Noreen Claire Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 It's 1am here and I'm wide awake. Around midnight there was suddenly the most amazing noise in my backyard. Literal caterwauling. Something was screaming behind my house. I got up when it started, to listen at the window (my glasses were downstairs and it was pitch black, so I knew I wouldn't be able to see anything). Underneath the screaming was a handful of little 'yip, yip' noises, so I'm guessing mama and babies. But, the thing that was truly scary was that next to the caterwauling was a low, angry, snarling. I came downstairs and turned on the backyard floodlight; by the time I found my glasses in the dark, the noises were gone. I am going to have trouble letting my kids play in the backyard from now on. We don't live in the country, either. My property backs up to two other properties; the one on the left is a house with a yard, the one on the right is a three family building with a fence and then a thin section of trees before it meets my backyard. My yard is not fenced. There is only one dog that lives on my street, a giant St. Bernard, and they have an electric fence. I don't think anyone on the next street has a dog, as we never hear barking. We've heard cat fights before, with meowing and hissing; this was not cats. I have no idea what kind of animal was snarling like that, but I hope it never comes back! I'm never going to be able to sleep again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 ((Hugs)) It's hard being awakened like that. It could have been many combinations of animals. Raccoons, possums, foxes, or coyotes will all eat smaller mammals like rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and voles. The angry snarling makes me suspect a raccoon or possum was involved somehow. There probably won't be any trace of the night's events, but it's a good idea to go out in the yard to check for any fur or other animal remains before you let the children out, just in case. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Whatever animal it is is nocturnal. Your children presumably aren't, so this animal isn't going to be a threat to them in the daytime. (I'm also voting for raccoon or possum, btw. I've heard raccoons around here making the most god-awful sounds, you'd think somebody was being murdered. Drives my dog crazy, she just hates them.) 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) We have pine martens in the woods nearby, and they yip and scream. Maybe Google their sounds; they're very vocal and you might have just heard one of them. Very, very vocal. Dh and I usually start "What does the Fox Say" when we hear a marten.😛 Edited June 17, 2019 by elroisees Edited for spelling 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Reading your OP made me think raccoon, too. Sounds like your local raccoon (or maybe possum) found a mama and babies. Like a PP said, they eat smaller mammals, so - no idea what else might have been out there but that’s my guess. Google the sounds raccoons make, maybe. You described them well! I am not a fan of raccoons, but we have them here, too. We have to let our dogs out carefully in the evenings, as they’ve had some run ins. Aaack! My mother lives farther into our small city and also has raccoons. Ugh. They shouldn’t be out in the day. I wouldn’t worry about the kids in the daytime, but look over the yard today, and maybe go over safety with the kids, not to approach a wild animal, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Even where I am in the country, the scary animals usually stay away during the day. We’ll occasionally have a bear wander through or a fox run by but, for the most part, they don’t want to be around us any more than we want to be around them. In a more lively neighborhood, the odds of having an issue in the daytime are very, very slim! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 made me think of a fox... or maybe a coyote. They both make very unusual (and sometimes frightening) sounds. Hope you figure it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 5 minutes ago, PrincessMommy said: made me think of a fox... or maybe a coyote. They both make very unusual (and sometimes frightening) sounds. Hope you figure it out. That's my guess, too. Only because I've seen both around here. They stay away from people, so I wouldn't worry much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Spryte said: My mother lives farther into our small city and also has raccoons. Ugh. They shouldn’t be out in the day. It's actually not uncommon at all for raccoons to be out during the day, especially when they're nursing, in areas where a main food source is foraging for human garbage, and at the end of spring/early summer when daylight is longest. (ETA: I know this because of several daytime encounters with raccoons we had on a recent camping trip, which initially freaked me out a wee little bit. So I asked a very informative ranger, who was happy to educate us. Online sources corroborate what he said.) Edited June 17, 2019 by Pawz4me 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: It's actually not uncommon at all for raccoons to be out during the day, especially when they're nursing, in areas where a main food source is foraging for human garbage, and at the end of spring/early summer when daylight is longest. (ETA: I know this because of several daytime encounters with raccoons we had on a recent camping trip, which initially freaked me out a wee little bit. So I asked a very informative ranger, who was happy to educate us. Online sources corroborate what he said.) I actually just looked this up last week! We were driving around one early afternoon (on a very small campus) and saw a raccoon run by with a fast food bag in his mouth! Then she stopped right out in the open on the grass and ate whatever was in it, even with a handful of people in the area. My kids had also seen one run from the side of our house one day in the middle of the day. I did some internet research and was thankful to see that these weren’t all rabid raccoons (most likely!), but just normal raccoon behavior. 😁 OP, hopefully you didn’t find any signs of what might have happened in your yard last night and don’t have to experience that again. Edited June 17, 2019 by mmasc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 I looked quickly this morning and didn't see anything. The neighbor's property that has some trees is currently also covered with piles of branches/leaves from cutting a tree down elsewhere in the property, so there's lots of ground I can't see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 My ds18, who just finished his freshman year of college, lived in a first floor dorm room with a window that looked out over lawn and plant beds. One night, he heard what sounded like a person screaming hysterically outside. He jumped up and looked out and discovered the source of the racket - a fox that was right under his window. He is a country kid and is used to coyotes howling and all kinds of other animal noises at night, but he said this one really freaked him out.🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Pawz4me said: It's actually not uncommon at all for raccoons to be out during the day, especially when they're nursing, in areas where a main food source is foraging for human garbage, and at the end of spring/early summer when daylight is longest. (ETA: I know this because of several daytime encounters with raccoons we had on a recent camping trip, which initially freaked me out a wee little bit. So I asked a very informative ranger, who was happy to educate us. Online sources corroborate what he said.) Thanks! That’s good to know. I was concerned, because we saw one out near my mom’s house recently, in the day. I feel relieved to know it wasn’t because it was sick. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 You and I sometimes wake up to get a midnight snack, so it's no surprise that raccoons do too 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Fisher Cats scream like crazy too - we've been woken up by one on more than one occasion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 18 minutes ago, AmandaVT said: Fisher Cats scream like crazy too - we've been woken up by one on more than one occasion. Yes! That's it! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Honestly, I'm surprised by how loud the domestic alley cats can get sometimes. And how weird they can sound. Things that are basically harmless and avoid people can make a ruckus. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 5 hours ago, Noreen Claire said: Yes! That's it! Perfect - now you'll rest easy knowing no one is being murdered in your back yard and it's safe to let the kids play outside. 🙂 Although if you have a kitty of your own, be careful letting it out because fisher cats do attack house cats sometimes. Hopefully yours finds a place to scream farther away from your house tonight and you can get a good night's sleep! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noreen Claire Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 24 minutes ago, AmandaVT said: Perfect - now you'll rest easy knowing no one is being murdered in your back yard and it's safe to let the kids play outside. 🙂 Although if you have a kitty of your own, be careful letting it out because fisher cats do attack house cats sometimes. Hopefully yours finds a place to scream farther away from your house tonight and you can get a good night's sleep! I'm still a bit concerned over what was snarling and making the fisher cat scream. 😲 Going to have to remember to put the trash out before dark from now on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 I've been on Google trying to figure out if the marten is the same as the Fisher cat. I think the Fisher cat is slightly larger. Wanna see a marten do something crazy? I hope this link will load for you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 7 hours ago, Noreen Claire said: Yes! That's it! That would scare the hell out of me, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Way long time ago, dh and I decided to take a spring break trip to the South. We were originally going to camp on Galveston Island for most of the time but that didn't work out. We ended up in a state park in East Texas. I don't think it was the first night but one night, we heard the worse racket ever above our heads. It was bobcats. We left and went to a motel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 2 hours ago, elroisees said: I've been on Google trying to figure out if the marten is the same as the Fisher cat. I think the Fisher cat is slightly larger. Martens and Fishers are 2 different species. Possibly also genus or even family is different 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 We live out in the country for the first time in my adult life and the night time sounds are creepy. and LOUD. They change somewhat with the seasons, so it's always something new. About a month ago I went out at 1am or so and there was this chorus of what sounded like arguing gorillas or something, it was insane. I came in and googled "loud night animal missouri" and found out it was Barred Owls. Coyotes howling /yipping are also creepy at night, esp if you accidentally hit a raccoon on the way home earlier that evening (ask me how I know) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 We get that kind of thing all the time here. It never occurred to me not to let my kids play in the yard because of it. (Of course, when we had the Great Caterpillar Catastrophe of 2003, I didn't let them outside for two weeks. Because caterpillars.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 4 hours ago, moonflower said: We live out in the country for the first time in my adult life and the night time sounds are creepy. and LOUD. They change somewhat with the seasons, so it's always something new. About a month ago I went out at 1am or so and there was this chorus of what sounded like arguing gorillas or something, it was insane. I came in and googled "loud night animal missouri" and found out it was Barred Owls. Coyotes howling /yipping are also creepy at night, esp if you accidentally hit a raccoon on the way home earlier that evening (ask me how I know) Barred Owls make wild sounds when then get to caterwauling. Here's a You Tube link for the OP, although I think this one is pretty tame. I've heard them crazier than this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 I’m still, after 14 years, amazed by how loud and crazy even “innocent” (that’s a strange term) animals can sound. Sometimes a small herd of deer can sound like a zombie invasion trudging across the property. A raccoon can sound like a bear ripping apart the garbage cans. (We had one one year that we dubbed a bearcoon.) Feral cats can seriously sound like wildcats when they’re in heat (or attacked by other animals.) My kids can sound like they’re being murdered when they’re just having fun. Outside is weird. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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