Strange Sounds in Central IL at night

[crashdive123]

Here ya go.

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Raccoon_Sounds_audio

[WhiteHorse3340]

None of those really hit the mark, but you got me thinking...and I've been looking it up when I've had time to the last few days, and I think I hit the "snarl" on the head...many people in this post have said it, but every sound I listened to fell short, until I found this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkncjNn-ygE

So that's one...now if I could get to the bottom of the whistling sound...

[Rick]

I wonder if it could be a deer. It's sound is somewhat like a whistle. I equate to a girl's scream but it's sure piercing. The first time I heard one I was about 6 and it scared the bejeesus out of me. Probably some of the things that are wrong with me today. But I digress.

http://www.deerhuntingguide.net/can-...r-whistle.html

[WhiteHorse3340]

I have researched sooo much... rabbit death cry, squirrel calls, opossum, different birds, deer whistling, raccoon calls, etc. But I believe I have finally solved this sleuth.

There have been nights when I have turned on the porch light down there and all you see are the reflective eyes of animals peering back at you, mind you, in warmer weather. Unknown what those eyes belong to, can't help but feel a little spooked, it's even creepier when you turn the light on and see a deer's eyes 5 feet off the ground glowing in the dark while your eyes are still adjusting trying to see what it is before you have to change your underwear

But, hearing the sounds I was hearing was like...what on God's green earth is going on over in that timber? You'd hear leaves rustling, the horrid growl of opossum, and my guess is that the opossum is simply trying to climb a tree that the raccoons were sleeping in, the chirps and growls of raccoons, followed by that whistling sound. And this takes the cake...finally!!!

What nocturnal animal fights raccoons and makes 'woop woop woop' sound?

That "Whoop whoop whoop" sound you are hearing is the raccoon kits up the tree where the mother sends them when there is danger. That sound is like a homing signal so that they can find each other after they scatter from whatever the danger is. It might be a cat the mom is fighting with, or another raccoon or any number of things.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_noctu...sound?#slide=6

[Rick]

I wouldn't think it would be kits in February. They should be mating about now. Sounds of ecstasy or of rejection maybe.

[shiftyer1]

Is it a whistle or more of a scream, like a dying rabbit?

Oops just saw u figured it out.

I'll never forget a couple years ago when my son came in to tell me we had monkeys in the woods, "they're there dad I heard em". Finally he heard them when I was with him. The monkeys were owls. lol

[hunter63]

Well, I have always be a tad leery about noises that went "bump in the night".

You question and concerned has caused many to fear, for as long as there were humans.
Glad you figured it out.

[WhiteHorse3340]

Yes, although I'll probably never figure out the 2nd noise...that one was verah, verah odd. I've never heard it before, and I'll probably never hear it again. Ack, can't think of any thing else to say, haven't had any coffee yet, brain isn't working. CAFFEINE!!

[WhiteHorse3340]

I've seen big cats, fishers and wolves in the woods and we aren't supposed to have them. Twice I've heard wolves howling from my driveway. I know what they sound like since my daughter had one for a pet.
So check it out best you can. Because until you see it, it will be passed off as nothing.

Just this past summer there was an article in the local newspaper about a hunter who caught a picture of a panther with one of his game trail cameras, and for something that is supposed to be no where around this area, that's a scary thing to have start turning up. There is something that Les Stroud once said in an episode...something to the effect of, you know, I've been in front of bear, wolves, coyotes, and a few others, but nothing will put the fear into you like a big cat will.

[Rick]

Cougar has definitely moved back to Illinois and Indiana. I believe some have always been there. One was shot south of Carbondale about 10 years ago or so. Here's one that was shot north of you last year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4324038.html

The Indiana DNR captured one on a trail cam in 2010.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/...7030858574.txt

[WhiteHorse3340]

Huh, odd that they'd be as far North in this state as Chicago, especially for a creature that usually sticks to warmer regions. I was looking into it quite extensively a while back, both cougar and wild boar, which have also started turning up here. My dad saw one of those (wild boar) a few years back about a mile from the house. The cougars, on the other hand, are showing unexpected (I guess that's the right word) migration patterns as of late.

..."LaRue says this is probably just the beginning of cougars recolonizing the Midwest. “Now we can start asking more questions: Where are they going to end up, how many are they going to be, and how are they going to interact with their ecosystems?” In the paper, LaRue and her co-authors suggest that wildlife professionals “begin to think about public awareness campaigns in areas likely to encourage dispersing cougars” because people in these Midwest states are not used to living with large predators. A good model is the California Department of Fish and Game’s Keep Me Wild campaign, which offers tips on coexisting with cougars and staying safe near them. They also suggest the more eastern states follow the lead of Nebraska and Missouri and develop conservation strategies for the animals."

"The Midwest might not be the cougars’ final stop in their habitat re-expansion. Last year a male cougar traveled at least 2,400 kilometers from South Dakota to Connecticut before being killed by an SUV."

“They’re doing what we think is a stepping-stone dispersal,” LaRue says, “going from a primary source to another patch of habitat, establishing that habitat and then moving farther and farther east.”

There is a very interesting article (quite long) where the above quotes were taken from here:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...han-100-years/

[Batch]

Just this past summer there was an article in the local newspaper about a hunter who caught a picture of a panther with one of his game trail cameras, and for something that is supposed to be no where around this area, that's a scary thing to have start turning up. There is something that Les Stroud once said in an episode...something to the effect of, you know, I've been in front of bear, wolves, coyotes, and a few others, but nothing will put the fear into you like a big cat will.

Splitting hairs here. But, cougars are the largest of the small cats. They are in the sub-family of Felinae while large cats are in the sub-family of Pantherinae. The primary difference besides size is that the "Large" cats have an elastic tendon that allows them to roar. Cougars are more related to house cats.

I went to Coconut Creek High and we were the Coconut Creek Cougars and our year books had the latin name Felis Concolor you know like Felix the cat. They changed the genus to Puma Concolor in the early 1990's.

But, since this is a post about animal sounds. I figured I would throw it out there Cougars scream and purr. They don't roar..

We have an abundance of wild hogs in south Florida. But, in areas of highest panther population they have been unseen for about a decade. We have an unnaturally high population of panthers in south west Florida.

Here is some hogs in a field at Dinner Island.

[aktrekker]

Huh, odd that they'd be as far North in this state as Chicago, especially for a creature that usually sticks to warmer regions...

They go pretty far north, up into Alaska and the Canadian boreal forest. They don't seem to mind the winters.

Cougars may not technically be "big cats" but they are still pretty big for a cat. And amazingly strong for their size. Cats are like one big muscle with needles.
I love cats, and a cougar is just a big pussycat. Not one I'd cuddle up with, but I still love them. Beautiful animals.

[hunter63]

You still have bob cats and lynx, that are a whole lot more abundant through the Midwest.
They can make some hellious noises as well.......

[WhiteHorse3340]

You still have bob cats and lynx, that are a whole lot more abundant through the Midwest.
They can make some hellious noises as well.......

Yeah, you DARN skippy about that. We used to have bobcats here in abundance, but it seems that their numbers have dwindled around here for about the past 10-15 years...

I was probably in my early twenties when I basically played another episode of "What the heck is that noise"...we were young and dumb, over at my friend's house drinking...and we heard a bobcat, only we had no idea what that demonic sounding growl was back then (another make-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stand-up-situation). I researched and searched and researched some more, and thanks to a sound file on some of encyclopedia brittanica's first electronic copies, I was able to listen to the sounds of a bobcat on there, and figure out what it was.


Oooh, and Batch; I do apologize...I said one thing and meant another. It was a panther, not a cougar on the game trail camera.

[Rick]

Panther, cougar, mountain lion and puma are all names for the same animal (Puma concolor).

[Wildthang]

It is obviously a Bigfoot couple. He's whistling at her and trying to flirt, and she is snarling and don't want anything to do with it! She was trying to start her car and leave him there in the woods because he won't leave her alone!

Well that's my theory

[Wildthang]

A male Fox can sure make some weird sounds! Go to Youtube and some fox recordings use to be on there!

[Rick]

The verdict is out on the Bigfoot couple. Now, if we get fuzzy pictures that will be proof positive!

[travisz]

I'm 100% sure it's a mountain lion!

Here's the one I hear outside...
(with seals in the background)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p7vigy3mp4...untainlion.wav