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Geographical Index > United States > Arkansas > Pulaski County > Report # 39922
 
Report # 39922  (Class B)
Submitted by witness on Friday, February 22, 2013.
Bowhunter intimidated by loud vocalizations at dark on Camp Robinson National Guard training base

YEAR: 2010

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 30th ?

STATE: Arkansas

COUNTY: Pulaski County

LOCATION DETAILS: East of West Boundry Road between Clifton Mountain Rd and Demolition Road on Camp Robinson Military base.

NEAREST TOWN: North Little Rock, Ar.

NEAREST ROAD: West Boundry Road on Camp Robinson military base. Nearest highway is Intersate 40 approximately 3.5 miles

OBSERVED: In October 2010 I was bow hunting on Camp Robinson military compound in North Little Rock, AR on Approximately 23,000 acres. I was hunting between two mountain ridges in the bottom of the valley approximately 100 yards from a thick creek bottom. I started the afternoon hunt at 2:30 pm finding my way to a new stand set up. I hunted all afternoon seeing alot of good deer sign in the area. After what started to be a promising day in the deer woods. I did not see a deer all day and the sun starting going down behind the mountain ridge to my west. It was getting so dark out that I could no longer see thru my peep sight. So, I decided to start packing up my backpack and start my decent down the tree. By now, it was well after dark and without my headlamp I could not see 3 foot in front of me. As I started to make my way down the tree. I heard the most disturbing sound in the woods that I have ever heard in my life. It was a very, very, loud, deep toned, gravely, blood curdling Growl/yell which seemed to be approximately 150/200 yards away from me to my southeast. It sounded as if someone was trying to yell for help. I immediately froze to the side of the tree and tried to gather my thoughts on what it could be. I originally thought that it was a person in the woods trying to play a prank on me. Mainly, because I had seen a pickup truck drive down the distant ridge several hours earlier. Then I realized that it was too loud to be a human screaming in the woods. I remained frozen to the side of the tree for several more minutes and tried to gather my thoughts of what could have made that sound. I am 43 years old and have been an avid hunter every year in some capacity since I was 6 years old and I have never heard anything like this in my life. After several minutes I finally made my way to the base of the tree, packed my stand, grabbed my bow and started to walk out on the trail that I walked in on into the direction of the "sound". I had about a 50 yard SE walk towards the "sound" then 100 yards west to an old logging road then 300 yards north back to where my truck was parked beside a small pond. So, as i left the tree walking SE and arrived at the west trail. I got a very uneasy feeling like something was watching me. So, I stopped to listen. Its was then I heard the "sound" again. It appeared to be moving closer to my location and approximately 50 yards away. Needless to say, I did not stick around to see what it was, for all I had was a headlight, bow in hand and a gut knife on my hip. So, I immediately start sprinting toward my truck. I have NEVER been so scared in my entire life. I started my truck and got the hell out of there. On my drive out of Camp Robinson. I called several of my closest friends and my dad and told them of the encounter. I stayed up all night on the internet to research this sound that I heard in the woods that night. I listened to mountain lions, african lions, tigers, bears, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, wild boars, etc... and I could not find anything that would come close to what I heard. The very next day. I drove back to the same area at Camp Robinson where I heard the "sound". Again right at dark from the comfort of my pickup truck with a pistol in my hand. I heard the sound again further down the valley approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. I was a very distinct sound, very loud.... Since, these three occurrences. I have hunted at Camp Robinson on many more occasions and I have not heard this "sound" again. Still baffles me to this day of what I heard those two nights and I have still never heard anything like it.

OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses. I was hunting alone. I tried to get my brother in law to go with me the following night but he could not go because he had custody of his two girls for the weekend.

OTHER STORIES: no..... the only other stange issues are mountain lion sightings at Camp Robinson. To which, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, denies that there are mountain lions in the state of Arkansas.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: At twilight/dark. Cool temps in the lower 50's. clear day into night. very slight breeze.

ENVIRONMENT: Hardwood Creek bottom with Pine tickets. Creek bottom between two mountain ranges. I was along a small pine tree stand boarding a hardwood bottom. The creek was approximately 150 yards to the south of my stand location.


Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Tal H. Branco:

After reviewing and discussing the report of this incident with the witness several times by phone, the one detail that he was able expand on is a more detailed description of the sounds he heard during the initial incident and those he heard after returning to the site the next night at about the same time. He stated that all three of the sounds were basically the same, and each was a "very, very loud, deep toned and gravely, blood curdling growl/yell." During our discussion he stated that because of the volume and tone of the sound he is convinced it could not have been made by a human, although the sounds had some human-like qualities. He described the sound as a very loud growling and prolonged vocalization of "Heeeeeeey" ending with a short and sharp "P" sound. For that reason when he first heard it, he briefly thought someone may have been calling for help.

The sounds he described have also been heard and reported by dozens of others (including the writer) in various areas of the southeastern states.

The investigator believes the witness is a credible observer and was sincere in relating and describing what he heard those two nights.

The location at which the witness heard these sounds is about three miles east of Grassy Lake which is part of the Bell Slough WMA. See Report#29313.

The location is about five miles northeast of the point alongside I-40 at which a motorist reported seeing a gorilla-like figure at night in December of 2012. See: Report#40101.

The location is less than ten miles from the sighting in the residential area of the Jacksonville Air Force Base in Report#9507.

All these locations closely adjoin riparian wetlands, sloughs, bayous and swamps which are partially fed by drainage from
the large area inside the Camp Robinson Arkansas National Guard training area and associated state Wildlife Management Areas. The areas mentioned in these reports are a part of a larger area including portions of four adjacent counties that have generated numerous reports (most of which have never been published) of the sightings and sounds of enigmatic animals for many years.


About BFRO Investigator Tal H. Branco:

Tal Branco is a lifelong resident of AR. He began hunting, fishing and tracking many years ago in south AR. Since he was a teenager, his outdoor activities have been primarily conducted in the Ouachita Mountains, although during the past forty years he has also conducted field investigations of reports of enigmatic and unclassified animals in the southeastern U.S. and in the Amazon Basin of Brazil.