Heard some strange grunts this weekend..
Elk
I know....Sasquatch. Now that we have that out of the way, while on a quick bivy outing into a hunting area I heard some sounds I do not recall hearing before in wild.
I was up on a rocky outcropping glassing some open areas and starting about 7 pm I heard some distance short sounds. At first I thought it may be a distant cow moaning or something....or a mule. But it persisted and changed position, and got closer.
It is hard to describe the sound. It was only a second or two long. Very deep and rumbling. Like a grunt of some sort. I entertained the idea it was some bear noise, but it was too loud from too long a distance and in too many places.
I decided after hearing the number of sounds pick up as dusk arrived, and after, and given that the sounds were coming from all directions at one point, that it must be some spring/summer bull elk sound. It really gave the impression that they were identifying each other as dark approached and they moved down into the feeding areas. But it sure wasn't a bugle or chuckle or even a bark. Something very different.
Anyone else heard this before.......????
Can't say without hearing it but I have heard some odd sounds that even after many years on the woods I can't identify. Last year I had something making a growl/blow/wheeze noise in some thick stuff 80-100 yards away. Never did figure out what it was and it was gone by the time I ventured down to check it out. Sounded like it had to be a decent size critter.
Glad this turned out to be family rated:)
Lion? Or as Dirk suggested, poo cow (slang for moo cow). They do make some really odd noises at times.
Cattle are NOT on this land. They are on private 2 miles away minimum. I know a beef bull when I hear one. This was not. And as the evening pressed into darkness the contacts were coming from all around me, some sounded to be within a couple hundred yards of me. What it really sounded like were animals letting each other know where they are located....like a locator bugle in the fall......but these were not bugles, or chuckles or grunts like any I've heard in the fall. Kinda sounded like a 1000lb toad. LOL
There are a fair number of moose in the area, but I would be shocked if there were a dozen within 300-500 yards of where I was located. But that is a possibility as a source of the sounds. But it did not sound like what I hear as moose calls on the hunting shows on tv.
A few years ago, I heard a few growls, like you, I thought it was way too loud to be a bear. Turns out, it was a big herd bull with a bunch of cows. After blowing the opportunity, I found out real quick why he was growling. I was set to dog the herd when another cow barked and took the rest of the cows with her and another herd bull. I believe the growler was talking to that other bull. I blew 2 opportunities within 10 yards of each other. This was early September and elk were silent.
Well if there were a dozen sounds at a dozen locations .... it safe to say we can eliminate cats, moose, and Bigfoots.
I heard some strange grunts this weekend too. ;)
We were working two small 5x5 bulls once, when we kept hearing this low, rumbling growl behind us. I ignored it at first, thinking it had to be a bear. Finally heard it again, and turned around to see a 350 ish bull standing at 35 yards!
Busted us, and busted out immediately! Live and learn...
I know Dirk. Dammit. Maybe I can record it on my phone next time and upload it here.
I know that it was deep and had no squeal to it at all.....much different than a normal elk sound. It was definitely the sound of a large animal.
Ok.....Elknut has a video about an elk growl that sounds damn close but his call is much longer than what I was hearing. These were short 1 second or less growls.
Not in this area.....if I was closer to ID or WY......maybe.
Funny that it was a growl with no bugle or squeal to it. And multiple individuals were doing it from different locations. It really struck me.
Maybe an owl? Low note calls from owls can sound a lot like grunts, with a resonance and tone that can seem like they are from much bigger animals. A newly fledged family group do communicate by sounds to keep track of one another. Might be a strong possibility.
I'm leaning heavily towards manbearpig but it can't be verified. Maybe Al Gore could help?
Night time seems like a clue to me. Coons make some weird noises sometimes. They for sure make a high pitched chitter ...but also some low gutteral growls.
We had a big coon in the backyard the other night making weird growling sounds at my dog.
Then Bobcats and lions can make some weird low pitched sounds too....that don't sound all that much like a cat.
Was in my treestand this past fall just before light (morning) and heard some godawful low growls and rumbles 100 yards directly to my south. I had no idea what it was, never heard anything like it before and definitely got my attention...fast forward 45 minutes and having heard it a few more times at this point, an extremely fat raccoon waddles from that direction, passes by my stand and crawls into a hollowed out log proceeding to sleep the rest of the day.
I honestly don't know what made the sounds you heard but I know,I've heard some different birds make some weird sounds in the Rockies,some toward evening.Just for kicks,Google blue grouse sounds,especially male and see if you can eliminate that from the list of possibles.
I was hunting bears in the spring on the Oregon coast range when I was a kid. Kept hearing this growl/grunt up above me on the hillside. Sounded like a bear growl. Turned out to be a bird of some kind. Couldn’t believe how loud it was!
A night-hawk diving for mosquitoes?
Turkey hunting this with my brother we heard the most god awful growl/groan. It was LOUD. And coming from a little patch of catails along a small creek. Guessing it was only 40yds from us. We went to check it out. Bumped a couple of whitetail does out of it. Not sure if it was the deer or something else in there. Never heard anything like it in 20+ yrs of hunting
I thought there was a wolf ran over on the interstate by Loveland and a pack somewhere around Leadville. I remember Lou talking about it anyways. Speaking of Lou, has he posted lately?
Thanks for all the ideas....but after listening to paul's elk growl I am convinced that is what I was hearing. You ain't gonna hear a coon or bird 1000+ yards away........not like this. Will try to record this weekend when I go back in to set up some cams. Hoping to catch some license plates in FS roadless closed areas.
You've never heard bulls do that before?
Not the grunt alone without the squeal or bugle. No I have not. Not that I recall. I think this got my attention as it sounded like they were using the sound to announce their location and it was coming from all around at various distances. Pretty interesting experience.
Lots of times that will be all you hear. When they're mozying through the woods. This time of year I've never heard it . That's cool.
Call CPW and ask them if there are nesting sandhill cranes in the area. You can hear them far beyond 1000 yards. They spread out to nest and like to talk to each other in a sound like you described.
Flying Ribeyes grunting. Whodathunkit.
No where near any nesting areas......
Nesting in Colorado
The primary nesting areas for the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes include Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Routt, and Rio Blanco Counties. However, in the last 20 years very small numbers of cranes have been found nesting in Mesa County, western Montrose County, and more recently in Delta County. Nesting may also be occurring in Gunnison County. It’s likely that other nesting locations are known and will be reported as crane populations continue to expand in Colorado.
See if this works! It's several different bulls growling!
ElkNut/Paul
Big herd of elk, pushing over 100 strong, moved into the big subdivision west of town. They are drinking water from the lake next to the highway. Other night, you should of heard em. Cows and calves mewing, bulls squealing. F&G guy lives next door and came over complaining, telling me to keep the noise down!! They come through every evening right at sundown now. Love seeing em, just sad they came down for water.
Around here a mess of white castle sliders will cause some serious grunting the next day,lol
