If you’ve spent any time in the woods, chances are you’ve heard some strange noises that made you sink deeper inside your mummy bag. It’s typical to hear limbs breaking, footsteps outside the tent or a coyote off in the distance, but there’s nothing like hearing a terrifying scream at night to ensure that your family will never go camping again.
Although not usually heard very often, mountain lions and bobcats can sound like a baby crying off in the distance. The first time I heard a cougar, I couldn’t believe my ears. If I didn’t know better, I’d have went out looking for the baby crying in the night. It’s a haunting sound.
Bear cubs make some horrendous noises as well especially when they’re fighting over food. Imagine creepy little gremlin-like screams and growls outside your tent (that’s why we need to stash our food). Then there’s the thought of momma bear watching the circus. Good luck sleeping!
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Raccoons are notorious for stirring up your campsite. They love playing around with any loose items and will have a party if they get a hold of your cookware. But if you’ve ever heard a couple fighting in a nearby tree, you’ll likely need to change your under britches as soon as the coast is clear. It’s scary enough to send Bigfoot into the next county!
Owls have been known to make some creepy noises too especially the screech owl. When one catches a rabbit in the night, you can’t imagine how horrifying the sound is (the rabbit not the owl). You’d never think a cute little ball of fur could make that much noise. Sad but true.
Baby deer, elk and caribou can make some spooky screaming noises as well especially when they become food for a pack of wolves. That’s a sound you’re not likely to forget and if you’ve spent any time up north, chances are you’ve heard the hunt and the kill. It’ll send shivers up your spine every time.
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Of all of the strange screams I’ve heard at night, I have been baffled about one right here where I live. Turns out there are a lot of folks that hear the same scream and none of us have been able to identify it until I accidentally heard it on a nature website talking about strange screams in the night. It turned out to be a grey fox defending it’s territory (which apparently is about a hundred yards from my bedroom window). Mystery solved.
There’s nothing like a good scream in the night to get the old adrenaline going. While the fox had me stumped for a few years, I still can’t explain the eerie sounds some Bigfoot researchers have recorded. So far I’ve been able to identify almost all of the screams I’ve heard in the night but I can’t imagine what makes those Sasquatch whoops. I’ll keep listening for them.
Photo credit: Pixabay
