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Wilderness Anons: I've got an unknown critter that has periodically vocalized around my house, (rural-residential, Southside Virginia), for a number of years now.
Calls normally come at night into near dawn, often during fall and winter. The vocalizations are of medium-high pitch, exclaiming "Yaaaay-hoo! Oooo-way-hoo!". The volume is such that it echoes clearly on the night air and completely eclipses the neighbor's coon dogs, who are likely closer, based on the echo, (I would say "it" is between 1/3 & 1/2 mile away when I hear it, and it has shifted location periodically, so it's not fenced in). Sometimes the dogs and nearby livestock will begin acting up, sometimes they'll go silent. The vocals can continue for 10 minutes, or just one or two calls. Each time I've heard it since having the presence of mind to record it, it has shut up by the time I'm out the door with the audio recorder.
Thoughts? The only other suggestions I've gotten in other outdoor boards have been, "Bigfoot". Indeed, there is an old legend of the Yayhoo from back in these parts, but my father insists it was just a scary monster story to keep kids from discovering stills in the forests. That being said, I'm familiar with the noises most of the wildlife makes: bobcat, deer, fox, raccoon, barred owls, etc. Likewise can be said for livestock. My research into nocturnal avian calls has yielded nothing, but whatever this is has a set of lungs and can annunciate quite well. That's why I thought weird bird.
