Predator Snarls in Belgian Forest

[Dawnmaster]

I just came back from a walk with my dog, and I heard the strangest thing (this is not a joke)
The only accurate way to describe it was the exact sound the predator makes when he snarls in the movies.

I know those predators don't exist, and dinosaurs have been extinct for a while now, but still I'm wondering what kind of animal could make this exact noise?

I paused several times and listened carefully, just to make sure it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me, and my dog heard it as well.
But even though the forest is still very see through from the winter, I couldn't pinpoint the location.

So, any thoughts on which animal I heard? (keep in mind I live in Belgium, we don't usually have weird animals, just the most basic common stuff alive on this planet)

[Stevinator]

I have no idea what's normal in Belgium, but if it was here i'd guess it was a coyote or wolf or something like that. I've heard that we have wild cats, but never heard them.


Lots of not that dangerous animals make creepy noises. Raccoons make a weird hissy growly like noise sometimes. Maybe something felt threatened, and it had nothing to do with you.

OR

You're being hunted and you will be dead before you respond to this post! OMG!

[Dredd]

I hope that by "snarl" you don't mean the chattering sound from the video. Raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, fox, possums, skunk and other small furry beasts chatter much like that. Acoustics in the woods can play tricks on your ears if you don't spend a lot of time in that environment.

I'd need to hear the sound myself to ID it (unfortunately).

I have a pileated woodpecker that nests nearby. The sound of his drumming is loud enough to wake me most mornings. Little critters can make big sounds!

I've heard that we have wild cats, but never heard them.

When you do hear one it'll sound like a dying baby screaming through a megaphone. You WILL soil yourself. Not a fun way to wake up at 3 in the morning.

[BobCox2]

[Stevinator]

When you do hear one it'll sound like a dying baby screaming through a megaphone. You WILL soil yourself. Not a fun way to wake up at 3 in the morning.

oh, I meant like cougars. Every so often there will be a cougar siting and the talk radio guys will make jokes about the other meaning of cougar. I'm not sure if they're naturally here or what. I've seen a lot of coyotes, but never a cougar.


I bet the make pretty much the same noises as the little ones though.

[Vivi]

We're talking about Belgium so

Raccoons, no
squirrels , yes
chipmunks, yes
fox, yes
possums, no
skunk, no
wild cats, yes
cougars, no
Do deers growl?


It may also be
another dog
badgers, badgers, badgers*)
a heffalump
or a pine marten.


*) one thing badgers rarely do, is badgering. Make sure you check. If it's badgering, it's very likely not a badger.

In case of the latter, Kestegs is somewhat of a specialist.

[Stevinator]

I never get close to deer to listen. all the rodenty stuff makes weird noises, but his description of a snarl, and thinking that something is hunting him is pretty specific.

Also, he never came back to the thread, so I assume whatever was hunting him must have gotten him.

RIP Dawnmaster, I hope your family finds enough of your body to make a positive identification.

[Dawnmaster]

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still alive and kicking ;-)

As for the deer, I heard those once, and they make a sound similar to a cow, scared me too, thought they were sick or something.

squirrels => I know their sound, but they're nowhere near as load as the sound that I heard, much faster sound too
chipmunks => I have no idea how these sound, I'm not even sure we have them, or only subterrain, I assume they're similar to squirrels?
fox => those might be possible, although I thought they made more of a howling sound instead of a snarl?
wild cats => the wild cats here are the same as housecats, we don't have anything lynx like, and I've never heard a cat make this noise

If I hear it again next walk, I'm going in the woods (I just hope I don't get caught, forest guards are pretty strict about leaving the walking path in this region)

PS: the sound is roughly 90-95% like the first 2-3 seconds of Dredd's video, and lasted about that long each time, but without the drop in frequency you hear between second 2 and 3.

[tougeznut]

The predator sound in the first few seconds of the video? That "chattering" or "chittering" is something I hear often in the woods. No clue what makes it, but I always assume it to be some kind of rodent. We have a few packs of coyotes that live near our house and the sounds they make after midnight.. Well let's say I had to clean up afterwards, lol. Sometimes they wake us up in the middle of the night with their banshee like wails. Their cries seem to echo and mix with each other to make the eriest of sounds. I would describe it as... the sound of 10's of souls screaming for redemption as they are being tortured in hell... seriously, scary stuff. When I walk my dogs at night, they instantly bristle up right before they hear it.

Here's a video with sounds very similar to what I'm talking about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq7c...e_gdata_player

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[krischan]

Do deers growl?

Only during the mating season AFAIK.

Perhaps it was a cellphone ringtone.