Prairie Riparian Mystery Sound
Mystery Sound. Recorded June 7, 2024, Buffalo Camp, American Prairie Preserve east of Zortman, Montana. © Lang Elliott. The most exciting section is near the end, from 3:35-4:00.
Note: The recording featured above is a "3D binaural soundscape". Please wear headphones for a profound listening experience that will make you think you're actually out there, immersed in the natural world!
I recorded this rather amazing vocalization made by an unknown animal (presumably a mammal) in the American Prairie Preserve in Montana. At dusk, I set my microphone near the edge of Second Creek, just south of the Buffalo Camp campground. This unusual sound event occurred not long after midnight.
This is really a rather outrageous vocalization. Especially notable is the way it rises in pitch initially, then gradually drops in pitch, sometimes with a drawn-out ending (there's a good example at around 4min).
So ... can anyone out there in the "Big Wide World" help me identify what animal is likely to have made these extraordinary sounds? These don't feel like alarm calls, such as those given during an aggressive encounter. But, if not alarm or concern, then what might their purpose be? Some kind of mating call? It would be wise, of course, to nail down the species before conjecturing about function.
NEWS FLASH (one hour after posting):
I just figured it out! I did a google search for Porcupine sounds and came up with a video featuring one doing this exact same vocalization (see below).
So there's no doubt about it: It's a PORCUPINE! What an expressive vocalization! But what does it mean? One attractive hypothesis (suggested by Liz in the comments below), is that these are the sounds of a youngster (a "porcupette") begging for food. This fits quite well with the Porcupine's life cycle.
Porcupines breed in the autumn. Gestation lasts about 7 months, with young being born in late spring and being nursed for another 3-4 months. So, the timing would be right for this being a youngster still dependent on parents, yet quite able to amble along on its own.
Note that there are plenty of rustling sounds in the recording. It’s possible there were two moving through, with only the one calling ... a porcupette following mama and repeatedly begging for food. I truly hope that is the right explanation because it makes for a really lovely story.
Naturally Yours,
Friends ... if you find that my feature articles have a positive impact on your life, please help support my effort by making a modest donation.
Donate Now
Comment Section
Dear Readers: Would you like to have your picture show up next to your comment, rather than an empty silhouette? Click here to learn how.
I don’t know but I am intrigued to learn more of mammalian vocalizations. I’m more up on the avian vocals at this point.
A baby beaver makes similar sounds to this as well i believe.
Yes, they do, and there is a striking similarity in quality, but I’ve never heard beaver young going up then down in pitch … their calls for the most part stay on one pitch and are composed of steadily repeated single notes that only vary in intensity. Maybe I’ll post my beaver recordings sometime soon, so that folks can compare them to the Porcupine sounds.
:
https://musicofnature.com/beaver-moanings/
https://musicofnature.com/busy-as-a-beaver/
It sure does make a lovely story! I will listen multiple times with a grin on my face.
Oh of course! I should have recognized the Chat, but just haven’t ever heard one singing at night! I love those birds! Big personality for such a little creature!
Hay Lang! I love the whining porcupette! Is that a Sage Thrasher serenading throughout the recording?
lynn leopold
That is a Yellow-breasted Chat, night-singer extraordinaire. Actually there are several singing, one very close and a fairly prominent one to the right, and another one or two off in the distance.
I’m glad you got an answer so fast that seems to be accurate, bc my first guess would’ve been an animal that was wounded and suffering! My cat’s ears certainly went back when she heard the sound.
I let my Merlin app run throughout the recording and it said it was a Wild Turkey. Doesn’t sound like any turkey I’ve ever heard and I see below that you ID’d it as a porcupine.
Oh, now that is really hilarious!
I was thinking mammal, but could not zero in until I read the comments. It takes me back to a similar situation when I heard an unrelenting, loud, insistent cry coming from underneath a dock. My condo is on a canal that connects to Canandaigua Lake. I was convinced that it was a gull caught in fishing line, but first I had an appointment that could not be missed. Upon returning home, I could hear that darn gull still hollering! I changed my clothes and hopped onto my sailboard, paddling across the canal straight to the location of the annoying… Read more »
I have some interesting muskrat recordings and may post them sometime soon.
Hi Lang,
I thought it was maybe a bird, so I looked up, yellow backed night, heron, and sandhill cranes, and while your porcupine find, I’m sure is correct, it did give me pause to think, as I listened to a wide array of distressed bird calls.
Let’s have more adventures!
Thanks Lang, from PNW.
Wow! No porcupines in Ohio. Happy to know what that is.
I’m glad you discovered what it is, although it has robbed me of my favourite conjecture shot things like this: that it’s new species. My dog is intrigued by the sound.
Good heavens!!!
That is so cool Lang! And also I’m glad to see you are traveling and recording . I believe I might have heard the porcupine in Rainbow Lake! Glad you caught that on your trip.
Ah … memories of the Adirondack days and Lake Lucretia (aka Jones Pond).I well remember watching a porcupine pee up on the top of Buck Hill, no more than a quarter mile from your digs. But I certainly never heard one sound off like this one did.
You really got a good recording ! I’ve never heard Jones pond referred to as Lucretia. Must be a story?! Have to admit I miss it!
How COOL. I will now be able to identify a porcupine by its speaking voice if I ever visit their habitat and come across one conversing. So much more exciting than what it sounded like to me at first, i.e., someone slowly letting the air out of a very big balloon Which admittedly wasn’t a very likely scenario. Thanks so much for this, Lang!
Wow, Lang, that is an extraordinary sound, and I would never have guessed a porcupine. Actually made me laugh! So glad you solved that mystery. The wonders of our world.
This is so cool. What a great capture. I have never heard this in the wild. Fascinating sounds. At least the little one didn’t eat the microphones.
Yes, this was a real lucky catch. And in the land of endless grass. But there are shrubs and trees along waterways, with clearly enough to eat to support porcupines.
Definitely the porcupine, or we call it a North American sloth. When zi moved to Maine, I could not figure out what was making these sounds. Scoured your recordings, went through everything. Finally figured it out. Who knew they cried like a pup.
Sounds like a Fox or Coyote? Prairie Dog? Or a human,Lang?
Porcupine! … read section at end of post describing how I figured it out, with the help of Youtube.
I walk in the woods often and have seen porcupines sleeping in conifers, but I had no idea they made that amazing sound! Thanks for posting this.
You’re welcome. I’m thrilled that I managed to get it, although truth be told, I was sleeping soundly nearby when it occurred.
Bill Staines, folk singer and was a fantastic individual, sings in his song “A place in the choir” that the porcupine just talks to his-self…
Yep, I remember that song, from back in the day when I was a young whippersnapper and very much into the folk scene.
That is exactly what I thought of. Have always loved that song… & Bill Staines.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all or in this case heard it, you discover a new sound. Thanks for presenting and solving that mystery. And was the prairie reserve good? Short grass prairie right? Have thought about visiting.
Yes, primarily shortgrass, but definitely lush. It was well worth the effort of going there. I was most impressed by the sheer numbers of Lark Buntings in certain spots, and their spirited and musical songs. I also recorded at a small wetland, chockfull of interesting species including Wilson’s Phalaropes.
Wow! I had no idea. So glad the mystery sound has been solved. Thank you for sharing.
I recently saw a video of a wildlife rehab worker with a baby porcupine that cried like that when it was hungry and didn’t stop until it was sated with milk. Maybe you recorded a youngster begging its parent for food?
That might very well be … a youngster trying to find food on its own while also calling out for some parental help. You can hear plenty of rustling in the recording. It’s possible there were two moving through, with only the one calling. Note that porcupines breed in the autumn. Gestation lasts about 7 months, with “porcupettes” being born in late spring and being nursed for 3-4 months. So, the timing would be right for a youngster still being dependent on parents, yet quite able to amble along on its own.
Fascinating recording, Lang. No way that I would have known nor suggested porcupine, but delighted that you figured it out to inform the rest of us. I’ve seen and heard river otters mating and that would be quite the recording, too. The prairie does seem to come alive at night, much as some of the drier landscapes do in the Coast Ranges here in California – not much happening during the day but go out at night and animals everywhere.
A porcupine? Wow! I’ve never considered what sounds the animal would make. . . .
Lang — I am currently unable to listen to your recordings, due to severe issues with sound sensitivity, but I’m saving all of them for the day I can, again. Do you have any recommendations for PC speakers that are exceptionally good quality, but don’t cost an arm and a leg? The “regular” ones I’ve tried don’t cut it: they sound tinny and the sound distorted. (Saying this as a long-time violinist, who can no longer play.) Thanks so much!
Any possibility of wearing headphones?
I can’t handle pressure on my skull: the hypersensitivities I’m dealing with extend to head/face fascia. So, no. . . unless the headphones were the flat type that could just rest extremely lightly on my ears. It’s a really difficult situation that I’m attempting to find a solution to.
The Ultimate Ears speakers actually have pretty reasonable bass response, in spite of their size. Using their app, it’s easy to play a stereo or binaural recording, sending the left channel to a left speaker and the right to the right speaker. For binaural, place the speakers straight out to the sides and then place yourself exactly in the middle … you will then perceive the sounds in a way that is similar to headphone listening (the key being to minimize “crosstalk” where the left ear is also hearing the right speaker and the right ear is also hearing the… Read more »
BTW, Sonos also makes similar speakers that get excellent reviews. I’m not familiar with their line, but I think they’re more expensive. You should check them out for sure. https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/portable-speakers
Lang — Thank you so much for all this information! I will definitely look into everything you’ve suggested, to see if something might work for me.
a bittern?
Please read to end. I figured this out about an hour after posting. It’s a Porcupine and I’ve included a link to a Youtube video that pretty much proves it.