A Quiz and a Challenge - What are These Sounds in the Night?

One of the most interesting areas of research in wildlife is sounds. Whether it is different frogs croaking, bird singing or coyotes howling we can make recordings and do computer analysis of these sounds.

In the area of bird identification when so many times the birder is not able to see the vocalist because of heavy brush, bird songs and calls have become a major resource. CD collections of American birds are inexpensive. Examples are:

Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs

A Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

The major institution that is deeply involved with bird sounds is:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

When it comes to mammal sounds it is more difficult. Darkness does not lend itself to easy identification of sounds. Most birds are active in the daytime (owls and nighthawks and a few others being the exception). The mammals are a different story. Although all mammals are seen at different times of the day, other than the squirrel family, most are chiefly active in the night.

Numerous websites have collections of mammal sounds:

Guide to Animal Sounds on the Net

Naturesongs

JungleWalk

Sounddogs

Hunting websites often carry large collections of the more common mammals:

Varmint Al's Coyote Hunting Page

Allpredatorcalls

Bioacoustics

According to Wikipedia:
Bioacoustics is the study of how animals use sound for communication and echolocation.

Major institutions that are involved in bioacoustics include:

Texas A & M University-Corpus Christ

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Bioacoustics Research Program (note: also includes mammals)

Sound Analysis

The advent of computers has allowed scientists and amateur alike to study sounds in an objective manner. It is not enough to say “oh that sounds like a coyote or that is just a mountain lion screaming”. It needs to be recorded with high quality field recorders and microphones. It then needs to be analyzed by computer software.

There are many different programs for evaluating sounds:

Adobe Audition

Audacity

Soundruler

For a longer list of programs check out:

Sound Analysis Software for bioacoustics

A Quiz and a Challenge:

What is this animal? I recorded this sound during April and May in Central Illinois along a creek in a mixed oak-hickory forest.



Illinois Howl - Recording



To answer the challenge one must be able to have a recording that is good enough quality to be analyzed. A poorly recorded and distorted recording has no value. To be considered the same animal the recording must:

1. Display the same pattern.
2. Display the same resonant frequency and overtones.

If you think you know what this animal is please send me a recording for analysis. My email address is: stancourtney@hotmail.com


For a further discussion on this howl please see:

Illinois Howl webpage

and for all the recordings of this howl see:

A Complete list of the recordings of the Illinois Howl

Nguoi Rung, a letter from Viet Nam

Mr. Courtney,

While looking for some information on the Internet, I encountered your website. At the time I was at work and was unable to pursue the website as well as I wanted. After spending much time on the website, I have decided to tell you something I have told to very few people. It brings back frightening sometimes painful memories of my tour of duty in Vietnam. I, as with many other veterans never fully received the recognition or the gratitude deserved serving our country, I do not wish to be remembered for what I am about to divulge and will deny any knowledge of it.

It was 1969; I was on patrol one evening, just before dark in the North Two Corp in North Vietnam. We were returning to the hill, when we encountered hostile fire, the squad was caught off guard so we used what cover was available. The fight had been going on for only a few minutes when movement caught my eye. Through the thick vegetation I saw what I thought was a large man breaking cover from behind my left side. As the thing ran past me I realized it wasn’t a man, and was not really sure of what I was seeing. The thing was about 7 feet tall and had an enormous build, though not completely covered with hair, the thing had reddish brown hair covering a good portion of its body. It had covered about 30 yards very quickly passing within
just yards of my position, when it got hit in the crossfire. The thing stumbled once or twice but never fell. All of a sudden the enemy broke and ran, one even left his weapon behind, they were yelling something, but none of us ever knew what it was they were yelling. We slowly regrouped and made sure no one was wounded and discussed what we thought we had seen. As it was getting dark and there were hostiles in the area, we decided to get back to the hill. That night we heard several howls sounding very similar to the ones that you have recorded, coming from all over the place. Some sounded like they were just outside of the hooch and others sounded more than a mile away. There were all kinds of sounds from whines to growls to sounds that sounded like barks. Needless to say no one slept very well that night.

Below is an artist conception of the Nguoi Rung.



The next morning, all of us that were on that patrol, decided to try to track this thing. It took a lot of talking to get Tops to let us go looking for it, but after hearing the same story from the whole squad he decided to let us have a chance to bring it back. We returned to the area and found a blood trail, leading into the jungle. We trailed it for quite some time when we found the body of an enemy soldier that had been almost entirely torn apart. We do not know exactly what happened, but I have a good notion to what may have happened. We basically ran out of the area back to our hill. The rest of the time we were in Vietnam, I never heard the sounds or saw anything like it again. The talk of what we had seen spread very quickly, and some of the locals called it a name that I can neither pronounce or remember, but the translation if I recall was Stench Monkey or Foul Monkey, something like that. I can’t remember for sure. What I do know is that it bothered me so much that I transferred from there, to a job on a helicopter so that I wouldn't have to be in the jungle anymore.

After returning home to Alabama when my tour had ended, I occasionally heard sounds that reminded me so much of that encounter. It had been years since I left Alabama and moved to west central Illinois. I seldom thought of that day in Vietnam or the things I heard and saw. The recording is exactly what I had heard over there, I could close my eyes and still hear the howl in Vietnam. Regrettably I have mixed feelings about discovering your website, relieved that someone else may now know what I went through, frightened that I that there may be something in the area of where I now live.

I realize that you are interested in pursuing this creature or one like it, but let me warn you from someone who has seen what it is capable of first hand. Don’t.

Bigfoot: The Nguoi Rung GI Story 2001

Nguoi Rung, Vietnamese Forest People, Wildman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tree Breaks

I don't like evaluating tree breaks or twists. I don't recognize them as being bigfoot related. There are just too many other things they could be attributed to: storms, winds, old age. I don't say that Uncle Harry didn't do it as some type of territorial marker, I am just saying it is "not my thing."

On the 1st of July 2006 this twelve foot tall four inch diameter maple tree was snapped in two along the path in the pasture just up the hill feet from my feeding station. There had not been any other damage on my property or my neighbors property. There was a path of knocked down tall grass from the hay field to the east directly to the tree.

Big Cat Crossing

The 29th of July I went to my favorite park squatchin'. There is about 4 miles of very curvy roads that meanders through heavily wooded hills.

It was 7:00 a.m. I was trying to beat the heat as the forecast was for temps in the upper 90's.

There is a small farm with a very large dog that I pass by. I always slow down to allow Belle and this other dog to look at each other though the glass. I was going about 15 to 20 mph. The dog was not in sight so I started to speed back up.



There was a quick movement out of the brush on the left side of the road and a large tawny longtailed cat rushed across the road and was gone. I was awestuck. I felt privileged to see such a magnificant beautiful predator.

I was also a little taken back. I have to realize for all the time I spend in the woods these elusive creatures are out there with me.

Excellent article in the Illinois Times By Scott Maruna The beast of the bluffs

The Waterman and Hill-Traveller's Companion, a Natural Events Almanac Cougar Watch

IDNR Officials Sort Out Reports Cougar or Bobcat Sightings in Northern Perry County