WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:08.480 During the nineteen nineties. I was a wildlife agent and I was dealing primarily 2 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:14.679 with problem wild animals that were causing problems in residential areas, on farms, 3 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:19.960 or wherever there was an issue. I prefer not to name the state because 4 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.239 at the time I was well known for the job that I did, and 5 00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:27.600 this story might refresh a memory and bring it back to me. But I 6 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:32.320 can tell you that this took place in the rural mountain area in the northeastern 7 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:40.240 United States. We were having a rabies epidemic, primarily in raccoons. Fur 8 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:46.880 prices were down for two years and the raccoon population exploded. The virus was 9 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:52.520 spreading like wildfire. I was one of a handful of people that were given 10 00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:58.880 pre exposure vaccines for rabies and were trained on handling and having animals tested for 11 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:03.359 the disease. I was overwhelmed with calls and working seven days a week, 12 00:01:03.480 --> 00:01:08.879 and I was on call twenty four to seven. When local citizens weren't calling 13 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:14.439 me for help, the state police and other officials were calling me out. 14 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.280 It seemed like this would never end. One fall evening, I believe it 15 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:23.000 was mid September, my wife and I had just sat down for dinner. 16 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:29.200 In the phone rang, My wife answered, it's for you again. I 17 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:34.120 remember thinking, I hope it's not an emergency, because I'm hungry. I 18 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:38.120 could tell by the sound of the man's voice that he was irritated and anxious. 19 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.920 I couldn't understand a word he said. I interrupted him and said that 20 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:47.079 he needed to calm down because I couldn't understand him. Or do you speak 21 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:49.719 English? He said. I answered yes, sir, but I am a 22 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:56.680 little slow. He chuckled. That seemed to break the ice. He went 23 00:01:56.719 --> 00:02:00.359 on to tell me that he had either coyotes, a big cat, or 24 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:06.439 maybe a bear taking his calves. The predator was walking right into the barn 25 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:10.960 and taking the animals. This had been happening for two weeks. He started 26 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.479 shutting the barn door, but the next day he would find it open and 27 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:19.919 sometimes broken. I was eager to get back to my food, and I 28 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:23.319 agreed to meet with him at his farm first thing. The next morning. 29 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:29.039 I arrived at the farm at eight o'clock and the farmer was still milking his 30 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.080 cows. He told me that there was no incident last night, that he 31 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:36.800 would be finished in an hour. I was welcome to have a look around 32 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.439 the outside of the barn to see if I could find evidence from a predator, 33 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.759 and he pointed out the damaged door that seemed to be the entry point. 34 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:49.919 The calf pins were right next to it. It was hard to find 35 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:53.039 prints around the barn. Any track that would have been left had been trodden 36 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:58.479 down by cow hooves. The damage to the door looked a bit more like 37 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.520 a bear had done it than a ca or a cat, and it lacked 38 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:07.560 the claw imprints or scratches that I would normally find. The bent metal rail 39 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.240 across the top of the door looked like damage from a tractor. I couldn't 40 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:17.800 see how a cow or an animal would do that. The farmer finished up 41 00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:22.439 his chores and caught up with me outside the barn, and he asked me 42 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.120 what I had found. Well, I told him the cattle had trampled any 43 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:29.840 evidence that I could use, and he asked what I thought about the door. 44 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.360 Well, something big did that, I said, but I refrained from 45 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:38.400 saying that one of his farm hands probably hit it with the tractor. He 46 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:43.159 went on to tell me that some nights the coyotes were so loud that he 47 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.439 couldn't sleep, and other nights he could hear a big cat screaming on the 48 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:53.319 hill. I followed him through the pastures, across two shallow streams, and 49 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:57.599 through a gate, and then up the hill to a woodline where a clear 50 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:02.240 pasture met the forest. From there we walked into the woods one hundred yards 51 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.800 or so. He pointed to four dead calves that had been taken from his 52 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:13.840 barn. The most recent had been taken yesterday. It laid in the leaves, 53 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:18.399 gutted, and something had consumed the organs but left the meat. That's 54 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:21.560 not the way any wild animal that I know of would eat its kill. 55 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:28.000 Domestic or wild dogs would usually eat the hind quarters first and then leave the 56 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:31.759 rest if they had had enough. Nothing was adding up, and there were 57 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:38.720 no tracks to give me any indication of what this was. We kept walking, 58 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.439 and one hundred and fifty yards away I found two more older kills that 59 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.279 had been picked. Clean tracks covered the area, but they weren't from a 60 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:51.079 coyote, cat or a bear. It was what we and the Wildlife Division 61 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:59.040 recognized as the brush wolf. Contrary to public belief, wild coyotes and domestic 62 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:03.519 dogs do not enter breed. You have coyote packs and wild dog packs, 63 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:08.800 and then you have the brush wolf. The brush wolf is believed to be 64 00:05:08.839 --> 00:05:13.879 an offshoot of the gray wolf in Coyote. Before the gray wolf was extinct 65 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:18.680 in the Northeast, the populations were low. Nature finds a way, and 66 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:24.879 scientists at the time believe that possibly the two natural enemies mate it, creating 67 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:30.759 a much larger coyote or a smaller wolf. We had these brush wolves come 68 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.600 in weighing one hundred and forty pounds or better. That sized dog would definitely 69 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:40.680 be strong enough to haul a calf that distance before eating it, But that 70 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:44.920 still didn't make sense as to why they ate the older kills down to the 71 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.839 bone and then scattered the bones, while with the fresh kill only guts and 72 00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:54.879 organs were eaten. But whatever the reason, it looked like a large, 73 00:05:54.879 --> 00:06:00.160 healthy pack and they needed to be dealt with. At this time, were 74 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:04.720 not allowed to use the word brush wolf to a civilian kyote, koy dog, 75 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:10.199 or some other name was fine. That was primarily to keep people from 76 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:15.319 panicking and killing them off with the big bad wolf stereo type. When the 77 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:18.800 packs got this big and brazen enough to start stealing cattle, we would go 78 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:24.800 out and cut the numbers back I told the farmer that it looked to be 79 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:28.360 a large coyote pack in the area, and I would do some tracking to 80 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:31.959 find their habits and find the best place to set traps. I would be 81 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:35.720 back in a day or two, and we shook hands and he headed to 82 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:41.959 the barn and I stayed in the woods. I was looking for the main 83 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:46.240 highway they used to get around. I found several excellent locations to place my 84 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:51.160 sets. Brush wolves are smart and it wasn't going to be a one day 85 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:57.680 project. I could see this taking a month to catch even five. And 86 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.279 it was forecasts of rain the next day and that was the best time to 87 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:05.279 set traps. I stopped by the farm on the way back and got permission 88 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:09.839 to leave my spare coveralls that I had in my jeep in the barn for 89 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:14.120 the night. The smell of the cattle soaking into the material would help me 90 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.600 cover my human scent with a scent that they were obviously not afraid of. 91 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:23.319 It was cloudy with heavy, dark gray clouds when I showed up at the 92 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:27.199 farm the next morning. I was excited, thinking that it would be a 93 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.680 perfect time to make my sets. I stopped by the barn and put my 94 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:35.759 cow scented coveralls on, and I walked around in calmanure with my rubber boots, 95 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:40.360 the whole time thinking that my wife was going to make me change outside. 96 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:45.279 When I got home, I placed my sets in all the places that 97 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:47.439 I had marked the day before, and I made a couple of extra sets 98 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:51.800 around the last killed calf, just in case they should come back and finish 99 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:58.519 their meal. Just as I finished up, it started raining. The rain 100 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.959 lasted for several hours, and I hope the rain had knocked off my scent 101 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:07.439 and maybe I would have a catch the next day. That rarely happens, 102 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:11.879 but it does happen. The next morning, I woke and got my breakfast 103 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:16.839 in coffee and headed to the farm. The farmer met me at the barn 104 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:22.120 and said he'd lost another calf that night. After apologizing and telling him that 105 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:26.199 it won't be long now, I headed through the pastures into the woods. 106 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.159 I walked along my sets as far away from them as I could and still 107 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.679 be able to see whether or not I had anything. The first line of 108 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:41.840 seven sets were untouched. It was the same with the next line of sets, 109 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:46.720 absolutely nothing. There was no sign of a fresh kill either. That 110 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:50.960 night, I thought that I must have messed up somewhere and these canines were 111 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:56.120 on to me. The next morning, I stopped by the farm and the 112 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:00.159 farmer said it was a good night. No animals had been taken. I 113 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:05.559 figured that the traps would likely be empty as well. The first trap I 114 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:09.279 walked up on was dangling high up in a thick water brush, and I 115 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:13.080 looked closer and I could see something had tripped it and been caught. There 116 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:18.720 was animal hair scattered around the area. Whatever I caught had been ripped from 117 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:22.679 the trap, though, and from the way the trap hung up in the 118 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.440 brush, I was thinking it was a big cat that had taken advantage of 119 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.200 the trapped animal. The other traps were empty. I kept smelling a strong, 120 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:37.480 rotted flesh septic smell in the area. I figured it was likely from 121 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:41.159 the dead calves after the rain, and possibly the farmers spread manure in that 122 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:46.159 upper pasture. I looked around a bit, but I couldn't find anything to 123 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:52.360 be the lone source of the smell, so I forgot it. On day 124 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.000 three, I headed back to the farm and right to the sets, without 125 00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:00.679 stopping to talk to the landowner. Two traps hung high up in the brush 126 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:05.759 again, just like yesterday. Something wanted my catch more than I did. 127 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:09.840 No sign of what was stealing my trapped animals or where it was taking them, 128 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:13.679 and it didn't make sense for a big cat to do the exact same 129 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:18.320 thing three times in a row. I suppose if a pack is big enough 130 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:22.879 and hungry enough, they would attack their own. That does happen, but 131 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.720 typically only during a hard freeze, and it was only September. On this 132 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.960 day, the smell was back, but it was much stronger, so much 133 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:39.039 so that it made my stomach a bit queasy. I saw a good spot 134 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:41.840 for some sets on my way up the hillside, just above the stream. 135 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:46.360 Now, I figured I would put some fresh sets there tomorrow to give me 136 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:50.759 a bit of a break from the overwhelming smell of rotting flesh and manure. 137 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:58.000 On day four, the traps were empty and undisturbed. The smell was still 138 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.600 overwhelming, but it seemed to come and go. It was windy and I 139 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.600 could hear branches breaking in the distance. I didn't think much about that, 140 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:11.000 and I set off to put out the traps in the new location. I 141 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:16.399 found a spot where I was sure coyotes were hanging out. It was across 142 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:20.879 the stream and up a steep bank that was twenty five to thirty feet tall. 143 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.480 So, with my one hundred pound backpack on and a twelve gage shotgun 144 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:31.799 loaded with buckshot in my hand, I waded across a twelve inch deep stream 145 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:37.039 and I started up that bank. The roots that dangle from the bank wall 146 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:43.120 were what I used to lift myself to the top, and halfway up there, 147 00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:48.600 that smell hit me again. It was coming from above me. I 148 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.360 wasn't able to see anything but dirt wall, and I assumed one of the 149 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:56.840 dead calves was left at the top of the bank, so I kept climbing. 150 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.879 Finally, at the top, I rance myself to a standing position, 151 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:05.440 ready to go to work. I was brushing the trash off my clothes when 152 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:11.240 I looked around, expecting to see that dead calf laying close by, but 153 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:16.320 instead, standing a few feet away was a giant, black colored ssquatch. 154 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.440 It growled at me, and I felt that growl through my body and into 155 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:28.000 my toes. The edge of the bank was just behind me, and when 156 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.960 I took a step back, I fell back into the ravine and I landed 157 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:37.080 on the rocks of the stream bank, flat on my back. That fall 158 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:43.120 crushed my wicker backpack, and the content saved me from breaking anything. Without 159 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:46.759 that pack, I'm sure I would have smacked my head on those rocks and 160 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:50.360 been injured. In addition, I was lucky that nothing pushed through the pack 161 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:56.159 that would impale me. The shotgun had survived the fall, too, and 162 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:01.720 it lay a few feet away. And after I moved past the what the 163 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.240 hell phase, I shimmied out of the backpack straps and I took up the 164 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:11.120 shotgun. The creature stood looking over the ledge at me. He was hacked 165 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:16.879 off, and he continued to growl. There was no doubt this was a 166 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:20.600 male. Immediately, I knew my twelve gage wouldn't hurt this thing, so 167 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:24.519 I fired a shot over his head and he just stood there looking at me. 168 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:30.919 After two more shots, he looked around like he could have cared less, 169 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:35.360 and then he walked out of my sight. My heart was racing, 170 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.360 and all that I could think was that I only had three shots left. 171 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:45.600 If the first three shots didn't scare it off, I would put the next 172 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:50.600 three right into its face. My thought was if I could blind him, 173 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:54.519 there was a chance that I could get away. There is no way to 174 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:58.879 know, but I would say this thing was eight feet tall and three and 175 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.600 a half feet wide. Away the shoulders, of course, at the bottom 176 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:05.399 of the river bank, looking up thirty feet, it looked like King Kong 177 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:11.120 with a human face. Teeth, from what I could see, were two 178 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:16.840 large fangs or eye teeth. The eyes were dark and bone chilling evil. 179 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:20.080 I got my stuff together and I had it out of there, leaving equipment 180 00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:26.519 I couldn't grab where it lay. The only form of communication that I had 181 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:30.080 in my g was a cellular bag phone that I hadn't had a signal for 182 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.799 for miles. So I stopped by the farm on the way out, and 183 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:37.080 I told the farmer that I had to get going and that i'd be back 184 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:43.919 to him. I didn't dare mention the encounter I had just experienced. Well. 185 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.080 I went straight home. My back was hurting, and I needed to 186 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.919 make a phone call to my superior. I was trying to figure out a 187 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.919 way to tell him what had happened without sounding like I needed mental help. 188 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:58.360 I couldn't think of a way other than just straight up truth, and I 189 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.480 left the chip fall where they made I told him that I needed to meet 190 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:07.960 with him. He knew it was important, and he agreed. It's the 191 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.559 first time in several years that I asked for a meeting. Later that evening, 192 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:18.639 at his house, I told him the story. My superior said that 193 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.879 he would meet me at the farm the next day and we would go from 194 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:26.480 there. The next morning, we met at the farm, and here's what 195 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:31.639 my superior told me. Here's the plan. I called my boss and told 196 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.720 them the details that you told me. He called me back this morning and 197 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.559 he said that you and I are going together and get your equipment, and 198 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:45.440 that we were to pull out of this job. Well. I immediately asked 199 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.240 if I was fired, and he reassured me that I was not being fired, 200 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:52.320 and they were sending a team out here to finish up where I left 201 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:56.360 off. A team, I asked, He said, yeah, you're not 202 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:00.279 crazy. They have a team trained to deal with this situation and going to 203 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:06.159 take over. I gathered my equipment. My boss stood guard with a rifle. 204 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:10.200 There was no incident, but we both caught a whiff of that horrible 205 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:15.480 odor. On the way out. We stopped by the farm and I introduced 206 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:19.039 my boss. He told the farmer I was needed on another job and that 207 00:16:19.159 --> 00:16:23.759 a team would replace me and I never did find out what happened on that 208 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:29.080 farm. I worked that same job for three more years, and I never 209 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:34.240 ran into anything like that while working for them again. Now let me tell 210 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.720 you about my second encounter. I'm going to try to make this one a 211 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:44.799 little shorter than my long winded first encounter. After the first encounter in the 212 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.960 Northeast, I didn't have another encounter like that while I worked in that region. 213 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:52.320 It wasn't until years later when I moved to the central Gulf Coast of 214 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:56.720 Florida. I moved to Florida in two thousand and eight, and I set 215 00:16:56.759 --> 00:17:00.960 up my own business. Through a good customer, I was given permission to 216 00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:07.079 hog hunt some swampy land in the spring Hill west of US nineteen, only 217 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.559 a few miles from the Gulf. My wife and two sons came along. 218 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:18.240 They thought they might enjoy experiencing hunting at night for wild hogs. The property 219 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:22.559 where we had permission to hunt had a small pond bordering the woods that connected 220 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:27.519 to state land. The property already had two tree stands, and one of 221 00:17:27.559 --> 00:17:32.559 them was a two ceedar That would be where my wife and I would sit. 222 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.119 One hundred yards south of that stand was another stand. It needed work, 223 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:41.119 but with a few nails and some scrap wood, we had it fixed 224 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:45.960 up. And my oldest son claimed that one my youngest son had a climbing 225 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:49.519 stand and he found a spot near a pine that was full of tracks and 226 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:56.559 rutted up ground. We were all set. We put feeders near each stand 227 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:59.960 and kept them filled with corn for three weeks. Before we went home. 228 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:07.279 I set three SkyPoint cameras out that sent pictures directly to my cellular phone. 229 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:11.640 We had pigs coming in heavy almost every night, and a bear that would 230 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:17.160 stop by just before dawn. We hunted there with success once a week. 231 00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:21.920 For two months. I was showing my sons the pictures that were coming in, 232 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:25.839 and there was still plenty of pigs, deer, in coyote, and 233 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:30.480 of course my bear. In the mornings. We were looking forward to our 234 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:37.440 Saturday hunt. Thursday came around and there was nothing on the cameras. Friday 235 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.680 it was the same. I thought for sure, with all the activity we 236 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:45.200 had been seeing, the batteries and the cameras must have been dead. So 237 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:49.039 I went to the store Saturday morning to get some snacks and supplies for our 238 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:55.720 Saturday hunt, and I picked up double A batteries for the cameras. We 239 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.960 arrived at the hunting location just before dark. My wife and I were in 240 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:04.319 the stand furthest from our truck. I replaced the batteries in my cameras before 241 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:08.119 we got situated in the stand, and I gave each of my sons eight 242 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:14.279 batteries to do the same. From our stand, we could hear something walking 243 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:18.480 in the swamp, but we couldn't see what it was. It was either 244 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:23.319 that bear or Norsey hog walking around. It went just out of our sight 245 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:27.640 around us where my son was sitting, and I sent my son a text 246 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:32.240 telling him that I heard something go by and it was heading right for him, 247 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:36.079 but I wasn't sure what it was. I copied my other son on 248 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.880 the text and he said he just heard something large heading my way, but 249 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:42.119 it was coming in from the back of my stand, opposite the feeder. 250 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:48.160 My wife turned her chair around and used a green light and a scope now 251 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:51.759 and then to see if she could get it. It wasn't long. We 252 00:19:51.799 --> 00:19:56.680 could hear it coming in from behind, but we couldn't see it. The 253 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:00.599 walking sound stopped and I figured it would be a good time to check to 254 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.920 see if my son saw whatever was heading this way. He said that he 255 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:07.799 had heard it and it sounded like a bulldozer coming through, but he never 256 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:12.200 saw it. He said the brush was moving and small trees were waving, 257 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:18.839 but he couldn't put eyes on what caused it. The woods were dead silent 258 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.599 for a good hour, not even a breeze. My wife and I both 259 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:26.480 had the feeling of being watched, but we just brushed it off as a 260 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:33.640 still night and the swamp. The silence was broken an hour later by the 261 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:37.759 sound of a good sized tree falling close behind us. That startled my wife 262 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:41.240 and I, but I told her that it was likely just to rott a 263 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:45.279 tree in the swamp falling. She said, but there's no wind, not 264 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:49.319 even a breeze. Well, I shrugged my shoulders and I went back to 265 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:56.720 monitoring the feeder. We started having sticks and clumps of mud thrown at us, 266 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:00.279 and I messaged my son saying, that's real funny, and then he 267 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:04.960 replied back, what's funny? They both shined in, swearing that it wasn't 268 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:11.799 them. They both stated that they were also experiencing strange things. My oldest 269 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:17.119 son said something was circling around where he sat and was making all sorts of 270 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:22.759 growls and snorts. My son in the stand said that someone was throwing things 271 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.400 in the pond, and at one time a tree he was sitting in was 272 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:30.839 whacked with something. I figured it was likely someone that knew we were hunting 273 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.759 there and was messing with us, and I sent a message back to meet 274 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:40.119 at the truck. We were obviously wasting our time trying to hunt that night. 275 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:44.559 The next day I went to top off the feeders and I put new 276 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:48.200 SD cards in the cameras. I met with the property owner on my way 277 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:52.119 out and I told him about the night before. He said there was a 278 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:56.799 road on the north side of the pond five hundred yards out, and there 279 00:21:56.839 --> 00:22:00.200 was an animal rights activist that lived there and had giving him trouble in the 280 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.799 past by banging pans together while he was hunting. He said, more than 281 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:11.799 likely they saw our green lights and were messing with us. There was no 282 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:17.720 animal activity at all on the cameras all week, not even a raccoon coming 283 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:22.440 in for the corn well. I thought that was odd. Usually raccoons and 284 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:26.880 possums make my cameras go crazy at night. I went to the property on 285 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:32.319 Friday to top off the feeders and check what was going on with the cameras. 286 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:37.240 The feeders were full and untouched. One camera was laying face down in 287 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:41.319 the mud. I picked it up, cleaned it off, and put it 288 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:45.319 back on the tree. The cameras were working because I was getting pictures of 289 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:52.599 me loading the feeders. We elected to let the area rest over the weekend 290 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:56.440 by not honeing and I hope the cameras would let me know when the area 291 00:22:56.519 --> 00:23:02.920 became active again. So we waited. A week passed and I got no 292 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:08.000 images, not a single image. Again. I knew the cameras were working, 293 00:23:08.119 --> 00:23:12.920 so I began to think the corn was bad. On Thursday, I 294 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:18.559 began to replace the corn. The corn had not been touched, and then 295 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:22.640 images of myself began popping up on my phone. Not one bit of this 296 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:29.079 made any sense. I settled on the idea that the pigs had moved and 297 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:33.720 were feeding in another area. My son and I decided to hunt the WMA 298 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:40.440 two miles away. When we checked in at the Wildlife Management Area, the 299 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:45.359 attendant gave me a map and pointed out three locations where hunters seemed to be 300 00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:49.799 having good luck. My sons picked their spots and I got whatever was left. 301 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.519 I was good with that they were both carrying shotguns and I was carrying 302 00:23:55.519 --> 00:24:00.079 a fifty Hawking muzzleloader. Rifles weren't allowed in my three was going to have 303 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:06.519 to stay home. The area I was to hunt had a large sinkhole in 304 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:10.359 the woods that was sure to hold water or at least be swampy in the 305 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:15.799 bottom. It should be a perfect spot for the hogs. I worked my 306 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:19.000 way through the woods and through some thick briers and pal meadows to a clearing. 307 00:24:19.319 --> 00:24:23.680 Just above the pit. I could see a small stream in the bottom. 308 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:27.000 This spot gave me a good field of view, so I found a 309 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:33.319 comfortable spot and I settled in the stream. I was hunting over lay between 310 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:37.960 steep banks on each side, and I began to wonder how I would haul 311 00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:42.559 out my kil if I took one on the other side. I hoped there 312 00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:47.920 was a low spot down stream, but I'd have to wait and see. 313 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:52.720 At that moment, I wanted to get quiet and start the hunt. The 314 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:56.799 woods got real quiet. All my senses heightened, and then I caught movement 315 00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:02.680 in the ravine to my right. It appeared to be a man bent over 316 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:07.519 a log. And digging around a fallen tree. I stood to see better 317 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:11.119 while wondering who in the hell would be in the swamp messing around in the 318 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:15.680 mud. He was dressed in all brown clothing, and I thought it was 319 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:19.920 stupid for him to be out here. I don't like wearing my glasses while 320 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:22.920 i'm out, honey, but I put them on to better see what he 321 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:27.079 was doing around that big tree. And that's when I saw that he wasn't 322 00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:33.960 wearing brown clothes. What I was seeing was either hair or fur. I 323 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:37.920 had a small set of field binoculars in my jacket pocket, and I pulled 324 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.440 him out and wiped the lenses on my t shirt and I got a better 325 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:47.960 look. Sure enough, it was a Florida skunk ape. It must have 326 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:52.960 been digging for grubs around the log. He looked similar to the creature I 327 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.240 saw years ago, but not as tall, and its color was lighter. 328 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:00.640 I couldn't make out the eye color, but I could see a human looking 329 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:06.319 face. He had no idea that I was sitting one hundred yards away up 330 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:11.160 a bank watching him. For twenty minutes. I watched while he did his 331 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:15.480 thing. I didn't feel that I was in any danger. He would occasionally 332 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:18.559 look around and sniff the air, and then he would go back to moving 333 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:23.359 logs around and digging. I had good brush cover, and I figured my 334 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:27.720 best bet was to stay put until it either came toward me or moved off. 335 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:33.599 To my great relief, it began moving away, continuing to look and 336 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:38.680 dig around falling wood, and I took that opportunity to slowly retreat back toward 337 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:44.960 my truck. I couldn't help but think how aggressive the northern squatch was, 338 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:48.960 and I didn't want to see if this one had the same temperament. I 339 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:53.119 went home with my two sons empty handed that day. I never said a 340 00:26:53.160 --> 00:27:00.319 word about what I saw. Several weeks later, games started showing up on 341 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:03.039 the cameras again, and it seemed as if everything was back to normal, 342 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:10.079 and we hunted it without incident. I'm thinking that these animals have some sort 343 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:15.839 of migrating pattern. I'm not sure, but I hope to never see one again.