KungFuPanda Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Last night my son woke up scared because he heard animal noises. I went to his room, and it sounded like a fight, but he's on the second floor so I couldn't see anything. It didn't sound like cats or dogs, although the sounds seemed more cat-like to me than anything, just not a loud or high pitched. I assume these animals were on the ground because it didn't sound like they were on the roof overhang outside his window. I could hear them breathing. Nit was an agitated, deep and snuffly breathing like it had a cold or something. It rained all night and is still raining, so I haven't looked for footprints. We live in the suburbs and this isn't common, but we do have green spaces where animals live. We've seen deer, foxes, groundhogs, squirells, and even one cayote. I haven't seen any possums or raccoons, but they could be out there. Any theories? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Nobody???? Come on! These creatures shook the house when they slammed against it. I suspect they were fighting under the overhang to get out of the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddykate Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Bears? I don't know....I think you should go out in the rain and look for footprints. Then, report back to us :). It sounds pretty scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Sounds like racoons to me. But, without visual evidence ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 No theory on the animal, just that ... well ... to quote Tom Jones, love is in the air this time of year. We've heard feral cats doing the uh, disco, earlier this week. My youngest thought they were fighting, and was worried. That was a fun conversation, re-assuring her they weren't fighting LOL. Hopefully that's all they were doing, whatever they are, and you can go back to a restful sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Deep snuffly breathing makes me think of bears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aslana Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Or deer. The key here is "they shook the house" when they hit. Bear or deer is my guess and it is mating season and they were likely fighting for food (look for food hidden under your house) or mates. Where I live, we get raccoon all the %$# time digging in our trash and I swear it sounds like a hurricane outside when they do. Wouldn't surprise me that your son overheard the lovely sounds of Spring kicking in. Go take pictures of the footprints. Muddy ground is perfect for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*lifeoftheparty* Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would guess coyotes. I once heard a high yelping sound and googled a bit and found sound bites of what coyotes sounded like, especially young, and that's what it was. We are in Maryland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 No idea. But we had 2 raccoons outside recently and I truly thought it was a gang of grown men. They made a TON of noise and I thought they were breaking into the house. I was pretty shocked to see it was just raccoons, and still can't figure out how they banged into the house hard enough that I thought they were coming through the walls. I'm hoping your animals aren't bears or coyotes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My guess was raccoon. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I would guess coyote. There is a wooded area behind our house. We hear them regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My dh says bear for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 'Course seeing who the OP is, it could be panda! :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My guess would be raccoons. They are coming out around here at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 My vote is possum with raccoon as runner-up. Or, it could have been one of each fighting over some tasty morsel found in your yard. For the sounds, check out these youtube videos: Mad Hissing Possum Bad Possum Angry Racoon (the one by Raquelgrl) If you can manage to get past the commentary, you'll get a good listen at how ferocious these smaller mammals can sound. One might really mistake them for bears. Except a real bear roar might have rattled your window panes. ETA - If you have armadillo in your area, they can also be snuffly and super noisy. But I don't think they growl. They just sound like a much larger animal moving around. ETA2 - Missed the "shook the house" part. Maybe something larger raccoon or coyotes. Or maybe you really do have bears... they are not uncommon in suburbia in some parts of the country. Let us know if you find any tracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have too many wet leaves on the ground for there to be any tracks, but I did check out some video. What I thought was 'snuffly breathing sounds' was this low growl. The other, wilder sound I heard is in this video. Not the yelping, but that wildcatish, roaring-type noise. Based on these sounds, I'm guessing raccoons. If I hear it again tonight, I'll actually come downstairs to look and report back. Thank you for playing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was going to guess raccoons, partly because they are so common in the suburbs. But those videos are scary! Hearing the noises close up makes me think of MUCH larger animals. You mentioned a roof overhang, Raccoons can use that overhang to work their way into an attic -- they are very good climbers. Make sure that you prune away any branches taht could allow the raccoons to get onto the overhang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 It was bigfoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 I was going to guess raccoons, partly because they are so common in the suburbs. But those videos are scary! Hearing the noises close up makes me think of MUCH larger animals. You mentioned a roof overhang, Raccoons can use that overhang to work their way into an attic -- they are very good climbers. Make sure that you prune away any branches taht could allow the raccoons to get onto the overhang. CRAAAAAAP. Now I wish it was pandas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Chupacabras. Duh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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