What Is It?

[WSA]

Speaking of red wolves... I spent a night on the ground in Pickens County Alabama with my Cub Scout Pack this weekend. We were near Aliceville...classic timber/creeks/swamp terrain.  The owner of the campground where we were had lived 60 years on the property.  He had no stories of Wooly Boogers, but did have one unexplained scream outside his house one night. He did say he had spotted two red wolves on his property, never to be seen again, and a melanistic panther.  Turns out there are not too many sighting reports for either Greene or Pickens Counties, although it would be my guess there are more that go unreported.  

[Guest lightheart]

Randy, they don't seem to follow or parallel me at all. I think that that morning I was really early and just got in the way of their last hunt. That one loud near knock  has never happened again. I have heard a distant one that sounded about 300 to 400 yards away and was very soft just barely audible. I have also heard a few soft rock clacks and a couple of strange owl calls. I know that they know I am there by these subtle indicators but they have absolutely maintained their distance unless I moved into where they were. Five minutes after the call they were not in the area. I never hear them moving in brush and with a few exceptions they don't mess with me. The oak trees are so ancient and overlapping I am sure all but the older ones use these as a highway. The others have probably moved off into resting areas and are not in the immediate area.

 

I too like being able when alone to stop, listen, observe, and read the area. I think if I were not alone the experience would not be the same. I am not after them. It takes me five minutes to get the camera on my phone going. I am not trying to prove anything - just wanting to understand more about them and how they live. There is a lot of knowledge about them to be gained just by observing where they have been and what they do with their time.

 

Also I have tried and tried to post the animal footprint but someone is going to have to give me a tutorial. I have it saved to my desktop so I can find it easily.

 

The gift in all this for me is just being in the woods as much as possible. Even if I had a face to face three feet in front of me sighting I probably would do nothing different than I am doing. I definitely would not report it or make any kind of deal. I am not interested in being part of a circus - just want to learn about them. 

Edited May 20, 2014 by lightheart

[SWWASAS]

Lightheart:   You have a good attitude.     How can you have a bad day out enjoying nature?     I seem to learn something every time I go out.   Not necessarily about BF but about the area, wildlife,  plants,  birds, etc.    There is so much great stuff out there to see and experience.      Randy

[SWWASAS]

Did some field work in the Mt St Helens area yesterday.       I like to go out in the lahars on the East side and check the embankments.     You never know what might be washing out of the ash flows.   Found some possible footprints and rock stacks.      The footprints were on a carpet of moss that covers large areas.     It is like walking on a carpet and does not provide a good base for footprint.   Some suggestion of toe imprints but even that was not distinct.    About 15 inches for the one footprint I photographed shown here.    Does not show well in the picture at all just a wide foot with some suggestion of toes at one end.          Large for human but not outside possible human range.         The rock stacks were out near the lahar and were quite a way from out from any road or trail.    I really saw no reason for them to be there as they did not define a trail or anything that I could find.      Strange and remote place for a human to make stacks but no evidence whatsoever they were made by BF.     That is the problem with rock stacks to begin with.      As far as I know, no one has ever seen a BF making one.    It might be an equivalent of a tree knock with humans feeling the need to make them to communicate with BF somehow.   Until someone sees a BF making them we cannot really tie them to BF.     Randy

Edited May 25, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[BC witness]

Great area to research, Randy. Though I'm only 2 hours drive north of St. Helens, its about 20 years since I was last there. The devastation of that eruption was almost beyond belief! I certainly agree with your observations about rock stacks, wood knocks, and calls; until someone films a BF doing any of those things, they are simply unfounded conjecture.

[SWWASAS]

I am an hour away from the lahar.      But I consider that too far when I have BF active areas closer.    The lahar on the East side is gradually recovering and is getting quite a bit of tree growth.    Soon it will be forested unless there is another eruption.    In a few years the forest will swallow any chance for a find.     I like to get up there after the spring runoff washes out more embankments.    I figure if a BF skeleton from the 1980 eruption washes out of an embankment of ash, I might find the much needed skeleton for proof.    I have about as much chance as winning the lottery but figure it is worth the try as long as I don't get ticketed by a ranger for being off trail.     

 

Rock stacks are something that humans seem to like to do.   I have seen them in front yards,  near day use areas, etc.     If BF likes to do them too, I wonder who is imitating who.     That could go either way or both ways.      I have seen them define a trail in other areas and that would serve some purpose other than expression.    Other than that all I can say at this point is that I find them in remote areas frequently with other evidence of BF activity like footprints.     I found quite a few footprints yesterday but with that dry carpet of moss all over, none were very good, and in most cases could have been made with boots.       

[BC witness]

"But I consider that too far when I have BF active areas closer. "

 

I know what you mean, Randy, as our research area, with many sightings over many years, is only 15 minutes from my door, and with the price of fuel these days, that can be a deciding factor. Besides, I don't need a passport to get there, as I do to enter "The Land of The Free". Please do keep up your fascinating reports.

[Guest lightheart]

Randy

Dr. Meldrum was talking about a coywolf which is a cross between a coyote and a wolf that he thinks is migrating into the southern states. Sure hope that is not what I am seeing tracks from. (This was on the Loup Garou program before the Yeti show)

[gigantor]

Interesting rock stacks...

 

I got one I can't identify:

 

5-18-2014.mp4

 

camera was about 3 ft off the ground.

Edited June 2, 2014 by gigantor

[BC witness]

OK, why don't I have permission to view that attachment?

[Guest ShaineTW]

Probably not much more help but a little sharper and more contrast:

(I see plenty of boot heel prints)

 

[gigantor]

OK, why don't I have permission to view that attachment?

 

Sorry, it was posted in the premium section and I posted a link. Here it is:

 

5-18-2014.mp4

Edited June 3, 2014 by gigantor

[Guest]

Bear. You can see an ear.

[SWWASAS]

Finally got around to downloading a footprint find from May 29.     Partial print, just the toes.   There were boot prints from someone other than myself but only one individual, so the trail had not been used much recently.     This is a smaller size footprint than I normally see in the area.    The toes seemed to be lowered into the mud for traction up the hill.  Up hill is in the direction of the toes.     For the skeptics, much of the trail is crushed rock in that wet muddy portion, so it is not an area where one would expect some nature boy human to go barefooted.     If it was a nature boy I would have seen other prints.     One thing Meldrum mentioned in a presentation,  when you see toes extended downward for traction that is good evidence of a living foot with the toes used for traction.     Additionally as with your hands, when you curl toes or fingers, they tend to be more straight across.     Curl your fingers and compare them with when your hand is flat.   Curling fingers or toes makes them appear more straight across.   With my hand flat and fingers extended, the little finger is nearly 2 inches behind the middle finger.   Curled into nearly a fist,  my fingers are all in a line straight across.   The same applies to curled toes.       So the individual that left this print probably had toes that tapered back towards the small toes but it just does not show because the toes are curled down for traction.      The toes are just below the tape and perpendicular to it.   No evidence of claw marks so a bear is unlikely.       

 

The print of course is unremarkable in that it is in the human size norm,   partial, and not worth casting in my opinion.      But for me it made my research area active again and introduced a smaller individual that I have not seen prints from before.   There is a juvenile in the area that I think is about 4 or 5 now but this print seems too large to be that juvenile.    Perhaps there are others passing through or that I am not aware of in the area.       Randy R

Edited June 3, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[BC witness]

Nice find, Randy. Definitely no claws there. I heard the discussion of curled toes for traction from Steenburg and Bigfoothunter over steaks at the pub on Friday night, and you go and find one, you lucky devil!