Rutgers Rarities and Unexplained Phenomena

Another Account of the Livingston Campus Creature

By "a" (alias given in e-mail submission)

After reading your account of the strange animal noises heard in the woods near the RAC, I am reminded of a very similar experience that I had around two years ago.

One particular night I had just finished a grueling paper assignment and decided to go out for a relaxing walk. Having brought a joint with me I decided to walk up the path leading to Beck Hall and wandered out over the grass near the trees in the area behind the LSC and to the right of the Janice Levin building, choosing this remote area in the interest of being able to relax without worrying about a security guard coming upon me. As I walked into a little clearing and sat down to spark it up, my movements apparently surprised some kind of animal that was about 10 feet behind me, completely invisible among the trees and the darkness.

Simultaneously, whatever it was started moving around noisily and let out this sound almost perfectly described by the "snorting/coughing/cawing type noise" you report hearing, although I would additionally describe it as gutteral, almost nauseatingly so. It scared the sh*t out of me. Instinctively I stood up and looked behind me, while at the same time beginning to walk carefully away from the spot. I didn't run because while I was scared, I was equally surprised and confused, because the sound was so completely strange. After the noise stopped whatever it was continued to move about, and I started moving away quicker, watching the spot until I came back upon the path between the LSC & the library (a distance of approx. 50-60 ft), but whatever it was did not follow me and I saw nothing. At the time I rationalized it as a startled deer, and while it certainly did not seem to be a sound a deer would be capable of making, my complete lack of knowledge of deer vocalizations disallows me from thinking otherwise (aside: at the time there were no animals visible in the vicinity save for, as I recall, a small rabbit hopping around on the grass). Nonetheless, the noise sounded more like a snorting, phlegm-throated bear trying to caw (I think this is a good word) like a crow in a panicked fashion. I've never ventured back to that spot and have not heard anything remotely like that since.

The Livingston Campus Creature

By Jessica Teal

While staking out the rolling acreage of Livingston Campus one evening, co-investigator Ray and I actually got an audio recording of a large unknown creature that makes its home in the woods across from Lucy Stone Hall. It was nearly midnight on a warm September night and Ray and I were actively recoding the activity of the wildlife in close proximity to the RAC. Herds and random clusters of deer were bounding across campus along with scores of rabbits, possums and giant groundhogs in a seeming night-life extravaganza along Avenue E. While parked in Lot 101 along the perimeter of the woods, Ray and I noticed a plethora of noises coming from the brush. I quickly put my trusty audio recorder to use and was startled by a loud, snorting/coughing/cawing type noise that came from what seemed like the woods to my immediate right. This was a loud noise and suggested an animal source that was big and able to snort and/or cough. As many deer had already passed and had run away from this area, I believe that this was probably not a stag in rut, although the size of the creature must have been comparable due to the volume of the noise. Try as we might, Ray and I did not catch even a bare glimpse of this elusive creature although the animal made at least a dozen weird snuffling/coughing noises and seemed to alternately grunt and sigh. In retrospect, I really wonder what this creature was up to and I"m kinda glad we didn"t actually see what (or who) it was doing.