very strange happening last night

reply to post by studythem1


Well said, it is difficult for people in high tension moments to use anything but their base primal emotions consistently.

reply to post by TheLieWeLive


If I read the OP correctly, he didnt say it was trash cans but this thing was banging into a truck with a lift kit on it and possibly also a car.

So far what I can understand about the encounter is:
1. Its movements were lumbering in nature with possible heavy foot falls.
2. Possibly due to its lumbering causing it to bump into multiple vehicles inc. a pickup truck with a lift kit.
3. Due to the truck possibly having anywheres from 12"-24" clearance from the ground would mean the creature in question is at least that tall from the ground to the top of its back, if not taller.
4. Not very fast during pursuit due to the fact that neither the OP or the little girl isnt in its belly now, so that eliminates any large cats.
5. Lizardy type hiss, sounding somewhat like a ghoul hiss from FO3
6. Appears to be highly aggressive, due to the op stating it started to chase him without any provocation.

In my opinion, as one other poster suggested, the one KNOWN animal that fits all the above criteria would be a large monitor type lizard..ie. nile monitor or even a komodo dragon (even tho those seem highly unlikely).

The bath salts or ignorant pranking teens cant be ruled out either.
1. people gets crazy on bath salts, and would account for all above listed items.
2. Same goes for a pranking teen, who would make as much noise as possible for maximum fear effect.

S+F

Originally posted by Shaade
reply to post by TheLieWeLive

 

If I read the OP correctly, he didnt say it was trash cans but this thing was banging into a truck with a lift kit on it and possibly also a car.

So far what I can understand about the encounter is:
1. Its movements were lumbering in nature with possible heavy foot falls.
2. Possibly due to its lumbering causing it to bump into multiple vehicles inc. a pickup truck with a lift kit.
3. Due to the truck possibly having anywheres from 12"-24" clearance from the ground would mean the creature in question is at least that tall from the ground to the top of its back, if not taller.
4. Not very fast during pursuit due to the fact that neither the OP or the little girl isnt in its belly now, so that eliminates any large cats.
5. Lizardy type hiss, sounding somewhat like a ghoul hiss from FO3
6. Appears to be highly aggressive, due to the op stating it started to chase him without any provocation.

In my opinion, as one other poster suggested, the one KNOWN animal that fits all the above criteria would be a large monitor type lizard..ie. nile monitor or even a komodo dragon (even tho those seem highly unlikely).

S+F

But I don't think reptiles are that aggressive or active.

I'm thinking raccoon or bobcat, possibly with cubs to protect, or maybe rabid. Both are tough mofo's, and are much less afraid of people than other animals commonly encountered. Lumbering doesn't sound like a cat though, so I'd say raccoon.

reply to post by mbkennel


"But I don't think reptiles are that aggressive or active.

I'm thinking raccoon or bobcat, possibly with cubs to protect, or maybe rabid. Both are tough mofo's, and are much less afraid of people than other animals commonly encountered. Lumbering doesn't sound like a cat though, so I'd say raccoon."

the large breeds of monitors can be quite aggressive especially if its hungry.

I found this hiss of a komodo for the OP to take into consideration.


and this one is the coons sound


most likely the OP wouldnt have heard the foot falls of a bobcat or any other big cat for that matter. I lived most of my life in the hills of E. Kentucky and have had encounters with mountain lions and panthers and trust me, they move very quietly.
Ive owned a coon and can tell you they arent heavy enough to make heavy foot falls nor are they tall enough to bang into 4x4s
I do agree they are both pretty tough and i know the coons arent that afraid of humans but they most likely will not chase after you as the OP described, unless it was rabit or something. now they will attack if they feel cornered or trapped. Plus a coon will not only hiss when its scared but will also bark at you as a warning.

Now maybe a bear of some type with cubs is remotely possible, as the mama bear would be super protective and would also account for the banging into the cars like OP described.

reply to post by Shaade


A bear is a very logical choice, however it doesn't explain the cry unless of course it came from another animal. As most of us are aware there have been increased sightings of large cats lately which also implies that they must have had a reason to be less selective of where they reside. However we can probably deduce with animals having a stronger and more active sense of the times then us, it could have very well been a bear protecting her cubs from an actual animal that was a threat and the OP just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

reply to post by studythem1


Or maybe the little girl's parents didn't believe her...that is a distinct possibility. And it would definitely be "creeper-ish" as someone remarked, if you asked the child without her parents present, so you are doing the right thing there.

I don't find it unusual at all to have neighbors and never talk to them. I live in an apartment building which houses three other families, and we never speak to each other; not out of rudeness or being "hermits" but simply respecting privacy boundaries. It is not a requirement to be friends with one's neighbors just because they live close by.

I personally find it odd that any parents would allow their child to be outside, alone, that late at night. Perhaps she ran and told her parents what she saw or heard and they dismissed it as being her imagination. Maybe she got scolded for being outside and they simply refused to investigate. I know my mother would have done exactly that. Lots of variables here...until we know what she saw or until you see it yourself, anything is possible.

I think I know what your beastie is (or at least I have a hypothesis that's consistent with the facts as reported and is quite high-probability).

I think you may be dealing with an old, large, possibly rabid possum.

On occasion they can get QUITE aggressive and ornery and the behavior you describe would be quite in line with one running over and/or under cars, as well as making it a thing that's not particularly easy to see. They also hiss like a supersized harley-cat.

If my scenario is correct, then running away was extraordinarily prudent on your part and the little girl's.

reply to post by eyezenmaitreya

now thats a good possiblity too. Im sure most of us has at least once found ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that wouldnt fit too real well with the OP stating that it was chasing him.

reply to post by tigertatzen


Very accurate and astute observations, however in retrospect to the OP's question the girl is essentially irrelevant. Though to coincide with your perceptions when the girl reveals from her viewpoint depending on how unlikely the claim is she may be downplayed and viewed as being disoriented by trauma or just not seeing clearly because it was so early. Regardless, the only point the girl serves is proximity of her to the conflict, even though i find it more likely that she mostly went unnoticed or was ignored by the animal(s) during the altercation.

reply to post by Shaade


I believe the OP stated he heard it lumbering towards him. That doesn't necessarily mean it was chasing him, with the adrenaline rush its entirely plausible he THOUGHT it was chasing him. It could also have just wanted to scare him away from the source as well.

reply to post by Stunspot


A possum is a possiblity as well even tho they are smaller than a coon, they are definately a powder keg.
Im not sure if these are around where the OP lives or not but this is another possible canidate to add.

reply to post by TheOneElectric


That little girl would not have made it into her house if it had been a big cat. And the OP likely would not have made it to the store. Large predator cats will first close the distance between them and their prey. Then they will leap into the air and take it down to the ground. They also do this silently. By the time their prey realizes what is happening, it is far too late.

There would have been no hissing, no growling, no banging into cars. It would have been quick and surgically precise.

I will, however, say that I have personally heard a dalmation make one of the scariest sounds I have ever heard in my life. Right up on a par with the video game growl/hiss/snarl. If I had not been with other people at the time I would have questioned my own sanity at that point...I never would have believed a sound like that could have come from a domestic dog. It gave me chills all over my body. Having said that, no dalmation would have been able to follow that closely behind an adult fleeing for their life on a bicycle, and I am having a hard time imagining any animal large enough to bang into cars and trash cans etc., and still keep the forward momentum going to chase that closely behind a guy on a bike.

Originally posted by eyezenmaitreya
reply to post by Shaade

 

I believe the OP stated he heard it lumbering towards him. That doesn't necessarily mean it was chasing him, with the adrenaline rush its entirely plausible he THOUGHT it was chasing him. It could also have just wanted to scare him away from the source as well.

edit on 25-9-2012 by eyezenmaitreya because: typo

I stand corrected, thank you. I know ive been in situations where an unknown sound had not only my nerves but my preservation instincts riled up.

reply to post by Shaade


Np, I do find it very useful to always double check the source material though.

reply to post by Shaade


I find it helps more to consider all available evidence in a discussion, though i must admit it is very easy to miss something.

reply to post by eyezenmaitreya


Do you think that the OP was the actual target then and the little girl saw the creature, recognized it was something dangerous and scary and then ran?

Given the choice between a small child and an adult, a "normal" predator would likely pick the smaller (thus weaker) target. Perhaps it was the little girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or maybe it was stalking the little girl and the OP interrupted it, so it decided to chase him instead. Still makes no sense why this child was outside alone after 9pm, but I would say that in that scenario the OP likely saved the girl's life...if indeed this thing was stalking her with the intention of killing her. Curiouser and curiouser...

reply to post by eyezenmaitreya


I try to as well but like you said its easy to miss a small detail.

2nd line

reply to post by tigertatzen


I think its a highly plausible claim to be sure, as for the creature i am more inclined to believe it wasn't necessarily just one.

reply to post by tigertatzen


I agree with what you said about the parents thinking the little girl was making things up and about the fact that if it were a large cat they wouldnt even know it was there until it was too late. But if I read the OP right, the girl was the one to make first contact with it and the OP was a secondary target after the little girl made it inside the house.

reply to post by tigertatzen


To be more precise, I think with wilderness areas becoming more and more limited and animals we don't rarely see are coming more into the open. That the OP was heading out and near him happened to be a bear and her cubs, however when he ventured towards them she felt threatened and she chased him off all the while probably not caring to much about his safety,but while she was rushing towards him she knocked over a garbage can and whether or not an animal like a raccoon or a possum was in it they could have been nearby and it startled them causing them to fear for their (as in maybe a family?) safety as well.