And incase you missed our last post, don’t forget Dark Outdoors season 3 just kicked off.
Over the years, hunters, hikers, campers and other outdoors lovers have reported hearing terrifying sounds in the woods.
Click to listen.
What are they hearing?
There’s certainly not just one answer.
On the first episode of season 2 of Dark Outdoors the podcast we dive deep into the topic, play some of the sounds including a primate verified to dwell in the Texas outdoors.
And we also talk about the mysterious Sierra Sounds with Ron Morehead who recorded them back in the 1970s.
Strange sounds in the wood are something that I have always been intrigued by and when you listen to this episode you will see why.
Over the years, hunters, hikers, campers and other outdoors lovers have reported hearing terrifying sounds in the woods. A famous case is the Sierra Sounds recorded in the 1970s.
What are they hearing?
There’s certainly not just one answer.
On the first episode of season 2 of Dark Outdoors the podcast we dive deep into the topic, play some of the sounds including a primate verified to dwell in the Texas outdoors.
And we also talk about the mysterious Sierra Sounds with Ron Morehead who recorded them back in the 1970s.
This is a show I have wanted to do for a long time and I thought it would be an interesting way to kick off season 3 of the award-winning Dark Outdoors podcast.
We have forthcoming shows on missing people in East Texas, a natioal forest murderer, hog attacks and more. You can subscribe to Dark Outdoors directly on Podbean or via Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and all major podcasting platforms.
Have you heard terrifying screams in the woods? Do you have audio? We would love to hear. Send to chester@chestermoore.com.
Chester Moore
Thanks to Quicksounds for the mountain lion and elk audio.
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A beautiful herd of longhorn cattle made their way across a bluebonnet covered meadow.
Walking down a trail from an oak thicket, one particularly massive bull stopped and glared at us so I felt obliged to jump out of the truck and shoot photos.
“Wild Wishes” is our program that grants exotic animal encounters to kids who have a terminal illness, have lost a parent or sibling or are dealing with other serious issues.
We were at YO Ranch Headquarters near Mountain Home in Kerr County and had just completed granting a “Wild Wish” for a little boy named Amos who got to encounter a giraffe and many other exotic animals at the legendary ranch.
This thing was easily in the 2,000 pound range and gave us a real thrill as buffalos were the topic of conversation riding down the road. “Wild Wishes” grants exotic animal encounters for children who have lost a parent or sibling or who have a terminal illness and to think that the Lord granted us this chance to see such an amazing animal together was humbling to say the least.
Amos and two other wish kids who accompanied us followed me and another chaperone out to photograph the massive bull when we noticed something in the bushes. Hiding under the shade of a live oak was a massive bison. The longhorns were cool but this was awesome!
Then it got better.
From behind another tree stood up something big and white. At first it looked like a bull but when it turned around chills ran up and down my spine. This was no bull. It was a white buffalo.
The Great White Buffalo!
This is the photo I took when the white buffalo appeared before me and the kids.
As I snapped photos, the majestic bison looked us square in the eye and then retreated into the oaks as we stood blown away.
All three of the kids knew about the legend of the white buffalo and its importance to Native American culture and so did I of course.
And I could not help but sing a chorus of my friend Ted Nugent’s “The Great White Buffalo”.
We had no idea such a creature existed on the huge ranch and would not have seen it if we had not decided to pull over and photograph the longhorns.
I have no question the Lord had His hand on this encounter and so did the kids who were excited beyond measure. They had seen something that until then only seemed like a legend.
The author returned later to film a mini-documentary about the white buffalo and got a closer encounter than he ever expected. (Photo by Nolan Haney)
I have had many incredible wildlife encounters and this one ranks right up there with seeing great whites in the Pacific. This was a lifelong dream come true and I got to share it with three very special kids and a friend who is as big a buffalo fan as I am.
Part of my love of bison comes from knowing their tragic history and the great conservation efforts that saved them.
According to the Texas Bison Association, Bison were hunted in various ways.
“Before the Indians rode horseback, they would encircle the herd with tribe members on foot. By getting the animals to mill within the ring they formed, Indians were able to fire large volleys of arrows into the herd until they downed an adequate number of animals.”
“In the 16th Century, when horses were acquired by the Plains Indians, bison hunting became easier. The Indians used other methods to harvest the mighty buffalo: stampeding herds over a cliff, driving the animals into a large natural trap, or into bogs or blind canyons.”
“The most famous hunting technique was the “horse surround.” Several hundred riders would form semicircles on two sides of the herd, then move in until they created a circle around its entirety. As pressure was applied by the oncoming riders, the bison would begin to get confused, start milling and eventually stampeded into a frenzied milling mass. At this point, riders would move in and begin the slaughter with showers of arrows or plunging lances.”
Then came wholesale slaughter of bison by European settlers that was as much to wipe out the Plains tribes that relied on them as it was to sell bison parts. What was once a herd of millions was reduced to less than 1,000 by the late 1800s.
According to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, legendary rancher Charles Goodnight started the remnants of the herd on his JA Ranch in the Texas Panhandle in 1878, in attempts to save the animals that had meant so much to him.
“It was actually his wife that influenced the cattle and business tycoon to preserve them, before they disappeared, so that future generations might be able to see and appreciate these special creatures.”
“Somehow, against the odds, a herd of genetic-related Southern bison have managed to survive the decades since, and now, we all benefit from the Goodnights’ vision. When the bison were initially donated to TPWD and moved to Caprock Canyons State Park in 1997, it was discovered that their DNA was different, and feature genetics that are not shared by any other bison in North America. In fact, the Official Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock represents the last remaining examples of the Southern Plains variety.”
Now many ranches proudly raise bison and they are growing in numbers right in Texas on private land and at Caprock Canyons State Park.
Herds in places like Yellowstone are flourishing.
As we walked back to the trucks, the moms, grandmas and dads were excited for the kids (and this big kid) who just encountered something special.. They got to see all of this go down but one thing they did not see were its eyes.
We stared into the eyes of the white buffalo.
None of us may ever be the same.
We locked eyes with a legend.
(If you know of an animal-loving child ages 4-18 that has a critical illness, lost a parent or sibling or is struggling with depression and other issues email lisa@kingdomzoo.com. We would love to do one of our Wild Wishes for them.)
This media platform was born in 2019 when I was seeking a deeper level of engaging people about wildlife awareness and conservation and ways to help hurting children get involved those causes.
It was born out of prayer when I heard the words, “Higher Calling” resonate in my spirit and has impacted every aspect of my life from the spiritual to career.
As a media platform Higher Calling Wildlife® seeks to raise awareness of conservation, investigate wildlife mysteries and inspire people to venture into the wild.
And at the end of the day, it’s a reflection of me.
I’m involved in many media projects and give my best in all of them but if someone asked “Who is this Chester Moore guy?”, reading this blog or listening to my podcast would give you a really good idea.
My heart is to help hurting children connect with wildlife and find joy in wild places during trying times in their lives.
You can read about that aspect of what we do at the link below.
Our Higher Calling Wildlife outreach has conducted expeditions in Colorado, Texas, Florida, Wyoming and Tennessee. And some of the experiences helping kids learn to do things like flyfish and photograph wildlife have been some of the most powerful moments of my life.
A personal highlight was taking a sweet girl named Juno to encounter a sloth at the Denver Aquarium in 2022. At the time she had cancer and could not walk.
Me and Juno going out to photograph prairie dogs near her home.
On our expedition in 2023, she was cancer free and we got to talk out on the edge of a beautiful valley and photograph mule deer and elk.
I’m also deeply engaged in investigative journalism. I can’t just write about how to catch a fish or go on a successful hunt although those stories are fun too.
You can read some of my favorite investigative pieces below.
Through prayer and lots of reflection, I will put more and more of my efforts in this media platform. We are getting tremendous feedback from literally around the world and are creating a positive community for people to engage in all aspects of what is covered here.
Thanks so much to all of you for your support. There are many great things coming here in 2024 and beyond!
Chester Moore
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This week I have the privilege of doing content coverage for the Wild Sheep Foundation at their annual Sheep Show.
It’s a public mountain hunting and conservation expo but there are also many wildlife professionals from federal state, provincial and tribal agencies here conducting meetings about putting and keeping wild sheep on the mountain.’
That’s in addition to fundraising and awards banquets, seminars and clinics.
If you’re within driving (or flying) distance of Reno you don’t want to msis it. The expo takes place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and kicks off today with events or the whole family.
“Rocky” the plush bighorn strikes a pose on my laptop. You can follow his adventures on Wild Sheep Foundation social media.
The Wild Sheep Foundation, its chapters and affiliates do incredible work for wild sheep that also benefits many other species throughout North America and Asia. Millions will be raised for wild sheep conservation this week.
You can see my work from the event in future editions of Wild Sheep and Mountain Minutes. I will also have broadcast on the Higher Calling Wildlife and my YouTube channel from the event Friday and Saturday.
Chester Moore
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Snakes (as well as turtles and alligators) will come out when the sun shines and the temperatures warm up a bit during winter. Certain snakes however will come out even when it’s surprisingly cold.
When I was a kid, we had a deer lease in the Gilbert Woods near Fannett, TSX and always saw cottonmouths well into December and it did not necessarily have to be very warm.
Cottonmouths are a common sighting for those in know on warm winter days in southern swamplands. They are not very active but will be present.
We saw cottonmouths when temperatures were in the lower 40s on days with lots of sunshine.
A few years ago, I shot a nice eight-point buck on the Sabine River bottoms and as my friend Todd Jurasek and I were carrying it across a puddle in the road, I looked down and saw a young cottonmouth. By that point, the temperature had dipped down to 38.
The author has seen both indigo snakes and rattlers out in South Texas during winter.
Jurasek is a reptile expert who has traveled as far as New Guinea in search of reptiles and he said snakes do not hibernate in the way we think the do.
“Snake will definitely come out during the winter. They are not true hibernators like some mammals like bears for example. When it’s been warm for a couple of days and sunny they will come out to enjoy the heat and sometimes will see them in the evenings when it cools down sort of frozen because they can’t move around well,” he said.
Jurasek warns however, that does not mean they are not potentially dangerous.
“There have been instances of people getting bitten in the winter. If a snake is active enough to be out, they are active enough to bite. It’s just not likely.”
He recommends people exercise caution on warm winter afternoons when navigating open areas in river bottoms where the sun’s rays peak through and in rocky areas.
“Rocks retain heat pretty good and you will see rattlers out in Texas quite a bit on warm winter days. They aren’t very active but again active enough to warrant caution,” Jurasek said.
In 2015, I caught a huge cottonmouth on Lake Road in Bridge City on a day when the temperature was in the mid-40s. I moved it to a spot where the snake was not likely to get in trouble with the people fishing just a few yards away.
It kicks off with an eight-part series on the black panther phenomenon with episode one tackling the topic of escaped exotics and the infamous stories of circus train wrecks.
You can watch the episode below. Please subscribe to our channel.
The next episodes will cover the following topics.
*Black Mountain Lions
*The Jaguarundi
*Black Bobcats
*Feral House Cats
*The Black Longtail
*Jaguars
*Hybridization & Other Strange Theories On Black Panthers
Don’t miss the series kick-off and stay tuned for weekly episodes of Higher Calling Wildlife on Youtube.
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We hope you get to spend it with people you love and eating too much good food.
Please take time to reach out to those who might be lonely this Christmas.
A phone call or a text to say “I love you” or “Merry Christmas (Insert Name)” might save a life. Suicide rates are through the roof around Christmas.
I’m excited for 2024 as we have a lot of really great things planned with some of the content you all have been asking for more of over the last year.
Feel free to share my kid’s story and its animated video “Bingo the Christmas Dingo” with the kids in your life. We got to read the story to a foster group home this morning and it blessed my heart seeing the kid’s reaction.
I’ll be back soon with new in-depth wildlife posts, videos and podcasts.
May the peace of Christ be with you and yours!
Chester Moore
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