In the Shadows – Listening in the Woods - Article 55

Listen to your surroundings, learn the difference between quad-pedal and bi-pedal walking and learn all the known animals in your area and their vocalizations.

Different sounds can be heard in the woods, recently two Junior Researchers, Splatter and Squish discovered two trees rubbing together that created a whistling sound. At first they thought something or one was whistling at them from the woods, but as they investigated, they discovered the trees were rubbing each other and making the sound.

Learning the difference between quad-pedal and bi-pedal walking can be done by using a parabolic listening device and having a friend or family member walk through an area multiple times while you listen. Then have them walk a dog through the area, listen to the difference in sounds. Continue doing this until you can differentiate between the two.

The researcher should learn to recognize all the local animal vocalizations that they will encounter in their research area.

The MABRC maintains a large collection of vocalizations in the audio library on the forum. Becoming familiar with these sounds will aid the researcher in distinguishing known animal vocalizations with those usually associated with Bigfoot.

While Bigfoot does have the capability to mimic other animal vocalizations, to be able to determine actual animal vocalizations to that say, of an 800-pound owl or dove making a vocalization is pretty important to the researcher.

Learning the difference between sticks breaking on the ground compared to sticks breaking off trees are also important. Overall, learn the sounds around you, making sure what you are hearing and what is causing it is paramount to conducting legitimate research that is hard to dispute.

Case in point, an armadillo uses its snout to sweep back and forth through the foliage and leaf litter looking for insects, grubs and other morsels of food. The sound this creates can be quite unnerving to many in the dark.

When this occurs to you, it will sound like a Bigfoot walking upon you, and can quite literally send you into a panic if you do not keep your cool.

Once while on an expedition, the MABRC Researchers were enroute to a secluded area when they come upon a muddied creek that the depth couldn’t be determined.  As the researchers stood at the crossing debating whether to attempt to cross or not, a ruckus across the creek began sounding off, sounding like a herd of elephants were coming down the ridgeline at the researchers.  Startled to say the least, taking a thermal and pointing it across the creek at the ridge, it showed that nearly a dozen armadillos were going across the area with their snouts foraging for food.

This happens to a lot of researchers, with a lot of newer and some older researchers thinking that Bigfoot is near and circling around them, but those who have taken the time to learn the sounds, and become better researchers because of it, will usually rule out the noises made by nature’s little tanks.