The Cry of the Loon
On the lakes of northern Canada, a long, wavering wail rises over the water at night. People have described it as the most haunting sound in nature.
What was reported
The common loon is a large diving bird of the lakes of Canada and the northern United States. Its calls carry far across still water: a mournful wail, a crazed-sounding tremolo, like laughter, and a yodel.
In Anishinaabe and Cree stories, loons are messengers and guides; some people saw their cries as calls of the dead or warnings of storms. Films use the sound to say 'lonely wilderness'.
Explanations offered
The wail helps pairs find each other, the tremolo signals alarm, and the yodel is a male defending his territory. Calm nights over water make them carry a long way. The loon appears on Canada's one-dollar coin, called the 'loonie'.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada
- Witnesses
- Anyone on a northern lake at night
- 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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