A listener writes “Wes, I wanted to pass along an encounter my brother had 2 months ago here in Idaho.
I’m a long time follower of your show and have rarely heard about the behavior that my brother witnessed so I thought I would email you. I have two younger brothers, we grew up in Idaho and have been hunting here for the past 20 plus years. The brother just younger than me was on your show about two years ago. He’s in law enforcement so he used a different name. Our youngest brother Ray had the encounter I’m about to tell. He has little, if any, interest in the subject so I don’t believe he has told anyone except his brothers.
Ray and I spent the end of August and the first part of September archery hunting for elk in Idaho. We have been hunting this particular spot for years and have always had good success. We hunt a lot from tree stands so I have several stands set up on this mountain. I was lucky enough to take a bull elk on opening day but I stayed around for another week or so to hunt with Ray. We actually took a chocolate phase black bear from the same stand a few days after I got the elk. We both had to go back to work in mid-September but Ray was able to go back often because he lives much closer to the hunting spot than I do. On one afternoon, Ray was hunting in one of these tree stands alone because I had gone back to work. This stand is in the middle of a pine forest and overlooks a small watering hole in the side of the mountain. The elk were frequenting the water hole because of the hot weather during September and he could here elk bugling up the mountain a few hundred yards away. He was in the stand for a few hours just scanning his surroundings waiting for the elk to come in.
He looked behind his stand and noticed something low to the ground not more than 40 yards away. He told me he immediately knew what he was looking at but his brain still went through every known animal trying to come up with an answer to what he was seeing. I asked him later to tell me exactly what he saw. He said this was a large creature that seemed to be belly crawling to a position behind his treestand. He could see the top of the head and back and part of a shoulder. He couldn’t make out a face or see the rest of the body. Ray said every time he turned around, the creature would stop moving and attempt to be in the same position as before. He said the color was chocolate brown, nearly the same color as the black bear he had shot a few hundred yards up the mountain. There were no ears on the top of the head, just a “huge round head”. Ray didn’t feel any fear of the creature so he remained in the stand, constantly checking on the creatures location.
The creature then started doing short yells every several minutes. Ray believes that it was communicating with the elk, as the elk seemed to respond by bugling back. A couple of times the elk would come in close but the creature would yell again and the elk would leave. This went on for at least an hour and the sun started to set making it harder and harder to see the creature as it laid close to the ground, mostly motionless. As it started to get dark, Ray told me he had to make a decision on whether to climb down the stand and walk out or stay on the mountain all night. He chose to take his chance and walk out. He then explained to me how he could hear the creature following him, 50 yards to his right in the trees. He said every few minutes the creature would bark at him. Similar to the sound an elk makes when it’s alarmed. I asked him to explain the sound and he said it was so loud that he could feel the sound waves in his chest. At this time, his only concern was that the creature would cut him off before he reached his vehicle at the base of he mountain.
The creature continued to follow him but stopped just as Ray walked out of the tree line, 200 yards from his truck. Ray said the creature continued with the barking sound clear until the point he reached his truck and drove off the mountain. Ray told me the whole story the day after this happened. He is not interested in sharing the encounter but I thought you might like to hear it. It was fascinating to hear about the belly crawling, especially because Ray had no idea that this behavior had been reported elsewhere.”
Avis B
WOW.. a very good encounter.. To bad he does not want to tell it.. He has a lot of good info for the Bigfoot world and better for us that are in the woods hunting and knowing what to look for.. But it does sounds like the bigfoot was trying to get him to come to him.. or go after the fake elk.. Glade he made it out of the woods okay.. I am sure Ray is shook to the bone over this.. If you are reading this Ray.. talking about it helps, you keeping it in, it will eat you alive..
Charles R
Fascinating account listener. It is a shame your brother will not come on, perhaps if you played a past show or two for him, he could realize he would be among friends and most welcome.
Belly crawling has been documented often. I suspect it happens many thousands of times each year to people in the woods, or at rural home as a technique to get close and scout. It sure works for snipers. For this one to call to the Elk and being observed is great. Just another piece of the puzzle hunting technique.
A former guest of Wes’s, Mike Brookreson sent me a series of pics several years ago. He claims in one pic a Bigfoot is belly crawling and reaching out to grab a mellon that Mike left out for them on his Texas Ranch. I think the pic was taken at night, maybe dusk, I know by an I phone, and is not a clear enough photo to prove anything, but I can see that it just may be.
Amy H
Whoa… I wonder if he was as calm as his brother alludes?
I’ve never thought about bf sounding like elk… I dunno why. Just another situation to be mindful of while huntin.
I too wish he’d tell his encounter. I understand why he wouldn’t as well.
PATRICK
Wes
Tedd
Incredible account that leaves more questions like most interesting one do. Was the creature communicating with the elk to keep it away or trying to entice the hunter? I suspect the former as it was aware of being observed since it stopped moving as the hunter looked at it and would have just charged him if he wanted to. Just my guess and that’s all that’s worth. Thanks for sharing and glad your brother could talk to you without any problem, hope my boys can be the same as you guys!
NW Mike
I haven’t seen or talked to anyone who saw a BF crawling but I have suspected it several times. As for the BF calling the elk, maybe it knew why the hunter was in the stand. Crows have been known to lead hunters to deer and elk because the birds know the hunter will leave a gut pile for them to feast on after the kill. Maybe the BF wanted the hunter to make the kill, then steal his prize. Deer hunters throughout the northwest have reported BF stealing the deer the hunter just shot.