Wood Knocks= Humans In Area? Bf Language

[Guest Darrell]

Didn't keep Moneymaker from claiming he discovered the connection though.  We all know of the archives of Tirademan on the BFF with newspapers making reference to such things in the mid-1800's and earlier.   

Can you point to a referance or link to Tirademan's stuff? If you go back thru Green, Dahinden, and Byrnes stuff published in the 70's there is no reference to tree knocking.

[georgerm]

We have agreed that wood knocks don't always mean BF, so is there a way to tell if it's trees cracking, squirrels, or BF?

 

When I try a wood knock, I look for a special dry solid stick about 3 inches in diameter, then there has to be a special tree around. In Oregon the thick barked timber trees muffle the sound and it doesn't carry.  I want a loud 'crack' after hitting the tree that carries a long distance. BF is not stupid imho, and they know which sounds carry long distances for what ever reason. I look for thin barked trees and Pacific Madrones work. Dead solid trees give the right sound too.

 

The question is, does BF go through this same process before making wood knocks to achieve the correct sound so that other BFs will know the real knock from other knocks? If it's a warning of humans in the area with a gun, then it's a serious sound making process which the correct pitch and tone.

 

Last year while standing by a remote body of water  about 1/4 mile across, near Coos Bay, OR, a loud crack came from the woods on the opposite bank. It had the correct sound. The knocks were singles and spaced about 2 minutes apart. I then did a knock and then a reply came back. It was astounding and I can't believe it was a BF. Tracks have been found close by and several sightings reported in the last few years. Was it saying hello, warning others on my side of the bank or simply locating its buddy? It's a mystery.

[Guest DWA]

I'm thinking you must be joking or being sarcastic.. because that's bologna

Bingo.  Both.

We have agreed that wood knocks don't always mean BF, so is there a way to tell if it's trees cracking, squirrels, or BF?

 

When I try a wood knock, I look for a special dry solid stick about 3 inches in diameter, then there has to be a special tree around. In Oregon the thick barked timber trees muffle the sound and it doesn't carry.  I want a loud 'crack' after hitting the tree that carries a long distance. BF is not stupid imho, and they know which sounds carry long distances for what ever reason. I look for thin barked trees and Pacific Madrones work. Dead solid trees give the right sound too.

 

The question is, does BF go through this same process before making wood knocks to achieve the correct sound so that other BFs will know the real knock from other knocks? If it's a warning of humans in the area with a gun, then it's a serious sound making process which the correct pitch and tone.

 

Last year while standing by a remote body of water  about 1/4 mile across, near Coos Bay, OR, a loud crack came from the woods on the opposite bank. It had the correct sound. The knocks were singles and spaced about 2 minutes apart. I then did a knock and then a reply came back. It was astounding and I can't believe it was a BF. Tracks have been found close by and several sightings reported in the last few years. Was it saying hello, warning others on my side of the bank or simply locating its buddy? It's a mystery.

It's well known that chimps choose - and carry around - tools that work for them.

 

There's evidence that sasquatch do, too.

[NathanFooter]

 Trees can and do knock or pop naturally, it is caused by temperature rise and fall witch causes the wood to expand and contract { most common in dead rotting trees containing moisture }. It is not really loud though, you might be able to hear it 50 yards on a dead still night.

 

 That being said, there is plenty of information that suggests sasquatch do wood knock to communicate, there is now several reports of people seeing a sasquatch wood knock on a tree with a piece of wood or banging on a tree with their fist several times while addressing the human. 

 

 Also there has been quite a few incidents where wood knocks where heard from a location and then upon investigation of the sounds location they found clear tracks { not definitive but with a collective of cases like this it is pointing toward this being the case }.

 

  My own experiences in the field also point to that sasquatch do wood knock to communicate.   

 

  I would say based on my own time in the field that wood knocking means a variety of things, I have had knocks happen after I slammed the car door upon arrival, after I had split or busted up fire wood, after I had yelled out into the woods and with no provocation.    

 

  I will be sharing the audio clips of these events and more as I get my field notes and environmental documentation of the research trips finished for public display on my blog, much to come.

Edited December 5, 2013 by NathanFooter

[SWWASAS]

My only experience with knocking was when I nearly got run over by a BF. I heard it coming right at me through the undergrowth, with heavy bipedal footsteps, then a loud crash / thud when it either saw me or smelled me and went into a crouch because the wind was at my back blowing right towards it. About 15 seconds after the thud it produced a rapid series of knocks that I believe was either 3 or 4 knocks. Since the one coming towards me and another one on another side of the creek had been whooping at each other for several minutes as they approached, I assumed the knocking was a warning to the other BF to stay away or that I was there. So in this case it seemed to be a warning since the whoops would have served to let them know their position relative to each other. So this implies that to BF whoops and knocks serve a different purpose. Until some audio study is done in some remote area where humans are never present, we cannot be sure knocks are not in some way connected to human presence. They may feel no need to do them when humans are not around.

Researchers doing knocks is troubling to me. First of all, we really do not know for sure what they mean to a BF. If it is a warning about humans in the area, how is doing that of any help if you seek an encounter? Human vocalizations trying to imitate BF is also problematic when we do not know what the meaning of the different vocalization sounds are. Does anyone really think BF cannot tell the difference between their vocalizations and ours? A full blown BF howl carries for miles and is quite unique. But many humans try to imitate them. BF use various animal imitations for their own purpose and that primary purpose seems to be deceit or to trying to fool humans into thinking they are an owl or other normal forest animal but maintain positional awareness with each other. The owl like whoops I experienced were an example of that. So logically, if they are capable of higher analytical thought, humans using BF vocalizations, are being deceitful and up to no good.

Finally, I am concerned that my own field behavior, may be perceived to BF as a hunting behavior. I may not be carrying a rifle, but I do carry a handgun for cougars etc, and if watched by a BF when I am looking at footprints, scat, and other animal sign it would be obvious to a sentient being that I am hunting something. Put a bunch of me in the woods in a given area and they might feel quite threatened. Perhaps to the point where they might move away from an area for a while. I have wondered if that is one reason why some research areas suddenly go cold. Randy

[Guest DWA]

First of all, I don't know of an animal that cannot rapidly suss its own species' vocalizations from an imitation.  At least I've never run into one.

 

Second of all, yep, when a bunch of people suddenly appear in an area, well, eons of experience tell the local wildlife that whatever is up, isn't good.  But animals get hungry, and they will filter back when the coast appears clear....which to me handily explains all the sasquatch encounters in which property owners report activity on the edges of what appears excellent habitat for a large omnivore.

[Guest]

Cotter, southernyahoo, and Gearman, tactical tactical tactical observational evidences. SWWasasquatchproject, you really want to know it sounds like. DWA are you withholding vital information about woodknocking?

[Guest DWA]

^^^Always.  ;-)

[Guest]

Let's just pretend we're in the dark.

[daveedoe]

Hello daveedoe,

i'm almost afraid to ask but here goes....Nacho who?

I'm kinda embarrassed to reply.....

 

Nacho Sasquatch!

 

sorry. I just had to go there.

[Guest Coonbo]

 Trees can and do knock or pop naturally, it is caused by temperature rise and fall witch causes the wood to expand and contract { most common in dead rotting trees containing moisture }. It is not really loud though, you might be able to hear it 50 yards on a dead still night.

 

  I would say based on my own time in the field that wood knocking means a variety of things, I have had knocks happen after I slammed the car door upon arrival, after I had split or busted up fire wood, after I had yelled out into the woods and with no provocation.    

 

 

Good thread here.   In sub-zero weather, I've heard trees virtually explode due to expansion of freezing moisture in their trunks (these are usually northern evergreens and the temp is usually at least minus 15 or minus 20 F, or lower, and has been there for at least a couple of days).  Sometimes it's so loud it sounds like a gun going off.  Can also sound like a BF knock.  In an area where I started hunting a couple of years ago, there's a big white oak tree with two branches that bang together when the wind blows out of the northwest after the leaves are off the trees.  First time I heard it, it sounded like BF knocks, but at a very infrequent and irregular cadence.  I got down outta my stand and went looking for the source of the knocks and found the tree.  It's weird standing there looking at it and seeing it making these knocks that are really a lot louder than you'd ever think possible.

 

Now on to real BF knocks.  Nathan:  You are correct that it can mean different things and that different things can provoke it.  If you study lots of sighting reports, knocks, screams, roars, and actual sightings or encounters often happen during or after folks are chopping wood, hammering, or other such noise making activity, also after getting out of vehicles.  But they also happen unprovoked by us.  I've heard recordings made in areas of no human activity, and hours after the recorders were left behind, knocks and answers can be heard.  Some of the answers are other knocks, some are vocalizations.

 

One of my scariest encounters, just my dog, Bo, and I near a swamp in NE Mississippi, happened after I had been chopping a couple of pieces of wood in a field road in the boonies.  I heard a very loud knock in the edge of the swamp to the south across a field, then a huge tree snap behind me across the field to the northeast, then imitation owl calls started all around me, and then they started getting closer.  When I shined a flashlight around, I had at least eight sets of red eyes converging on me from all directions, coming across the open fields.  Bo was going crazy wanting to get the hell outta there.  I finally realized that my dog was smarter than I, and we left,.... in a hurry.

 

I've got some other good knocking stories I can share, one that happened just yesterday on our farm to my brother and his wife.

[Guest]

I do believe squatch's use wood knocks, rock clacks, throat clacks or imitate birds to locate each other. I have been drilled by my friend and fellow researcher(over 24 yrs. Green Beret sniper) that single knocks or clacks are not a signal. He was taught to use two or more for a signal. A single sound could easily be anything. Not sayin a squatch wouldn't use a single for a signal, but anybody with any kind of SF training would not.

[Guest]

Too much theory and not enough reports! The single knocks seem to be 'human in area', and 'human now leaving', although they may be broader depending on the location etc...

[Guest]

Too much theory and not enough reports! The single knocks seem to be 'human in area', and 'human now leaving', although they may be broader depending on the location etc...

Sounds like more theory, to me 

[hiflier]

Hello All,

 

Hopfully a knock isn't the dinner bell