Gino Meekis, a hunter who lives near Sioux Lookout in Northern Ontario, recorded a video on his phone on Oct. 3 while he was out hunting grouse with his wife and grandson. They were hunting about 45 kilometres away from the town. Sioux Lookout is in northwestern Ontario, about halfway between Thunder Bay, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The area would certainly be prime real estate for the creature. With a population of about 5600, it covers just over 530 square kilometers. About a third of the area is water, and the other unpopulated surroundings are forest and the rugged Canadian Shield. Over 5,000 years ago the land was Ojibway territory and the name comes from the native use as a vantage point where guards could see canoes approaching. The Sioux lived in the Western Plains and legend has it that the Ojibway endured many years of surprise attacks by the Sioux when they came to trade. Eventually, the Ojibway ambushed the Sioux at a peak of land near Pelican Lake. And the name "Sioux Lookout" was born.
‘We walked down a trail to see if we can find a bird, and on our way back to the vehicle, it started. When it let out the first scream, I thought it was a moose, but my mind changed when it screamed again and again,” Meekis said in an interview with Vice Media.
The area would certainly be prime real estate for the creature. With a population of about 5600, it covers just over 530 square kilometers. About a third of the area is water, and the other unpopulated surroundings are forest and the rugged Canadian Shield. Over 5,000 years ago the land was Ojibway territory and the name comes from the native use as a vantage point where guards could see canoes approaching. The Sioux lived in the Western Plains and legend has it that the Ojibway endured many years of surprise attacks by the Sioux when they came to trade. Eventually, the Ojibway ambushed the Sioux at a peak of land near Pelican Lake. And the name "Sioux Lookout" was born.
‘We walked down a trail to see if we can find a bird, and on our way back to the vehicle, it started. When it let out the first scream, I thought it was a moose, but my mind changed when it screamed again and again,” Meekis said in an interview with Vice Media.
Meekis said the sound resembled a loud, echoing howl. he claims it continued for about five minutes. During that time he captured two videos and in one, his grandson is heard howling back at the sound.
An officer for Ontario’s Ministry of Resources and Forestry was contacted by Vice Media. She said her team couldn’t pinpoint the source of the sound. “Our biologists say it could be a larger mammal–for example a wolf–but because it’s a considerable distance from the recorder there is no way to know for sure,” Jolanta Kowalski said.
There are two types of wolves in Ontario. The Eastern Wolf, also known as the Algonquin Wolf, is listed as Threatened as of 2016. There are an estimated 500 of these wolves, generally in remote central Ontario and western Quebec. They weigh about 30kg and have an overall reddish coat. Hunters are allowed to kill coyotes and other animals like Great Lakes-Boreal wolves, Eastern coyotes and hybrids that look virtually identical to Algonquin wolves. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry doesn’t require DNA tests to be done and doesn't know how many wolves are being killed.
A more populous wolf is the Gray Wolf. With about 9600 in Ontario and 50-60,000 in Canada, they are not considered at risk. Gray Wolves share some Eastern Wolf DNA as well. They can weigh up to 890kg and could be black, white, or grey.
Wolves communicate in many ways. They whimper, bark, howl, and yip, but it's the howling that most people hear. Wolves have excellent hearing and can hear sounds as much as 10km away in forested areas and further in the open tundra. They howl to bring help to other wolves, warn of their presence, and when in pain. Wolves have been known to respond to human imitations, even from 4 km away.
‘We walked down a trail to see if we can find a bird, and on our way back to the vehicle, it started,” Meekis said in an interview. “When it let out the first scream, I thought it was a moose, but my mind changed when it screamed again and again.”
Is this what Meekis and his family heard? He doesn't think so. “I’ve heard many different animals in the wild but nothing like this. I grew up hunting with my grandfather for the first 12 years of my life,” Meekis said.
Meekis explained that his family retreated to their vehicle when the tone and rhythm of the howling increased.
In Alert Bay, British Columbia sounds that are similar were recorded in 2015. According to CTV News (video below). Local residents suggested that the noises came from a sasquatch. The island where the howls were heard doesn’t house any large mammals.
Whether it was a Sasquatch or not, Meekis and his family encountered something frightening in the remote forests of Ontario. And the video has gone viral.
More Reading:
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3aqva/viral-video-captures-the-screams-of-a-mystery-creature?utm_source=viceig&utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-vice&utm_content=later-3965447&utm_medium=social
http://wolvesontario.org/wolves-ontario/
https://www.siouxlookout.ca/en/living-here/about-sioux-lookout.asp
https://www.muskokaregion.com/community-story/6746390-elusive-algonquin-wolf-is-officially-a-threatened-species/
http://wolvesontario.org/wolves-ontario/
https://www.siouxlookout.ca/en/living-here/about-sioux-lookout.asp
https://www.muskokaregion.com/community-story/6746390-elusive-algonquin-wolf-is-officially-a-threatened-species/
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