Whooping coyotes

[Leglifter]

Took my 6yr old son out howling to locate last night.
On the third stop,after a few howls, I hear what sounded like hyenas 75 yds into the wooded valley, very quiet.
Then, 200 yds up on the right hill, I hear this deep "whooop"..... 5 seconds of dead silence then the hyenas broke into howling,yipping barking, and the alpha male was up un the right hill with his deep howl.
I've heard this "whoop" before when calling.

And I was thinking if maybe thats the leaders signal
for the rest of the pack to howl.

Hearing the majority of the pack, right in front, whine
in a restrained fashion like that, as if you tell your dog to stop barking at a cat, and he whines under his breath,
until the alphas "whooop" makes me think it is a signal.

They were close, me and my son had to yell over the noise to hear each other.
He said"Get in the truck!!" The howling kind of spooke my son.
Then when I did get in I left the door open so's not
to spook the now quieting coyotes.
You could hear them coming up the draw,
Urgently my son says "Drive, drive drive!!!"
So I did, I did'nt want to educate the coyotes anymore
than I already did, had they ran up on my truck.

Anyway, I'm going to try this "whooop" on the next calling session.
Did anyone else hear this sound?

[Hern]

I heard this sound before and after daybreak.
A short whooop, bark, short whoop, bark, yip, short whoop.
Then others would join in briefly with yips, barks and whines.
I heard this enough to reason it's a 'I am over here and bedding down' or 'where's everyone at, let's hit the hay'. That's my take on it, just an observation. I never used a call to hear this sound, just listening or heard this sound after setting up, before making a sound.

[BP]

I tried to find a post about a similar account, but it is gone forever from Uncle Bucks site.  
 I was hunting a couple winters back, late Feb or early March, about 1AM or so.  I was using a call from Buckwheat with the reed adjusted for bird distress sounds. After a couple calling sequences, I howled(incidently, it was on a howler Buckwheat made). I triggered a group howl sounding 150-200 yds away. Right after the group howled, one began making this noise that I can only describe as "a recorded goose honk being played backwards". To the best of my memory, the sounds were spaced around 10 seconds apart. The sounds were also heading straight to me. The wind was blowing left to right, and when the coyotes got about 100 yards away they actually circled upwind and came right to me, with the one making the whooping sound the entire time. There were no other sounds in a sequence like Hern describes, just whoops. I wrote to Major Boddickker*  about it and he said the only time he ever heard anyhing like I described was from a coyote with bullet damage to his throat.

*Major Boddicker has a book that comes with his Song Dog call that describes a ton of individual coyote vocalizations.  Backwards goose honks are not listed.

[220_Woody]

you know BP....when i read Leglifters title to his post i wondered if you ever asked anyone about that whooping you heard the other winter with your boys. and i thought that Boddicker would be the person to ask.
maybe this whooping is a eastern coyote vocalization. there is genetic proof that coyotes and wolves cross bred years back when doing their button-hook manuever above and around the great lakes before heading our way. i'm wondering if this whooping is something picked up from the wolf vocalization that is just coming out all wrong through the coyote's mouth.....??

i'd really like to hear this sound myself.

[PREDATOR 10X]

I have heard it before,unusual sound,kindda hard to duplicate.

[longhair]

Would younz say that this "whooping" could be the alpha's response to the pack ?? I just reread leglifter's post. :oops:  Yea, kinda sounds like it. I've heard some sounds that I can't explain, :?  but this whooping is new. I'll be more aware to listen for it now.

[scott]

i believe the whooping sound is an intimidation sound from the alpha male, i also think they were coming in to drive you off.   i think things are going to change in PA over the next couple of years.   coyotes are getting more populated and there is enough food for them now, but with the deer numbers down and packs getting larger they are going to start to lap each others territory which in turn will be better for calling.  

i have a question, does anyone get rattled when they are calling?  I call at night a lot times by myself and sometimes the imagination gets to you.  also, i get nervous when i am in thick cover in bear county.   anybody ever call in a bear?

[longhair]

Rattled, Yep !!!!!!!! :shock:  Different things has happened and freaked me right out. I mostly hunt by myself.

[PREDATOR 10X]

Scott asks,ever call in a bear?  Yep,a few times now,only 1 time was a little hairy,came in way to close..

[bootmud]

Scott,

I know what you mean, I've been rattled quite a bit myself.  Mostly when I'm hunting by myself at night upstate.  

I don't know what kind of owl it is that sneaks in the tree branches above me undetected and opens up with a god forsaked screaming noise ending with the "who cooks for you all" sound but I wish they'd leave me the heck alone. :shock:

Usually by the end of the season though I get conditioned and there's no fear.

bootmud

[Lookn4Fur]

That would be a barred (spelling?) Owl.  I have freaked out a couple times but I took two guys out last year that took the cake.  It was the first time out for the one guy and I set them together down wind of me and started my calling sequence.  It took him about 3 minutes and he came running back to me and said he had enough.  It took me 20 minutes to stop laughing.

[DOG ENEMY]

You hear ALOT of coyotes out west at night, and right at daybreak. I'm not really going to speculate a whole lot about what they're trying to say, but Ive never heard any "Whoop" or any vocalization that really stood out from the pack.  Thats why it was always very hard to tell how many you were listening to. I think two or three dogs can sound like a small army with all the different pitches they hit when they really cut loose. Maybe your onto something with the "Eastern Specific vocalization".

[Duffman]

I don't know what kind of owl it is that sneaks in the tree branches above me undetected and opens up with a god forsaked screaming noise ending with the "who cooks for you all" sound but I wish they'd leave me the heck alone. :shock:

 :lol:  I have that happen to me hunting at night, or even if I'm locating.

[220_Woody]

well....i guess my theory is shot out the window.
talked with my buddy out in California and he says he's been hearin this vocalization around him...and back in Texas and Louisiana where he grew up. and talked with a fella from Washington state who say's he has heard it as well.
not sure why i've never heard of anyone talking about this sound before though.

[BP]

I don't think we're all talking about the same sound.