Wildlife experts, I need your opinion. What could this be? A coyote?

[Disney1fan2002]

The weather has been so nice here, I have my bedroom wondows open at night. My bedroom faces the front. Across the street, the houses back up to some woods, but they don't go very deep, because there is a road that runs parallel to ours. So, there would be other yards back up to the same woods.

Two nights ago, my alarm went off at 3:30am. I set it so I can get back in bed and rest for about 15 minutes. While I was laying there, I heard a howling coming from behind the house across the street. It yowled pretty loud, then I heard what sounded like a kennel of dogs yapping. My DH woke up and was like WTH???? It was really loud. I lasted about 2 minutes, and then, just like that...complete silence.

Last night, I didn't have to work this morning, so I did not have the alarm set. But I was woken up by the same noise. Howling by one animal, and then yapping by what seems like 100 little dogs. DH woke up again, and we are perplexed. It stopped just as quickly as the night before. It all happend around the same time. between 3-4am. I know the street that runs parallel to our does not have a dog kennel on it.

My only guess is maybe it is a coyote with a litter of pups??? Why all the yowling and yapping?

Any wildlife people out there that can give me an idea of what I am listening to?

 

[Buckalew11]

I don't know. We had coyotes in the woods behind our old house and they sounded like screaming women. It was blood curdling. Sounded like a lady was being murdered. Maybe babies sound more like howling? Maybe someone will know.

 

[java]

Wolves?

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Probably coyotes. We have woods all around us and see EVERYTHING, and I have heard what you describe.
Buckalew, are you sure you weren't hearing a fisher? They have unbelievable bloodcurdling screeches. They are very elusive, and vicious.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

No, I don't think we have wolves in this area. But I did look up a coyotes howl and found this:

A Coyote's Howl
When one hears a family of coyotes howling, it is easy to get the impression that the area is overflowing with coyotes. In reality, there are usually just 2-6 coyotes, including the pups. Howling is the main way for coyotes to communicate with others. While some people find it unnerving, this howl serves many purposes, none of which are malicious:

1.Coyotes are telling non-family members to stay out of their territory.
2.Family members howl as a means to locate each other within their territory.
3.Pups practice howling and can be very vocal in late summer as they attempt to mimic their parents.
4.When there is a potential threat towards the pups, the older coyotes will scatter throughout the area and howl in order to distract the threat away from the den site.
Counting coyotes by listening to their howls can be quite difficult, even to a trained ear. Usually it takes a trained researcher, familiar with the vocalizations of the pack, to differentiate the howls of individuals; two coyotes howling with their pups can often sound like many more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bolding is mine, and this seems to be what I am listening to.

 

[Tinkmom75]

You are describing what we hear sometimes and I am almost certain it is coyotes. Try this link
http://www.soundboard.com/sb/wild_coyote_sounds.aspx

 

[kirbydog48]

Yes, it sounds like coyotes. I live in metrowest, we get them all the time. If you have small animals or children, don't leave them out unsupervised. The yipping isn't necessarily pups, could just be the pack communicating or getting playful. The bloodcurdling scream mentioned by another poster was probably dinner being caught. We hear it often in the summer. They're all over Massachusetts now, even Boston. Scientists have checked their DNA and have found that they have crossbred with wolves (that's why ours are bigger than those out west).

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Could be owls. The barred owl sounds like a bunch of yapping dogs or monkey's and they are LOUD!

And wolves do not yap only howl.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

You are describing what we hear sometimes and I am almost certain it is coyotes. Try this link
http://www.soundboard.com/sb/wild_coyote_sounds.aspx

#4 is exactly what we are listening to.

Now, how do we figure how close they are? It sounds like they are in my neighbor's across the street backyard. (in their woods).

 

[Tinkmom75]

Coyotes are very sneaky. If you have outdoor cats keep them inside especially at night. We lost our two cats the summer we heard those sounds. They will probably move on after a while. I was paranoid for our small dog. If you are out at night make lots of noise and keep lights on. Coyotes scare me! We also noticed we didn't have rabbits in the neighborhood like before. I think they were eating the rabbits and cats in the area.

 

[*BTMRR*]

I think usually they do sound closer than they actually are--but sometimes they really are that close.
My friend left her dog outside on a leash just outside the front door for a few minutes one evening. She heard a noise and came right back outside, and saw a coyote right there at the front porch, trying to drag the dog away. They can be pretty brazen. That dog does not go outside alone anymore, even for a couple of minutes.

 

[AlleyKat]

I don't know. We had coyotes in the woods behind our old house and they sounded like screaming women. It was blood curdling. Sounded like a lady was being murdered. Maybe babies sound more like howling? Maybe someone will know.

That's a fox either calling for a mate or declaring territory.

Google animal sounds, you'll come across it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

#4 is exactly what we are listening to.

Now, how do we figure how close they are? It sounds like they are in my neighbor's across the street backyard. (in their woods).

Here is a sight to listen to the barred owls. They sound just like coyotes, so don't rule them out just yet. Esp. if you said you were listening to #4 on the soundboard link.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/barred_owl.htm


As a sidenote my dogs are enjoying the sounds of the coyotes.

 

[java]

By the way the scariest sound I have ever heard was when we were staying in a bed and breakfast in Upstate ny- and heard what sounded like a woman getting murdered.- Screaming that lasted for about 30 minutes. We were terrified and didn't want to go down at breakfast time thinking the "matron" was a mass murderer.
Turns out it was Deer- mating!

 

[Heidict]

Sounds like it could be coyotes. I grew up out west and used to listen to them as I drifted off to sleep at night.

I don't know. We had coyotes in the woods behind our old house and they sounded like screaming women. It was blood curdling. Sounded like a lady was being murdered. Maybe babies sound more like howling? Maybe someone will know.

Could have been a mountain lion also. They sound like a women being killed. It just makes your blood run cold and the hair on your arms stand up. Or it could have been a bunny getting killed. They sound horrible also and if it's not a quick kill I have to go into the house. I can't stand listening to it.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I saw a piece on television where they are successfully keeping unwanted coyotes away from vulnerable small livestock by playing loud recordings of Coyote howls in the evenings. They seem to take the unfamiliar coyotes howls as other, possibly hostile, Coyotes staking out their territory.

And, yes if you hear the sounds of Coyotes (or maybe even very large owls) you might want to keep small pets inside at night!

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Here is a sight to listen to the barred owls.
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/barred_owl.htm

I couldn't get the sounds to play, but my God, what a beautiful animal! Absolutely stunning.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Just listened to the barred owl and we definitely have those in our woods. They sound like monkeys!!!!!
Nothing is as distinctive as the Great Horned Owl though.