When there is an animal mutilation, what can you hear?
I believe it is the time to make this report. When it comes to animal mutilations, usually cows and occasionally horses, seemingly it "just happens" with no witnesses. Some say black helicopters are in the area, but I think they were chasing what actually did the job. A helicopter does not fit my understanding of the event. Although I was not a direct witness, I was too close. Here is my story.
On Thursday night, August 29, 1991, my late wife and I were camping on Kennally Creek, six miles east of Donnelly, Idaho. That night at 3AM there was a wild ruckus of coyotes barking. It woke us up and our attention was on those coyotes wondering why this was happening. It seemed like all the coyotes in the whole valley were concentrated just to the south of where we were camping. Imagine a hundred coyotes in one place barking and baying. Then total silence. By total silence I mean that nothing could be heard. We were next to a stream and could not hear the stream gurgling. Many know the wonderful sounds that a stream can make to lure you into dreamland when camping. However, this night, at this moment not even the stream could be heard.
Suddenly, there was a screaming-screeching sound of great volume that lasted more than a minute. There was silence again, that same total silence defeating even the natural sounds of the forest and the stream. This time the silence lasted for about five minutes. Suddenly, that same loud noise, the intense lasting screaming sound could be heard once again, and after it was over, the coyotes were barking once again. We were listening to the coyotes in some degree of fear trying to figure out what was happening and then, oddly, we both fell fast asleep.
We woke up together at 9AM, discussed the strangeness of the night and decided to pack up and go back home. About a week later we invited my parents to join us on a camping trip and returned to the same place. This location by Kennally Creek had been a family favorite since about 1956. In those forty years very little had changed at the campsite. Not even the tiny pond where my sister and I played with frogs and garter snakes has changed, and where my grandchildren did the same.
That night of the first day camping with my parents a local rancher showed up on horseback and told us the story of how, just over a ridge a week before, just 160 yards from our tent, was a horse mutilation. He detailed the usual findings of precision cuts, no tracks, and no blood. It happened on the same night we heard the coyotes and screaming sounds. Some may say we just heard a mountain lion scream; however, a mountain lion does live there, just a few hundred feet to the north and we have heard it scream, and there was no comparison; however, if you need the mountain lion connection, you would have to have several of them in one place and screaming in more than twice the volume as they can do.
A little more about the location can be given. Using Google Earth ™ you travel nearly due east of Donnelly, Idaho six miles. The coordinates for the mutilation are: 44º 42' 41.53"N, 115º 57' 39.82W and the coordinates for the campsite are 44º 42’ 41.53” N, 115º 57’ 33.39” W.
An old newspaper article can be found at Google Newspapers by pasting this address into your browser:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19910906&id=ZTsVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6538,3646572
From the camping spot, Kennally Creek empties into Gold Fork River at about 2 ½ miles south as the crow flies. The area is closed now. In 2005 a new rancher up from California fenced off the access road that had been open for over half a century.
I believe it is the time to make this report. When it comes to animal mutilations, usually cows and occasionally horses, seemingly it "just happens" with no witnesses. Some say black helicopters are in the area, but I think they were chasing what actually did the job. A helicopter does not fit my understanding of the event. Although I was not a direct witness, I was too close. Here is my story.
On Thursday night, August 29, 1991, my late wife and I were camping on Kennally Creek, six miles east of Donnelly, Idaho. That night at 3AM there was a wild ruckus of coyotes barking. It woke us up and our attention was on those coyotes wondering why this was happening. It seemed like all the coyotes in the whole valley were concentrated just to the south of where we were camping. Imagine a hundred coyotes in one place barking and baying. Then total silence. By total silence I mean that nothing could be heard. We were next to a stream and could not hear the stream gurgling. Many know the wonderful sounds that a stream can make to lure you into dreamland when camping. However, this night, at this moment not even the stream could be heard.
Suddenly, there was a screaming-screeching sound of great volume that lasted more than a minute. There was silence again, that same total silence defeating even the natural sounds of the forest and the stream. This time the silence lasted for about five minutes. Suddenly, that same loud noise, the intense lasting screaming sound could be heard once again, and after it was over, the coyotes were barking once again. We were listening to the coyotes in some degree of fear trying to figure out what was happening and then, oddly, we both fell fast asleep.
We woke up together at 9AM, discussed the strangeness of the night and decided to pack up and go back home. About a week later we invited my parents to join us on a camping trip and returned to the same place. This location by Kennally Creek had been a family favorite since about 1956. In those forty years very little had changed at the campsite. Not even the tiny pond where my sister and I played with frogs and garter snakes has changed, and where my grandchildren did the same.
That night of the first day camping with my parents a local rancher showed up on horseback and told us the story of how, just over a ridge a week before, just 160 yards from our tent, was a horse mutilation. He detailed the usual findings of precision cuts, no tracks, and no blood. It happened on the same night we heard the coyotes and screaming sounds. Some may say we just heard a mountain lion scream; however, a mountain lion does live there, just a few hundred feet to the north and we have heard it scream, and there was no comparison; however, if you need the mountain lion connection, you would have to have several of them in one place and screaming in more than twice the volume as they can do.
A little more about the location can be given. Using Google Earth ™ you travel nearly due east of Donnelly, Idaho six miles. The coordinates for the mutilation are: 44º 42' 41.53"N, 115º 57' 39.82W and the coordinates for the campsite are 44º 42’ 41.53” N, 115º 57’ 33.39” W.
An old newspaper article can be found at Google Newspapers by pasting this address into your browser:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19910906&id=ZTsVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PwgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6538,3646572
From the camping spot, Kennally Creek empties into Gold Fork River at about 2 ½ miles south as the crow flies. The area is closed now. In 2005 a new rancher up from California fenced off the access road that had been open for over half a century.
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Off
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Donnelly
USA
1/2 hour
1/2 hour
44.67
-116.03
unknown
ID
Occurred : 8/29/1991 03:00 (Entered as : 08/29/91 03:00) Reported: 5/17/2010 11:58:39 AM 11:58 Posted: 6/3/2010 Location: Donnelly, ID Shape: Unknown Duration: 1/2 hour Characteristics: The object made a sound
When there is an animal mutilation, what can you hear?