While on a midnite hillbilly rendezvous to show some guests the fall kings spawning in the back creek, a terrible terrible call emanated from some large yeti-like creature that was never actually seen.

I would describe the call that the monster made as sounding somewhat like a cross between a Great Horned Owl, a coyote, and a deer call. I yelped back at it in the dark and it advanced towards us. I wanted to go see the fish still but was informed that there was a change in plans. Since the monster would only have me to eat and not the girls I decided to follow.

Anybody have any idea what kind of animal roams Black Lake that would be making those kind of noises at midnite? Especially on a weekday. From the sounds of it crashing through the creek it must have been at least Oprah sized.

Seriously, any theories?

Vince

Poachers!!!!!

Have you ever heard an elk? Check it out in the light and look for tracks.

Possum looking to do the humpty hump.

It is the strangest sound in the woods.

Vhawk:

I know exactly what you heard, although not what the crashing noise was. The call you heard was either a barred owl or a cross barred-spotted owl, or perhaps even a spotted owl. THey make crazy calls that reverberate through the forest like a mad man. They sound like a pack of coyotes, mixed in with some monkeys, and some owls. Historically these calls scared Indians pretty badly too. But no doubt, I hear them all the time, that was an owl. If it is black lake near Oly, then it is probably a barred owl or a hybrid. Nontheless their calls are erie and sometimes they will call for hours on end, just echoing throughout the forest.

take care.

I was going to say Elk or a drunk WSU student but you might be right with owl.

Anyone heard a rabbit scream? They can scream amazingly loud.

Stever,

Yes I've heard elk. I archery hunted elk for a few years in the Sulpher Creek Basin on the edge of the Wilderness of No Return. That wasn't an elk.

My best guesses are; black tail deer mating call, fox, or an owl (timed just right with a big salmon splashing around). It really was a weird call.



Dr E,

I don't think anybody would be poaching salmon out of that little creek. Has very thick underbrush and the salmon are pretty dark.

Unless your suggesting I was poaching. Really I prefer my salmon grilled.

Seriously, I would beat someone with a stick if I caught them taking fish out of that tiny creek. Its completely hypnotizing to watch them in just 10 inches of water splashing and chasing each other around.


I do pretty well on the Skok most days. I don't need to run around like a drunken fool poaching fish from a tiny little creek. I get enough fun out of just running around like a drunk fool.


FLASH FLASH FLASH

It was probably a cougar. I went down to the creek to take some pics of the salmon for this post. As I was leaving the I caught a glimpse of something tan moving through the woods. I figured "whoopee, deer". So I followed it. I got a 2 second clear view of a cougar stalking along the creek.


Here's the pic's I took before I saw my 2nd cougar in the "wild".


This is the thick underbrush that lines the creek channel.


And here are some returning friends. Welcome home.


Vince

no, not you. It's hunting season, just poking some fun about possible poachers spotlighting.

check out bfro.net i saw a link for it on the other post and they have a couple "bigfoot calls", from different areas but they all sound the same

I believe the cougar sighting, but cougar's are usually pretty quiet when walking around. I suppose it could have been splashing in the creek chasing salmon. However, the call you describe is surely not a cougar call. I spend all my time in the woods for my job, and have heard cougars, bears, owls, coyotes, and the most blood curdling call I have experienced is from a barred or spotted owl. I still think that is what you heard, if the call was prolonged. If it was really short, perhaps a deer being killed or something similar to that effect. But man, I bet it was a barred owl. Cougars don't cry like that.

Vince,

You probably stumbled upon some late-nite 'irrigation'

http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051014/NEWS/510140305

It was a weird creepy call. I would have guessed an owl but it crashed about 10 feet towards us through the thickets after I called back with some pathetic yelping noise. It called again and thats when we all voted ourselves off the island.

I'll have to listen to some bird calls online before I make up my mind on this one. I can't find any links to cougar calls. Anybody have a good link. Google has failed me.

Thanks everybody for your help.

And no, it wasn't a hidden pot farm. Which is good, because I might be tempted to lop off a few buds and make extra special brownies. Not for my consumption, but to pass them out on the Skok.

vhawk,

I'm positive I've heard a cougar in the wild, as I saw tracks from the area the noise came from. I'd define the sound as Dolly Parton in full panic mode.... They are very high pitch and eary sounding. Not like a lion on TV...

Keith

I've heard from a few people what a cougar sounds like. But I'm not convinced that the only vocalization they make is the screeching woman cry.

I would say Yeti for sure. They are a very camera shy creature, I have seen around a dozen of em myself but have yet to cature one on film.

I'm perplexed. I guess I would have to hear the yelping noise. Was it like when I step on my dog or more like a wounded animal stuck in a trap? Could it have been the victim of a successful hunt?

Like Keith says Cougars make a rather high pitched call but I don't think they make a lot of noise regardless. From what I've gleaned from the critter channel they, like most cats, do make an awful ruckess during mating. Could there possibly have been two?

Pretty cool you got see one! I've been close a couple of times but have yet to see one.

It really was a hard to define call. But it was not what I would have expected from a cougar. Then again when I first heard muley does chatter away in a small group it wasn't what I would have expected. I've also had black bear talk back to my cow elk call and that wasn't what I would have expected after watching all those hours of Disney animal shows.

Regardless if it was the cat that made that midnite call, it surprises me a predator that big was lurking around so close to home. Makes taking the trash out at 2 am a little bit more of a nervous chore then before.

i bet it was a couple of those stranger than life evergreen collage students working on some x-file class project!

Cougars and Bobcats make a sound called a Cackle. They use it to distract their prey just before they pounce. If you heard a crashing sound it most likely was not a Cougar. Bowhunting for Elk cougs come in to calls all the time. When they realize its a human they swap ends pretty fast and blow out of the country. I have seen them take off on a dead run and you can barely hear a sound. Even in thick brush. We shot one in Oregon 3 years ago and even mortally wounded he did not make that much noise. Bears on the otherhand are louder than heck and do a death moan just as they die.