Bear sounds?

[DeanA]

Hey there. I was hiking in the Southern Adirondacks late this afternoon, and heard an animal call I couldn't quite make out. At first it sounded like a dog barking in the distance, but given that it made this call about 15 times exactly the same each time, I figured it was some sort of bird or owl instead. To me it sounded like three distinct "wu"s, with maybe a half second pause in between a second set of four distinct "wu"s: wu wu wu.....wu wu wu wu (the second wu in that last sequence very clearly went up in pitch).

I tried searching for the sound on the internet this evening to no avail. The closet I got was a written description that went like this: "woooh.....wu wu wooooh". This could have been the same sound, but I was hearing more separation in the "whoohs". Anyway, the website said this was a black bear mating call. I know bears generally grunt and snort. I never in a million years would have thought this was a bear. A bird or owl, yes. Some sort of dog, fox, wolf, etc. yes. But not a bear. But I am a little naive when it comes to these sounds. I also just learned that in the east, mating season can last from May through August. Anyone know or heard this call before?

[DeanA]

Hey all. I found something that sounds very similar to the call I heard today, but mine was still a little different. It's of a barred owl (and I just found an old thread on this site about barred owls vs. "hooting bears"). Anyway, this is the wav: http://www.nhest.org/brdowl.wav Again, it's pretty close but not quite.

I still have been unable to find sounds of bears other than grunting, snorting, growling etc.

[dog]

Some are here :
www.bear.org/Kids/Sounds.html

[DeanA]

Hey dog. Appreciate the link. That's the most bear wavs I've found on any one site. But they sound nothing like what I heard. I'm more convinced it's a different version of the barred owl call. Perhaps I'll be able to find one that sounds closer.