Seriously frightening. . . heard a "scream" from my barn

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Flying minis

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So my hubby left today for a transport trip. . . my son and I are in the house about 9:00 pm, I'm on the main floor, he's in his room one floor above me. No TV or radio on. Suddenly I hear the most blood-curdling scream - I thought someone had been attacked by a wild animal. . . seriously, like a high pitched woman's scream and a deep growl, coming from my BARN! LOUD, especially considering I was in a totally closed up house. All 3 dogs went nuts, barking and crying. Yelled up to Rob - he heard the same thing. Got guns loaded, and got in the car, drove around the whole house and barn, then went in the barn. All minis fine. Went out to pasture, all big horses fine.

About 2 months ago there were reports of a cougar near us (very unusual for our area), so since then I make sure my minis are in before dark every day, and they don't go out until about 10 am. But we'd heard the cougar had been killed. We started searching the net for recordings of cougars - didn't find one that matched - but found a recording of a bobcat that was EXACTLY what we heard.

While we were searching the net, heard it again, but from a lot farther away - only 1 dog went off. Called my hubby, he said the border collie has been going off at night for about the last week - but she won't leave the porch or cries to get in. And 2 days ago I saw something dark run across the top fence line, I remember thinking it was a cat, but then later realized it had to be much bigger than a cat for me to see it along the fence line.

Anyway, long story short, tomorrow my hubby is calling some friends that track and hunt, to see if they can figure out what was out here. Sure glad I keep my minis in now, I always thought of this as a pretty safe area as far as wild animals, but since getting the minis I worry about the coyotes so always put them in at night, and since the cougar scare, always before dark. Glad I do, or I have a feeling I'd have lost one tonight.
 
Hope your hubby and his buddies have some good tracking skills or maybe some good tracking dogs so they can find the critter and get rid of it.That has got to be scarey.Glad your critters are safely tucked in.I'm lucky where I live-no big cats,no wolves,only 1 coyote in the last 50 years,no bears, no other predators and no poisonous snakes.I feel very safe with my Minis out all the time.Hope you get the creature.Let us know.
 
Our dog kept running in and out of pasture parking, so my husband went to look thought maybe the

minis might be in trouble.

We had 2 coyotes right outside our pasture near the creek, they where getting water.

Another night having the mares on camera herd the coyotes right outside the barn.

Looked and there where our mares circling in the barn in a panic.

Hubby ran out and seen one go down the road..

The next day called around and had some guys do some tracking, herd weeks later they

had killed 3 in the next concession.

Yes, can be scary with minis I must tell you.
 
I don't know if you have local foxes or not, but around our place they are screaming like crazy at night for the last couple of weeks. Sounds like heck and takes you off guard. Not sure if it is breeding time of year for them, but they are out there every night and it sets off my dogs in the house. First time I heard it, made my hair stand on end. Hope for your sake it isn't a bobcat. Hope you find what ever it is!!! Very scary.
 
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I don't know if you have local foxes or not, but around our place they are screaming like crazy at night for the last couple of weeks. Sounds like heck and takes you off guard. Not sure if it is breeding time of year for them, but they are out there every night and it sets off my dogs in the house. First time I heard it, made my hair stand on end. Hope for your sake it isn't a bobcat. Hope you find what ever it is!!! Very scary.

We do have foxes so that could have been it too. The weird thing is that in 10 1/2 years living here, I've never heard this before. . . that's why it freaked us out so badly last night!
 
Raccoons can scream nasty too, can sound like a person at times...hope that's all it is.
 
A fox scream doesn't sound anything like a human scream--we've heard foxes screaming many times and if anything I would describe them more as a loud, hoarse cat. I wouldn't be too concerned if I knew it was a bobcat--I have no worries about a bobcat (we have them here though I've never seen one & haven't heard of any sightings nearby since before we moved here) trying to take down a Mini. A cougar though--cougars worry me. We've had one hanging around the past two summers but it has only taken cats, it hasn't bothered the horses. I do fear that could change any time though. This year when the cat was coming around our horses did start to get spooked--they got very jumpy over anything that moved and were spooking from the dogs and our pet cats, which is totally unusual for our horses. That is actually how we figured out that the critter stealing our cats was a cougar & not a coyote--and just two days after we realized that a cougar was sighted in a yard about a mile from here.

In 1991 we had a cougar in the area; it was hunting horses--it attacked a QH closer to town and killed 2 or 3 full size horse foals at a farm just west of here--we only had Morgans then and they were complete basket cases that summer. We couldn't do anything with them--certainly there was no point trying to ride them out anywhere because any little sound or movement and they would bolt in a nearly blind panic. I'm quite sure that there were many nights when the cat was here eyeing them as dinner, but they were too wary to be caught out in the dark pasture. They would stay in near the yard light all night--they knew how to make themselves difficult as prey!!
 
After I read your post the first thing I thought of was red fox. I have families of red fox living in the woods behind me and they come into the pasture with the horses. They have even chewed the mini's toys and carried off small traffic cones and other things through the square hog wire fence I have that surrounds the property. Some nights I have heard one scream and on other nights I have heard several screaming together, in the same pitch. When I first heard it, it really scared the crap out of me because I didn't have a clue what it was until I told someone I had fox around the house. They said it was probably the fox. It was very loud and eery sounding and it echoed through the woods which made it that much worse!
 
Found the tracks - DNR says Cougar. Minis are all staying in the barn for the time being. They will be trying to track, and notified all the neighbors to be on the lookout, to see if they can find it. That means there've been two around here in the last few months, because one was killed only 30 miles away about 2 weeks ago. There'd been reports of one near us, and we thought that was the one that was killed, but apparently there are two. Makes me nervous to go out at night. Dogs aren't going out at all ater dark either.
 
Personally a cougar sighting would have me very upset. I have a friend who has cattle and miniature horses and just this weekend she told me they had lost a few calves to a black panther that had been seen in their area. They have put donkeys on their place to protect against predators. We use anatolian shepherds. But of course that requires fencing that will keep the dogs on your property. We have lots of foxes around here but they know that they don't want any part of our fenced area because they are smart and know that the dogs will attack them. I don't think foxes would attack any livestock. They go after easy catch like chickens. A scream would indicate a cougar/panther and I hope the hunters are successful in getting rid of the one that is coming around your place. I remember when I was little my grandparents talking about them sounding like a woman screaming. If I heard a noice like that while I am out in the dark I probably would totally freak out. These pesky foxes around here make a lot of noise. But like mentioned they sound like a loud hoarse cat. They answer back and forth to each other. They sound like a cat trying to bark like a dog and on still nights like tonight it just seems to echo. I hear them so much I don't even pay them any attention. One got whooped up on by a couple of kitty cats for coming around stealing scraps. I have to yell at him to go away and he usually just goes under the fence and will sit down right in front of me and just stare at me. They run rampant on the ten acre field south of us and make a lot of noise in the woods east of us. I know that I should shoot the one that I keep having to shew away from our back door, but he is just so pretty and I know he is hungry. Anyway, one of my shoes that was right outside the door got stolen this weekend. I know that dang fox did it. I had put some foot cream on that had coconut oil in it and been wearing the shoes and I guess the smell made him think he found a treat.
 
We live in cougar country here 30 miles east of Vancouver Canada. Every night at dusk our horses go in the barn and come out again at dawn. That is a normal thing to do to protect them. I think trying to shoot the cougar for no reason is a crime!!

Take care of your animals according to your surroundings!!!
 
We live in cougar country here 30 miles east of Vancouver Canada. Every night at dusk our horses go in the barn and come out again at dawn. That is a normal thing to do to protect them. I think trying to shoot the cougar for no reason is a crime!!

Take care of your animals according to your surroundings!!!

If I lived where you do, in Cougar country, I would plan my animal husbandry practices accordingly. The thing is, I DON'T live in Cougar country. I live in a farm / ranch area, where livestock is abundant,and there have only been 2 Cougar sightings in the entire time I've lived in the area - which is 35 years. While Cougars are beautiful animals, the protection of livestock out here is still paramount. Whether it's an errant Cougar, or coyotes, or a pack of dogs, in my area, if it's killing livestock or threatening stock, it's likely to be killed. The fact is, that this is not, and never has been, a native area for Cougars. Now, one has shown up, and I'm accused of not properly taking care of my animals? I think you've made a pretty big assumption about what it's like where I live, and how I care for my animals to even try to make that statement. I don't appreciate the implication that I'm some "wet behind the ears" neophyte, who has no idea how to properly care for animals.

I DO take care of my horses according to my surroundings, but here, where horses are still USED for working livestock, they live like livestock - they are out in the fields and pastures 24/7, as are cattle, and sheep. I take offense at the assumption that I don't care for my animals appropriately, just because a Cougar strayed from his normal range and showed up in my area. And believe me, it's not just about my horses. . . my neighbors who DO have cattle and sheep will also be tracking this Cougar. . . or do they also not appropriately care for their livestock?

But maybe I shouldn't kill the Cougar, maybe I should just let it be, and maybe it won't attack any people or kids who, around here, are used to it being safe for them to walk, run, ride bikes, and play outside until long after dark. . .

Edited because I calmed down a little following my original posting.
 
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Ok, and for an update, it was by my barn again last night, a little earlier in the evening. Found tracks in the snow Sunday - about 4 inches across. DNR (Department of Natural Resources) says there have been other sightings. They are taking calls on sightings now, and some local guys are tracking it. I'm keeping my minis in anytime I'm not home during the daylight, and of course, they're in before dark. Big horses are out in a large pasture, while they have a shelter, they can't come in at night, but according to DNR, it's much more likely that it will go after cattle or sheep, especially weaned calves, than horses - calves and sheep are much easier targets. But I figure minis would be a pretty quick and easy "snack", like a sheep, so I'm taking no chances with them. Dogs also aren't going out after dark, and neither am I, or my son! He used to go running every evening down our gravel road - he won't be doing that for a while. . .
 
Not to scare you, but here in one cat attack, the cougar bypassed a pen of calves & attacked a mature Arabian in another corral--the cat had apparently acquired a taste for horse meat & was going to go for what he liked as opposed to the easier prey (calves). Definitely the Minis would be the easiest equine prey. Be sure to keep your cats inside too--the cougar prowling around here the past two summers has taken a lot of cats from this subdivision, coming right into the yard & even up onto the deck to grab them.

Even knowing a cat is around, I still go out after dark--if I have chores to finish then I have no choice. I do still walk down the road after dark, but I carry a stick for protection--I figure that whacking the cat with a stick is better than nothing at all for protection and I've told the neighbors that if they hear me shrieking some night they need to grab a gun & come to my aid! Remember that if you do encounter a cat, do not turn away--face it down. Make yourself as large as possible--if you're wearing a jacket take it off & raise it over your head to make yourself seem taller. Yell aggressively--don't act timid & afraid. If you're attacked, fight with whatever means you have. People have survived cat attacks by fending the cat off with whatever weapon may be at hand--a stick, a rock, their fists. My personal favorite is my pitchfork--my 3 tined pitchfork. Sharp enough to be dangerous, tines spaced wide enough to be effective, and a handle to hold the critter away from me. I hope I will never need to use it!

I do hope they find your cat soon & dispose of it for you!
 
Not to scare you, but here in one cat attack, the cougar bypassed a pen of calves & attacked a mature Arabian in another corral--the cat had apparently acquired a taste for horse meat & was going to go for what he liked as opposed to the easier prey (calves). Definitely the Minis would be the easiest equine prey. Be sure to keep your cats inside too--the cougar prowling around here the past two summers has taken a lot of cats from this subdivision, coming right into the yard & even up onto the deck to grab them.

Even knowing a cat is around, I still go out after dark--if I have chores to finish then I have no choice. I do still walk down the road after dark, but I carry a stick for protection--I figure that whacking the cat with a stick is better than nothing at all for protection and I've told the neighbors that if they hear me shrieking some night they need to grab a gun & come to my aid! Remember that if you do encounter a cat, do not turn away--face it down. Make yourself as large as possible--if you're wearing a jacket take it off & raise it over your head to make yourself seem taller. Yell aggressively--don't act timid & afraid. If you're attacked, fight with whatever means you have. People have survived cat attacks by fending the cat off with whatever weapon may be at hand--a stick, a rock, their fists. My personal favorite is my pitchfork--my 3 tined pitchfork. Sharp enough to be dangerous, tines spaced wide enough to be effective, and a handle to hold the critter away from me. I hope I will never need to use it!

I do hope they find your cat soon & dispose of it for you!
Thanks Minimor, I'll keep all of that in mind. I can rearrange my barn to be able to get the biggies in, just will take me a day or two, but think I will - better to be safe. At least until I have heard that either it's been sighted a lot farther away, or hasn't been seen in some time (or is caught and disposed of).

I don't have cats, but our "outdoor" dog now stays in at night. Our indoor dogs only go out ocasionally in the afternoon to play. . . they're 4 and 8 pound chihuahuas, and we worry about hawks taking them! They're litter box trained so they don't have to go out, just go out once in a while to play.
 

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