Pterosaurs in the backyard

Had I written this review a few years back, I would have titled it "Silly season creationism" or something to that effect. But sure, I'm still *very* sceptical to Jonathan David Whitcomb's book about - wait for it - sightings of apparent pterosaurs in the United States. Apparent...what exactly?

Creationists (and perhaps a few others) have been searching for living pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea, where there are native legends about a luminescent "demon flyer" harassing remote villages at night. Whitcomb and other enthusiasts believe, or want to believe, that there are pterosaurs at large in the United States, as well. The eye-witnesses prefer to be anonymous or pseudonymous due to fear of ridicule. Whitcomb and his fellow researchers (some of whom claim to have seen pterosaurs themselves) have sometimes kept the locations of the purported sightings hidden. This means that scientists can't do much with their material, and other cryptozoologists or investigators of the paranormal might also feel left in the lurch. Whitcomb claims to be able to tell a hoax from the real thing, but he never explains how. To be honest, I don't think he can - I wonder what would happen if a nefarious sceptic would try to prove him wrong by fabricating an observation?

Many of the "pterosaur" observations are probably misidentifications of large herons, bats, kites or pterosaur models. Many have been made at night. Others have a certain occult feel, as when one eye-witness reported a huge pterosaur in the middle of Suburbia, but nobody else noticed! The creatures are biologically impossible. What do they eat? Where do they breed? How come bird-watchers aren't seeing them? Whitcomb believes that the pterosaurs eat nightjars or bats, but shouldn't this affect nightjar or bat behaviour? I think it's obvious that we are dealing with a modern ghost story (with the usual older antecedents) rather than a flesh-and-blood creature.

In New Guinea, the Demon Flyers (or Ropens) are associated with strange lights in the sky, the lights themselves being something of a mystery. Whitcomb claims that at least in some American localities, this connection exists as well. People see strange, seemingly intelligent lights which on closer inspection reveal the form of a pterosaur. To the author, this means that the creatures are real and emit light (a bit like fireflies). The Papuans say pretty much the same thing. Of course, another explanation would be the exact opposite: the strange lights are the real phenomenon, creating hallucinations of pterosaurs. Or "hallucinations" - see my review of Paul Devereux' "Earth Lights" for more on this.

Overall, I must say that "Live Pterosaurs in America" is a rather badly written book. It's also very short. I'm going to give it three stars only because it seems to be the only book available exclusively dealing with this (far out) subject (the author himself admits, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that he isn't "normal"). Otherwise, I would have given it just two.

I think it's more likely that the U.S. hinterland is haunted by Frigatebirds with mange and a penchant for Venus, than Noah saving a baby pterosaur on the Ark. But then, you never know. Patterson-Gimlin film, anyone?