of it.
Despite the weak evidences these clips put forward, several viewers posted their excitement, as well as their gullibility, of seeing that such a creature actually existed. Most exclaimed “Wow!” or “I can’t believe this really exists”; others proclaimed “This is proof!”
The videos were taken up by others who wanted to spread the message that the ropen has been “found.” In one case, a writer wrote an article that proclaimed that “living dinosaurs” were finally caught on tape (although many experts in this field will point out that pterosaurs were not dinosaurs). This particular article was picked up by several online media magazines, newspapers and blogs.
The quest to prove the existence of the ropen is nothing new. Ever since European and American missionaries and tourists have been visiting the island, they’ve been hearing of stories told by the local islanders of a giant flying reptilian beast with huge bat-like wings, a tail and large appendage on its head. Many have described the ropen as being nocturnal and equipped with the ability to be bioluminescent.
In the 1990s, these stories soon came to the attention of several cryptozoologists, adventurers, and creationists. Since then, a creationist group from Texas – Creation Evidence Museum, led by Carl Baugh, has been funding trips to Papua New Guinea to find evidence of their existence. These expeditions were led by a self-proclaimed “living-pterosaur investigator”, adventurer, and cryptozoologist Paul Nation. Also, other prominent names within the cryptozoological and creationist movement took part in these explorations. Among them were California-based videographer, writer and cryptozoologist Jonathon Whitcomb, and David Woetzel.
According to websites from Creation Evidence Museum – as well as from Whitcomb and Woetzel – the intent of finding the ropen is to prove that the theory of evolution was wrong. Their intent, on the other hand goes beyond just invalidating a scientific theory; they believed that the ropen –which these explorers call the “living fossil” – will prove that the world is actually 6,000 years old, and that in the beginning, man and dinosaurs actually lived at the same time, instead of millions of years apart.
The argument is a head-scratcher, at best. Just how this can be proven by finding the ropen is never fully explained. Still, this group has been putting out books, video documentaries and websites dedicated to this flying beast. Due to their efforts, they’ve caught the attention of shows like Sy-Fy’s “Destination Truth” and the History Channel’s “Monster Quest.” With such devotion, one wonders if they may have been responsible for the postings on YouTube.
Still, if they were behind it, one must wonder why they’d use these videos. For one thing, they show the “ropen” flying during the day. This alone contradicts the claim that they’re night animals. Also, many of the claims state that the ropen was reptilian in appearance. Other accounts claimed they had no feathers. Despite the poor quality of the films (they were out of focus at times), feathers can be clearly seen. Also, when one takes in account the contour of the wings, the body, and the “tail” and matches those features with the frigate bird, they match.
Luckily, not everyone was sold on the videos. A story in support of these videos was for the most part rejected by readers on one site. On Salem-news.com, many readers made one simple comment to their reader’s forum: “Frigate Bird.” Reputable science blogs and the online edition of Smithsonian Magazine, criticized a pro-ropen article that contained the video.
Also, some of those critics were the original viewers on YouTube. It was reported to this writer that some of the comments had been removed (To note: There has never been any proof that the person who posted the video was blocking negative comments or removing them, however one person claimed that his and other people’s remarks were removed ).
It’s not known if the person who posted the videos was the same person who filmed the “ropen” in flight. Also, one can’t prove that there was an ulterior motive to support a creationist agenda. What can be said about these videos is that someone went to great length to deceive YouTube viewers, if not the public.
