Phantoms and Monsters

ALN - Strange sounds this spring in the forest at Sunchild Reserve have some local residents baffled and a bit afraid.

So far, the legendary Big Foot has been ruled out — this time.

A recording of howls, whoops and screeching from the woods near Baptiste River, allegedly from Sunchild, has been making the rounds on the via cellphone and Facebook.

Carol Kelly, executive director at Medicine River Wildlife Centre, said there are some weird springtime noises made by owls.

“Owls make the most amazing noises and there’s so many different species of owls out there,” Kelly said.

“The babies are talking back and forth to one another. There are breeding calls. There’s communication as they are raising the babies. There’s all kinds of stuff.”

Sunchild resident Paul Bigchild Sr., 58, said he has definitely heard strange sounds, about three times this spring late at night from the woods across the river near his home.

He just wants to know if it’s animal, bird, human or other.

Bigchild has heard the recording and doesn’t know what to make of the three distinct sounds, which are accompanied by dogs barking.

“I’ve never heard anything like that before. It sounded like a man and someone said it sounded like a wolf,” Bigchild said about long, mournful howls in the recording.

The chilling squawks may be some sort of bird, but why would there be such a fuss in the dark of night, said Bigchild before walking along the river. Mist obscured the depth of the forest as rain fell from gloomy, grey skies.

Bigchild wants to keep an open mind.

He’s heard elders speak of the spirits in the forest. He recalled the glimpse of a strange figure running along the river. People in the area claim to have found footprints from Big Foot.

“If you see something out there, people won’t believe it. They’ll never believe you,” said Bigchild, who has lived on the reserve all his life, except when he left for school.

According to the Canadian Sasquatch Research Organization, the audio recording doesn’t help their cause.

Shaun Johnson, director of operations, said CSRO members say the recording is suspicious and considered a fake.

“I don’t lend credibility to this tape,” said Johnson, of Calgary.

It could easily be constructed from previous reported recordings readily available on the Internet, some dating back to the 1970s.

He said 95 per cent of reported recordings are a hoax.

“It’s just the wingnut factor that comes with this kind of stuff. However, there is a very small percentage that are absolutely credible and unexplainable from very credible people.”

Johnson said the wilderness area at Sunchild is a likely location for Sasquatch to travel with minimal human activity and the long history of mysterious occurrences along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.

“I personally think it’s more absurd to believe that all this anecdotal evidence is being made by humans than by an actual endangered species, especially some of the footprint evidence that is quite detailed,” Johnson said.

For more information about the research organization, which is dedicated to prove the existence of Sasquatch or Big Foot, go to www.csro.ca

Former Sunchild resident Wilford Butterfly, 56, has been curious for years.

As a teenager, Butterfly said he saw footprints along the Baptiste River that were easily twice the size of a man’s.

“When you’re out in the bush you hear all kinds of noises and you don’t think anything of it,” said Butterfly.

“I’m absolutely a believer in old Big Foot or whatever he is.”

Thanks to Billy Green for the heads up!

NOTE: well, I've that howl before...and I'm positive it wasn't an owl. What do you think? Lon

Strange Sounds Baffle Residents in Sunchild Reserve, Alberta

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