 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.
As is often the case with cryptids, the Ropen's true identity is subject to debate. Some believe it to be a Rhamphorhynchidae-like creature, while others suggest that the Ropen is a misidentified bat (e.g. flying foxes, which are large fruit bats than can have wingspans up to two metres (six feet), or frigatebird. Flying lights in Papua New Guinea have been reported by not only natives but by Western visitors. Evelyn Cheesman, the entomologist, mentions them in her book The Two Roads of Papua (published in 1935): "baffling" lights that lasted "about four or five seconds." The book Searching for Ropens says that the "ropen" light of Umboi Island lasts for about "five seconds." There is also said to be a creature called "Duah" that is said to be another kind of ropen, but according to Searching for Ropens the correct word is actually "duwas," and it is just another name, in a different language, for the same creature.[It can also mean "Devil" apparently-DD]
2.^ Pterosaur-like Creatures Reported in Papua New Guinea
3.^ Expedition - A Pterodactyl in Papua New Guinea
4.^ PSL Gideon was terrified by the ropen
5.^ Living pterosaurs are not Flying Fox fruit bats
6.^ PSL Is the ropen a pterosaur?
7.^ Penny et al. (2004) The rise of birds and mammals: are microevolutionary processes sufficient for macroevolution?. Trends in ecology & evolution vol. 19 (10) pp. 516-22
8.^ Robertson et al. (2004) Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America
10.^ Bioluminescent Organisms
11.^ Whitcomb's Book, Searching For Ropens, Asserts Pterodactyl Reported In Papua New Guinea - EWORLDWIRE
12.^ Michael of Opai Village and the ropen light
13.^ What Happened to Pterosaurs page 2
14.^ Jim Blume's ropen investigations in Papua New Guinea
15.^ Flying Dinosaurs in Papua New Guinea
16.^ PSL Ropen Light Sighting by David Woetzel
17.^ Living Pterosaur Expedition of 2006
18.^ Analysis of the Ropen-light Video, pg-1
Credibility of the Umboi Island eyewitnesses
Indava and Ropen of Papua New Guinea
Live Pterosaurs and Evolution