BFRO #20235: Possible vocalizations heard near Snow Bowl on San Francisco Peaks

📍 Location

📝 Description

On a cloudy, cool day I went for a hike at Hart Prairie on the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff, AZ. It was August, but the monsoon season was in full effect and it was a cool day for Arizona. I hiked up slope from FR 151 towards the Snowbowl Ski Resort. The area has springs and so the plant diversity is high and the wildflowers were at their peak. Being a cloudy, cool day I kept an eye out for wildlife which would normaly bed down at midday in August, though I did not see anything other than various songbirds and raptors. I had been in the area maybe two hours but as I like to wander around slowly (I see more that way) rather than "hike" from point A to point B at a quick pace, I had not covered much ground in that time. I was at the edge of an aspen grove when I heard a loud howling from up slope and a little to the east of me in the direction of the ski resort. My first thought was that it was a foreign tourist goofing off.Because Snowbowl has a paved road to it and the views are awesome, tourists from all over the world on their way to the Grand Canyon stop at Snowbowl and many hike around as it is a beautiful and inviting area. So I thought I was hearing a human. But I wasn't so sure after the next howl- I was really puzzled. The sound seemed somewhat human-like and the volume, though quite loud, wasn't too extraordinary- I could possibly howl that loud, though it would be hard to do without real strain and the sounds I heard were almost casual- no hint of any strain. But it seemed to be an unusually weird sound for a human to make. Almost as if the human had a deformation of some kind which distorted the sound. This was why I thought of a "foreign" tourist first, because of the weirdness of the sound. I heard about a half dozen calls and it was clear that whatever was making the sounds was coming in my general direction at a rapid pace. By this time, I was sure it was not a human but a large animal.I was at the edge of a clearing and I waited at that spot expecting to see whatever was making the calls. The first howl was maybe 250 meters away and the final one maybe 75-100 meters away. Then it stopped and I never did see anything. I did not hear it moving through the woods and did not notice any smells. It is possible that whatever it was smelled me as the air was gently moving up slope towards the animal. I think it probable that this was the reason whatever it was stopped moving towards me and vocalizing.I waited a minute or so after the final vocalization and then I went up slope in the general direction I had last heard it but did not see anything or any indication of a human or animal. My curiosity was at a peak and so I made a real effort to find whatever it was and spent another hour circling the area looking for signs of a large animal passing through. I have listened to the recordings on this site and I did not make a match between the sounds- though there were some similarities between what I heard and the calls from Washington State and the 'Ohio Howls'. What I heard was not nearly as drawn out and evenly toned as the Ohio recording, but was similar. A deep to mid-range 'howl' with a little variation in the tone somewhat similar to the Snohomish recording. Each call lasted maybe 3-4 seconds and was seperated by various lengths of time from maybe 5 seconds to maybe 15 seconds. Some of the recordings on this site, if I heard in the field, I might describe as having a 'monkey' quality to them- distinctly animal-like. The Ohio recording does not really have that quality and neither did the sounds that I heard. At the time I only thought of a human at first and then I was merely puzzled and could not classify what I had heard.I have thought about this incident since it occurred trying to put some explanation to it. I do not think it was a human for a couple of reasons: The sound, though it had a somewhat human-like quality, was not at all the type of sound a human would (or perhaps, could) make to communicate to another- say two or more people in the woods who are separated and walking along and vocally maintaining contact with one another. The volume of the sound would have required real effort for a human to achieve and I couldn't imagine a human being able to howl like that and walk around a mountain at that elevation at the same time- and it was traveling fast. Nor did it have any element of humor about it if it was just some high spirited tourist having fun. And there was only one caller, not two or more people hootin and hollering to each other. The call was somewhat somber in tone and there was no hint of excitement or emotion about it. Also, a human walking through those woods would have made a great deal of noise and I would have heard or seen a human when I went looking after the last vocalization. I did not see any humans during that day though I went right to the base of the ski resort and could see the parking lot.At the time, the sounds did not spook me and I never got that

🔍 Circumstances

no others

🌤️ Weather Conditions

midday, cloudy and cool with little wind.

ℹ️ Additional Details

midday, cloudy and cool with little wind.

🔗 Sources (1)

👥 Community Contributions

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