The Babies Crying in the Night
At night in the African bush, campers hear what sounds like a human baby crying in the trees.
What was reported
In southern and eastern Africa, people sleeping out in the bush are sometimes startled by wailing cries in the dark that sound very like a baby crying. The noise can be repeated again and again, close by in the branches overhead.
Some travellers have searched for an abandoned child before learning what the cry really was.
Explanations offered
The cries belong to galagos, or bushbabies, small primates with huge eyes that come out at night. Their name comes partly from these calls, which they use to keep in touch with each other. They can leap several metres between branches in the dark.
- When
- Heard every night
- Where
- Kruger National Park, South Africa
- Witnesses
- Campers and rangers
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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