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Old 05-21-2017, 01:37 PM
 
Location: SW US
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I live in a very rural area SW of Tucson. Friday night I heard a commotion on the roof and then more sounds. This is not unusual when some animal catches prey like mice. But this time it was followed by a sound like heavy breathing outside my window, maybe on the porch roof. At first I thought maybe someone was out there but did a few tests and decided it was an animal. The sound went on and on, very regular. I listened for half an hour and it was totally regular all that time, same pace and volume. I'm not sure when it ended because I ran the dishwasher and couldn't hear it any more. Last night I heard it again, but it was just a couple of short episodes. It's loud and neighborhood dogs barked at it.
I have listened to a lot of animal sounds online and can't find one that is quite the same. I suspect it might be a new bird, maybe from Mexico, but have no idea what it could be, or how to find out. Or do wild cats make this sound?

Does anyone have any ideas about what it could be?
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Old 05-21-2017, 07:57 PM
 
Location: Alamogordo, NM
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Does anyone have any ideas about what it could be?

Arizona Sasquatch.
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Old 05-22-2017, 07:12 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elkotronics View Post
Does anyone have any ideas about what it could be?

Arizona Sasquatch.

It is my understanding the hairy big guy prefers the term Sassy, respect the life choices.
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Old 05-22-2017, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Alamogordo, NM
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It is my understanding the hairy big guy prefers the term Sassy, respect the life choices.

My bad!
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Windwalker2 View Post
Does anyone have any ideas about what it could be?
Sounds like it may be a Javelina. We have a couple that hang out behind our backyard wall and they breathe heavy and steady like that quite often - especially the mother when she's nursing her pups.
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Old 05-22-2017, 04:15 PM
 
Location: SW US
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beTucsonan View Post
Sounds like it may be a Javelina. We have a couple that hang out behind our backyard wall and they breathe heavy and steady like that quite often - especially the mother when she's nursing her pups.
Interesting. I hadn't considered javelinas because it sounded like it was on my porch and they can't get near there because of the fence. But there are definitely javelinas around here. At one point I thought something hit my garage door, so it could have been a javelina. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd been thinking maybe bobcat. It might have chased prey into a hole where it could hide and was waiting in frustration for it to come out. A coyote once chased a rabbit through my fence and barked and howled, in the middle of the night, until I got up and yelled at it to be quiet. Maybe cats would do something similar? But it didn't shut up when I yelled, or my dogs barked at it from inside. So maybe it was a nursing javelina.
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Old 05-22-2017, 08:16 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Chupacabra?
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Old 05-22-2017, 10:18 PM
 
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I'm going with the javelena theory. If it happened right outside your window, it may have saw its reflection and made those noises thinking that there was a strange javelena in its territory. They make some weird noises when they are trying to act tough.
We had a whole pack of them in our backyard...babies, mamas, and a big male. They were huffing, and puffing and making a big ole racket.
Of course, that doesn't account for the roof noises. Maybe you had an owl come down and grab some roof rats.
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Old 05-22-2017, 10:53 PM
 
Location: SW US
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It wasn't near the window, it just sounded loud like it was. One possibility is that it was just outside the wall in an area where ground squirrels have a hole. If one got scared by a javelina invasion, it could have run up onto the roof. The owls haven't been around for a while, and I didn't hear any that night. I looked for other night time predator bird possibilities, and couldn't find any likely candidates.
I guess I'll never know for sure.
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Old 05-23-2017, 03:13 AM
 
Location: West of the Catalinas East of the Tortolitas
4,922 posts, read 8,570,883 times
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Javalina huff and snort while they're using their snouts to rummage for grubs, bugs and plant roots in the soil. My dogs go nuts inside when they hear those sounds. They will also snort and snuff and sound like they're breathing heavily while they're nursing their young, or to round up older youngsters. They also stink like skunks. In November, they go after all the acorns that fall from our oak trees, and with the windows open that time of year, their stench is putrid, a lot like skunks but it doesn't burn your nose, just makes you slightly nauseous.
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