Research Area - Audio Project Update

A few weeks ago I posted a video about a new spot I have established to leave gifts and monitor with my long duration recorder. This location is within the same general research area I've been working on for well over a year now. This will be the third time I have moved the recorder and gifting spot. At first I was concerned that moving my location every few months might cause a sense of distrust or heavy caution toward me from the family I am interacting with. However, so far this seems to NOT be the case. All three locations have been within a one mile radius of each other. The first two locations proved to be very effective in obtaining audio along with my gifts being taken, however in this third area things still remains to be seen.

Saturday (12/31/16) I visited the area and retrieved fourteen nights of audio that I am now reviewing. The honey bun I previously left was gone and the toy horse appeared to be untouched. Of course the food could have been taken by raccoons, opossums or even coyotes. I suspect most food that I do leave is taken by the common forest critter looking for a snack. Even though this may be true, I have to stick to consistency and routine. While most food may be taken by animals I highly suspect some of it is being taken by the bigfoot. By leaving food over and over I become predictable which is exactly my goal. The more predictable I become, the more trustworthy I become. Of course being predictable puts me at the "tactical" disadvantage, but so be it. This is their home, their forest...their world. I have learned things are done on their terms, not mine.

On this trip I left two cherry pies and a handful of trail mix. I also left an apple in a small tree nearby. I didn't touch the toy horse. We will see if it is eventually taken. I took a small bite out of one of the pies as a means to show they are safe to eat...not to mention I was hungry.
Fourteen 12 hour nights of audio were obtained that I am currently reviewing. On the second night of recording I picked up a pretty amazing coyote pack communicating with each other. Towards the middle of the recording you'll hear one particular coyote very close to the research area. I'm pretty sure I've seen this guy on one of my many night visits. Take a listen...

 

Coyote Audio

 

Foosteps In The Forest

While most of us lie contently asleep in our beds, in the dark there remains an extremely active world within our forest and national parks each night. The chilling screams of a barred owl as it proclaims its territory to others. The lonesome coyotes howl as he reveals his location to other members of the pack.  The haunting sound of a creaking tree as it sways in the mountain wind. These sounds and so many more like them go unheard by most human ears each night. 

Then there's the occasional curious bipedal (two legs) individual that walks right up to my recorder for a late night inspection. As much as I truly love the sounds of nature at night, instances like this are what I'm after. A virtual needle within hours and hours of an audio "haystack".  

This approach was obtained by my recorder earlier this year. At the time, it was in a different location than where it is  now...about a half mile away. I had great success at this location recording what I believe to be sasquatch yells, wood knocks and walking. 

Although it is very hard to say exactly what this is walking up without actually seeing it, I lean strongly toward it possibly being a sasquatch for several reasons. 

1. Location...extremely remote/off trail  area of the national park. Strongly supports it not being human. 
2. Time of day... this happened around 2am. Again, strongly supports not being human. 
3. The heaviness of the steps. You can actually hear limbs/twigs snapping underfoot. 
4. Sounds like two legs walking. 
5. This is a very typical behavior of a sasquatch given their curiosity of something "different" in their territory. 

Take a listen...

https://soundcloud.com/user-20625344/walk-up

Back to the Smoky Mountains we go...

The year of 2016 has been quite an experience and full of discoveries for me with my research.
It's been a little over a year since my last blog post and I have to say I've really missed sharing my research in this way. Where have I been? Well, let me just give you an update...

Most of my spare time is spent in the mountains putting out recorders in remote areas. At the same time, by leaving gifts/food, I am trying to establish a trust relationship with what I believe to be a family of sasquatch. I spend countless hours reviewing audio... listening for wood knocks, footsteps or whoops and howls...anything to alert me to the possible presence of a sasquatch.

I no longer walk through the woods with a video camera aimed every which way, however I do use my phone to make short informative videos or take pictures to document research. I have a recorder that is timed to come on only at night and records about 22 nights worth of audio. Once I download this audio it is reviewed with software that allows me to move through it quite quickly.

Like I said, it's been a very eventful year so there is much to catch up on. Unfortunately that can't be done in a single blog post, so keep an eye out for future post.
I'm looking forward to sharing many things I have discovered and as usual, I welcome your feedback.