2004 Summit County, UT
I was hunting Elk with my brother in law. We had been in this deep canyon for some time. It was getting dark, so we heeded out of it. I can still see this in my head,..We were climbing up out of a small draw onto a flat meadow. As we got to the top of it. We both saw something very black in color move into a small stand of pine trees. It let out a huge Whoooff sort of sound as it went in. Also it moved a pine bow that flipped from the ground to about five feet in the air. My Bro in law said ” What the Heck was that”!!! As he put a shell into the chamber. This stand of pines was no bigger than a front yard. There was a clearing behind it. I have thought on this for some time. I think that we came in contact with it. And we surprised each other. The creature was to our left, and we had a Beaver Dam to our right. The thing was about 30 feet away from us in the pines. We were on a Deer path between the pond and the pines. We backed up, and this thing let out a low guttural growl at us. You could hear it’s teeth chatter also. I have felt fear in my life, but a sense of evil came over me. On the way home we talked about what we had saw. We were so close to this thing. I know for a fact it was not a Bear or Moose. A Bear does not move that fast on it’s hind legs. I have been in the hills all my life, and have never seen or heard anything like that.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Todd Strong:
The witness has worked as a licensed hunting guide and a wildlife artist. When the incident occurred, it was still light enough to be considered shooting light. They surprised the creature by walking with the wind in their face. The animal could not see them because of the grade of the hill until the pair of hunters stepped into the clearing, whereupon the animal “whoofed” at them, moving a pine bough out of its way as it walked into the trees. They could not see the entire body of the creature, only from about 5 ft. off the ground, or from its hips on up. Estimated height was about 9 ft. The witness is adamant that this was an animal moving upright, on two legs. They never saw the creature again, but then they heard it growl. At the end of the growl it clicked its teeth together. The witness said it reminded him of the way a cornered dog would growl at you, and how some dogs finish a growl by chattering their teeth together.The animal’s coat looked like jet black hair, not fur. It scared them enough that they left. I found this witness to be credible and an experienced outdoorsman.
