All posts by Chester Moore

Dark Outdoors® is a podcast and media platform that raises awareness of true crime and terrifying encounters in the great outdoors. The podcast has been awarded by the Press Club of Southeast Texas and the Texas Outdoor Writer's Association. It is created and managed by wildlife journalist Chester Moore.
Crytozoology

Out of Place and Highly Venomous: The Gulf Sea Snake Reports

A snake breeder walked into my office carrying a kingsnake.

Before he left, he told me a story I haven’t forgotten.

He noticed a photograph of a banded sea krait hanging on my wall. These are highly venomous marine snakes from the Indo-Pacific, far removed from the waters off Texas.

He looked at the photograph and told me he had seen one.

According to his account, he had kayaked offshore near High Island, Texas, to fish around a rig. There, swimming in Gulf waters, he encountered what he believed was a banded sea krait. He described the animal as four to five feet long, distinctly banded and possessing something particularly important—a paddle-like tail.

There was an obvious problem.

Sea kraits aren’t supposed to be there.

Watch the video investigation here.

It would have been easy to write the encounter off as mistaken identity. Except his description immediately reminded me of another strange report.

Two anglers I know had been fishing around the 18-Mile Light on Sabine Bank when they saw a long snake swimming at the surface. They described it as bluish-white and black-striped, approximately five feet long.

And they described a paddle-like tail.

Now I had separate encounters from the same general region of the Gulf involving people familiar with snakes and describing remarkably similar animals.

That was enough to make me start digging.

Since then, reports of strange snake-like animals have come to me from other parts of the Gulf Coast, including Alabama and Florida. Some may ultimately have very ordinary explanations. Eels and other elongated marine fishes can look remarkably snake-like, and native snakes can certainly enter coastal waters.

But what about the reports that aren’t so easily explained?

And if a highly venomous marine snake from another part of the world somehow reached the Gulf, is there a mechanism that could get it here?

That question took my investigation into international shipping, ballast water and the long history of animals being transported far outside their natural ranges.

My new video, “Venomous Sea Snakes in the Gulf? Investigating the Reports,” examines the eyewitness accounts and the possibilities behind them.

To be clear, this is not evidence that sea snakes are established in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an investigation of reports involving animals that witnesses believed were something that shouldn’t be there.

And this investigation isn’t over.

There are additional reports and possible explanations I intend to examine in future installments.

Because sometimes the most interesting outdoor mysteries aren’t about proving something extraordinary.

They’re about figuring out what somebody actually saw.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

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To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

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Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Crytozoology

The Death of Cryptozoology?

There was a time when a strange photograph could start an investigation. Today, it might have been generated 30 seconds ago.

Artificial intelligence has changed the game when it comes to wildlife imagery. We now live in a world where someone can create a convincing photograph or video of virtually any animal imaginable and put it in front of thousands (or millions) of people before anyone stops to ask whether it is real. For cryptozoology, that presents an enormous problem.

Cryptozoology has never enjoyed widespread acceptance within mainstream wildlife science. At its best, however, it involves something I understand very well as a wildlife journalist: collecting reports, interviewing eyewitnesses, researching historical records, examining photographs and video and going into the field to see what can actually be documented.

Listen to “The Death of Cryptozoology” on Dark Outdoors:
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

That doesn’t mean every report is true. Far from it. But investigation is supposed to be about separating what can be demonstrated from what cannot, and right now that process is getting harder.

When Everything Looks Real

I’ve spent years looking into unusual wildlife reports. Some turn out to have perfectly reasonable explanations. Others involve misidentification, and some are obvious nonsense. Occasionally, however, you encounter something that leaves legitimate questions.

The problem today is that those categories are becoming increasingly difficult for the average person scrolling through social media to distinguish. AI-generated wildlife images have become astonishingly convincing. Videos can be manipulated, old photographs can be given completely new stories and real wildlife footage can be removed from its original context and presented as something it isn’t.

Then the algorithms take over, and the most sensational version frequently travels farther than the correction. That doesn’t just hurt cryptozoology. It damages public understanding of wildlife in general.

The Credibility Problem

There is another problem that technology cannot be blamed for: standards matter.

If every strange sound in the woods becomes evidence of an unknown creature, eventually none of it means anything. If every blurry photograph is presented as proof before obvious explanations are investigated, credibility disappears. The same applies to eyewitness accounts.

I believe eyewitnesses should be treated respectfully. I’ve interviewed enough people over the years to know that sincere people can report extraordinary things, but sincerity is not the same thing as proof. That’s where investigation comes in.

Can the location be verified? Does the description match known wildlife? Were there tracks, photographs or other witnesses? Does the timeline hold together? Is there a reasonable conventional explanation? Those aren’t questions designed to destroy a mystery. They’re the questions that make investigating one worthwhile.

But It Cuts Both Ways

There is another side of this conversation that deserves attention. Skepticism is healthy and, in fact, essential. But skepticism has to operate by the same rules.

If extraordinary claims require evidence, claims supposedly disproving extraordinary things should be examined carefully, too. A confident conclusion isn’t automatically a scientific one simply because it supports the conventional explanation.

That issue is about to become particularly interesting. A forthcoming film dealing with this world is already raising questions that I believe deserve examination—not because I have any interest in blindly defending cryptozoology, but because evidence and methodology should matter regardless of which conclusion someone wants to reach.

I’ll have more to say about that. For now, I’m asking a different question: Has AI, social media sensationalism and declining standards of evidence brought us to the death of cryptozoology, or has it simply made genuine investigation more important than ever?

That’s the subject of the latest episode of Dark Outdoors.

Because the outdoors has a dark side.

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Dark Outdoors

🎃🦈 Count Drahoon Kicks Off Sharks Aren’t So Scary! 🦈🎃

Sharks have inspired some of the greatest horror movies ever made.

They’ve also inspired countless myths, misconceptions and exaggerated fears.

This October, Dark Outdoors is joining the Gulf Great White Shark Society for Sharks Aren’t So Scary, a public education campaign that separates Hollywood fiction from real-life sharks.

Who better to kick things off than horror host Count Drahoon?

After years of celebrating monster movies—including some of the wildest shark films ever made—Count Drahoon reminds us in our official public service announcement that while fictional sharks make for great entertainment, the real animals are far more fascinating than frightening.

Throughout the month, Dark Outdoors will investigate famous shark encounters, explore the history behind shark fears, separate myth from reality and tell the stories that reveal why these incredible predators deserve both our respect and our protection.

Watch Count Drahoon’s official kickoff PSA, then follow the Gulf Great White Shark Society for the science behind the stories and join us all October as we dive into the darker side of shark history—without losing sight of the truth.

Because sometimes the truth is stranger… and far more interesting… than fiction.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Crytozoology, Dark Outdoors

NEW VIDEO: The Dark History Behind Giant Texas Feral Hogs

The 725.8-pound feral hog taken in Southeast Texas has generated a tremendous amount of attention since I first reported on it.

Its incredible size immediately got people’s attention, but then viewers started focusing on something else. The massive animal was black and white, and some questioned whether a hog that looked like this and weighed more than 700 pounds could really be feral.

It was.

This was a free-ranging feral hog, and its weight wasn’t someone’s field estimate. The animal was photographed on a scale registering 725.8 pounds.

But the debate made me connect some dots I hadn’t connected before.

For years, I’ve known about giant domestic hogs being released at different locations in this region. That information takes on a new dimension when you consider an animal like this one and the tremendous variation found among feral hogs.

My new video looks at that history, what actually makes a hog feral and how past releases could potentially help explain some of the enormous and unusual-looking feral hogs roaming Southeast Texas.

WATCH THE NEW VIDEO

There are some important distinctions here.

A feral hog doesn’t have to look like the stereotypical lean, black, long-snouted hog many people picture when they hear the word “feral.” Domestic swine can escape or be released and become feral. Their descendants can also reproduce with other free-ranging hogs, contributing to the tremendous variation in size, coloration and physical characteristics found in feral hog populations.

In other words, domestic characteristics don’t automatically make a free-ranging hog somebody’s pet or a barnyard animal.

And that’s where this story gets much more interesting.

I’ve known for years about giant domestic hogs being released at different locations in this region over a long period of time. I knew about these releases long before this 725.8-pound hog appeared.

What I hadn’t done was connect that history with the larger story of giant feral hogs in Southeast Texas.

I’m not claiming this particular hog came from one of those releases because I don’t have evidence connecting this individual animal to a specific release. What we don’t know is the complete ancestry of this hog.

But that doesn’t change what it was when it was killed.

It was a free-ranging feral hog.

The more intriguing question is whether the history of giant domestic hog releases could help explain some of the extraordinary size, coloration and other characteristics occasionally seen in feral hogs in this region.

Could some of those genetics still be represented in hogs roaming Southeast Texas today?

That’s a question worth investigating, and it’s a much bigger story than simply arguing over what the word “feral” means.

The 725.8-pound weight is documented. The animal was free-ranging. The history of giant domestic hog releases in the region is real.

What we don’t know is exactly how all those pieces fit together.

But I’ve connected enough of the dots to know there’s more to investigate.

And I don’t think we’re finished with the giant hog story yet.

Because the outdoors has a dark side.

Chester Moore
Dark Outdoors®

Dark Outdoors investigates terrifying encounters, unsolved mysteries, true crime and dangerous wildlife—because the outdoors has a dark side.

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Invasive Exotics

725-Pound Wild Boar Looks Almost Too Big to Be Real

I’ve seen some huge feral hogs over the years, but the animal featured in my newest video is in another category altogether.

A Texas hunter killed a massive black-and-white boar in Southeast Texas that tipped the scales at 725.8 pounds.

And that’s not an estimated weight.

There’s a photograph showing the hog on the scale with a reading of 725.8 pounds, and I was able to review documentation, video and information surrounding this incredible animal.

Watch the video here.

The hog had recently begun appearing on game camera. This wasn’t an animal Swenson had been watching grow for years. It showed up—and it was enormous.

One thing that will immediately get people’s attention is the coloration. The animal has a striking black-and-white pattern that might cause some viewers to wonder whether they’re really looking at a free-ranging feral hog.

That coloration is absolutely within the documented range for feral hogs.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reports feral hog coat color and pattern are highly variable. They may be black, brown, red, white, spotted or “belted.” AgriLife specifically describes belted hogs as black or brownish-red with a white band across the shoulders and forelimbs.

I’ve personally taken a couple of free-ranging hogs over the years with a similar black-and-white pattern. None of them were remotely close to this animal’s size.

Color alone also doesn’t tell us the precise ancestry of an individual hog. Texas feral hogs have a complicated history involving domestic swine, free-ranging hogs and Eurasian wild boar.

There have been plenty of “Hogzilla” stories over the years. Some involved estimated weights. Others came with very little documentation.

That’s why this one got my attention.

725.8 pounds was on the scale.

In the new video, I take a close look at the animal, the evidence surrounding it and just how unusual a free-ranging hog of this magnitude really is.

The outdoors has a dark side—and sometimes it has a really, really big one.

Chester Moore
Dark Outdoors®

Dark Outdoors investigates terrifying encounters, unsolved mysteries, true crime and dangerous wildlife—because the outdoors has a dark side.

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Invasive Exotics

Could Black Mambas Survive in Florida?

Chester Moore Files #2

The Burmese python invasion proved exotic reptiles can establish themselves in South Florida. Could one of Africa’s most feared venomous snakes survive there, too?

By Chester Moore

Imagine walking along the edge of a palmetto thicket in South Florida and seeing a long, grayish snake disappear into the brush.

It isn’t an eastern diamondback. It isn’t a cottonmouth. And it certainly isn’t a Burmese python.

It’s a black mamba.

Before anyone starts sharing this article with claims that black mambas are roaming the Everglades, let me make something absolutely clear: I have found no evidence of an established population of black mambas anywhere in Florida or elsewhere in the United States. I also have no verified evidence that anyone has intentionally released black mambas into Florida.

But could one survive if it escaped or was released? That is a much more interesting question, and Florida’s extraordinary history with nonnative reptiles makes it one worth asking.

Black Mamba Attacks & Other African Snake Encounters

That question came to mind while working on the latest episode of the Dark Outdoors podcast, which takes listeners into real encounters with black mambas and other dangerous African snakes.

These aren’t hypothetical encounters with mambas somewhere in the American South. They are stories involving African snakes in places where these animals naturally occur, giving us a much better understanding of what encountering one of these remarkable predators can actually be like.

Listen to “Black Mamba Attacks & Other African Snake Encounters”:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-mamba-attacks-other-african-snake-encounters/id1630809603?i=1000773845882

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7w9fPKoqAbNAehq3T29Kz8?si=T66SkaFMTim44HOftGt_Sg

The encounters discussed in the episode got me thinking about something much closer to home.

What happens when exotic reptiles end up in places where they don’t belong?

Florida has already given us the answer.

The Python Lesson

There was a time when the idea of giant constrictors reproducing in the Florida wilderness sounded like something from a low-budget horror movie.

It doesn’t anymore.

Burmese pythons are firmly established in South Florida, particularly in and around the Everglades. Wildlife officials now devote substantial resources to controlling an invasive snake that has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to survive in the region.

But there is another part of the python story that is particularly important when discussing black mambas.

Florida gets cold.

Not Tennessee cold. Not Montana cold. But South Florida experiences occasional cold snaps capable of killing tropical reptiles.

A U.S. Geological Survey study examining the historic January 2010 cold spell documented substantial mortality among Burmese pythons. Only one of 10 radio-telemetered pythons in one portion of the study survived, while 60 percent of another group whose fate could be determined survived.

In other words, cold hammered them.

It didn’t eliminate them.

Subsequent research has even found evidence of rapid genetic adaptation associated with surviving climatic extremes in Florida’s invasive Burmese python population.

That should make us cautious about declaring that an exotic reptile simply “can’t live here.”

At the same time, we shouldn’t go in the opposite direction and assume any tropical snake released in Florida would automatically become the next Burmese python.

Surviving Isn’t the Same as Invading

There are four very different questions that tend to get mixed together whenever people discuss exotic wildlife.

Can an individual survive?

Can the species reproduce?

Can it establish a self-sustaining population?

Can that population expand enough to become invasive?

Those aren’t the same thing.

A black mamba surviving a Florida summer wouldn’t tell us much. The real test would come through winter, reproduction, disease, availability of suitable refuges and the ability of offspring to survive year after year.

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) has a broad native distribution across eastern and southern Africa. It inhabits savannas, rocky hills, open woodland and other habitats where it can find both prey and suitable places to shelter.

Despite its name, the black mamba isn’t black. Adults are generally shades of gray, olive, brown or combinations of those colors. The name comes from the dark coloration inside the mouth, which can be displayed dramatically when the snake feels threatened.

Black mambas also aren’t simply inhabitants of steamy equatorial jungle. Their natural distribution covers a significant geographic area and a variety of habitats.

That adaptability is one reason I don’t think the question of potential survival in subtropical America should simply be laughed off.

It also doesn’t prove they could establish themselves here.

Could a Black Mamba Survive South Florida?

On the surface, parts of South Florida offer several things a black mamba would need.

There are long periods of warm weather, abundant prey and enormous areas of suitable cover. Black mambas prey heavily on small mammals and other vertebrates, and South Florida certainly isn’t lacking rodents.

There are also countless potential refuges.

Rock piles, tree cavities, abandoned structures, burrows, dense vegetation and other protected areas could provide a snake with places to escape both predators and temporary temperature extremes.

The larger questions involve winter temperatures, prolonged cool weather, humidity, disease, parasites and successful reproduction.

Florida isn’t Africa. Two places having similar temperatures for part of the year doesn’t mean they have identical ecological conditions.

Humidity could potentially create additional challenges for a species accustomed to different environmental conditions, while disease and parasites encountered in a new ecosystem could present problems impossible to predict simply by looking at temperature maps.

Then there are hurricanes, flooding and other environmental pressures.

This is why I’m unwilling to make the leap from “a black mamba might survive in South Florida” to “black mambas could establish a population there.”

We simply don’t have enough evidence to make that claim.

What About South Texas?

South Texas presents another interesting possibility, although in some respects it might be a more difficult environment than extreme South Florida.

Anyone who has spent time in the South Texas brush country knows just how hot the region can become. Summers are long, prey is abundant, and the landscape contains an almost endless assortment of brush, burrows and other potential snake refuges.

But Texas can also experience powerful Arctic fronts.

Temperatures can plunge dramatically over relatively short periods, even in portions of the state normally associated with subtropical conditions.

That could be a serious limiting factor.

Could an escaped black mamba survive a South Texas summer?

I wouldn’t bet against it.

Could it successfully overwinter?

Possibly under the right circumstances, particularly if it found a sufficiently protected refuge.

Could multiple animals survive multiple winters, locate one another, reproduce and eventually create a self-sustaining population?

That’s where speculation needs to stop and science needs to begin.

Black Mambas Are Already in America

There is another important element to this discussion.

Black mambas don’t have to somehow cross the Atlantic Ocean on their own.

They are maintained in captivity in the United States as part of the exotic reptile world.

Florida specifically regulates possession of venomous reptiles. Keeping dangerous snakes requires permits, experience, secure facilities and specific caging standards.

And this is where an important distinction needs to be made.

Responsible reptile keepers aren’t the enemy.

Many serious herpetoculturists have tremendous knowledge of reptiles and maintain their animals under highly secure conditions. Zoos and other professional facilities have kept dangerous snakes for generations while contributing to research, education and conservation.

The issue is irresponsible ownership, escapes and deliberate releases.

Florida has learned the consequences of that problem repeatedly.

Burmese pythons are the most famous example, but they’re far from the only nonnative reptiles now found in the state. Iguanas, tegus, various geckos, anoles and other reptiles from around the world have found their way into Florida’s ecosystems.

Some disappear.

Some survive.

And some stay.

What My Sources Are Telling Me

This is where the story takes a darker turn.

Over the years I have developed sources in numerous corners of the wildlife world, including people familiar with the exotic animal trade.

I have been told by sources I consider credible that individuals have intentionally released certain exotic reptiles in South Florida with the hope of establishing reproducing populations that could later provide animals to capture and sell.

Let me emphasize what I am not saying.

I have not independently documented these alleged releases, and I am not identifying individuals because I don’t have the evidence necessary to publicly accuse someone of committing an illegal act.

Most importantly, none of my sources have provided me evidence that black mambas are being released in an effort to establish a Florida population.

I don’t want anyone twisting this investigation into that claim.

What I am saying is that I have heard enough about alleged intentional releases involving other exotic reptiles that I believe the broader issue deserves scrutiny.

Florida wildlife officials certainly recognize the danger associated with releasing exotic animals. The state regulates nonnative wildlife and has programs designed specifically to prevent unwanted exotic pets from simply being turned loose.

The reason is simple.

Once a reproducing population becomes established across thousands or millions of acres of difficult habitat, putting the genie back into the bottle can become virtually impossible.

A Very Different Kind of Snake Problem

The ecological impact of Burmese pythons is obvious. They are enormous constrictors capable of consuming an astonishing variety of native wildlife.

A black mamba would represent something entirely different.

This isn’t a 15-foot constrictor capable of swallowing a large mammal.

It’s a highly venomous African elapid whose presence would create a potentially serious public-safety issue.

That doesn’t make black mambas evil, and it doesn’t mean they spend their lives chasing human beings through the African bush.

They’re wildlife.

Their reputation comes from a combination of size, speed, defensive capability and extremely potent venom. When cornered or threatened, a black mamba is an animal that deserves tremendous respect.

And without prompt treatment, a serious envenomation can be catastrophic.

That’s precisely what makes the real encounters discussed in the latest Dark Outdoors episode so compelling.

These aren’t stories manufactured around some imaginary Florida mamba invasion. They involve people encountering dangerous snakes in Africa, where black mambas actually belong.

Could It Really Happen?

So let’s return to the original question.

Could a black mamba escape or be released somewhere in the southern United States and survive for a period of time?

I believe that possibility should be taken seriously.

Could one survive for years?

That’s harder to answer.

Could enough animals survive, find one another, reproduce and establish a permanent population like Burmese pythons have in South Florida?

We don’t know.

And that’s the answer I’m comfortable giving.

There is no reason to manufacture another Florida monster story when the real story is more interesting.

South Florida has become one of America’s greatest real-world experiments in exotic reptile establishment. Animals from distant continents have arrived through human activity and, in some cases, discovered that Florida was close enough to home to stay.

The Burmese python should have taught us something important about predicting what exotic reptiles can and cannot do.

Survival is not establishment. Establishment is not invasion. But establishment has to start somewhere.

The black mamba represents an extreme version of the question Florida has already forced wildlife managers to confront:

What happens when an animal from another part of the world discovers our backyard isn’t as inhospitable as we thought?

Hopefully, with the black mamba, we never find out.

Hear the Dark Outdoors Episode

Listen to “Black Mamba Attacks & Other African Snake Encounters” on the Dark Outdoors podcast.

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-mamba-attacks-other-african-snake-encounters/id1630809603?i=1000773845882

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7w9fPKoqAbNAehq3T29Kz8?si=T66SkaFMTim44HOftGt_Sg

Dark Outdoors investigates terrifying encounters, unsolved mysteries, true crime and dangerous wildlife—because the outdoors has a dark side.

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Crytozoology, Dark Outdoors

The Night I Had A Red Wolf In My Crosshairs

A pair of eyes emerged from the bushes in the darkness. There had recently been a mountain lion sighting in the area, so I raised my rifle and looked through the scope. What I saw wasn’t a mountain lion. It looked like a red wolf.

I lowered the rifle.

That encounter has stayed with me for years, and it opens a new episode of Dark Outdoors®, “The Night I Had a Red Wolf in My Crosshairs.” The episode explores that experience, other strange wild canine encounters and the fascinating story of an animal that once roamed Texas and Louisiana but came perilously close to disappearing forever.

Listen to the full Dark Outdoors® episode:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-night-i-had-a-red-wolf-in-my-crosshairs/id1630809603?i=1000788048061

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gtxNaNdRgw1PSBYJAbnTS?si=oMTRler3T-2zW3qRAG-SggI

Texas Coyotes With Red Wolf DNA?

There is another fascinating chapter to this story.

Researchers studying wild canines along the Texas Gulf Coast have discovered animals carrying significant amounts of red wolf ancestry. That raises intriguing questions about whether genetic remnants of the wolves that once inhabited this region have survived within coastal coyote populations.

I explored that story in a video examining Texas coyotes, red wolf genetics and the remarkable possibilities scientists are considering for conserving those genes.

Watch “Texas Coyotes — 70% Red Wolf? The Cloning Plan” on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ZB0iVEcGp44?si=IoPli3VoyXMQMJk1

The Red Wolf’s Disappearing World

The red wolf (Canis rufus) is one of North America’s great wildlife conservation stories.

Red wolves once occupied portions of the eastern and south-central United States, including Texas and Louisiana. By the 20th century, persecution, habitat changes and hybridization with coyotes helped push them toward extinction in the wild.

A small number of animals were captured along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast to establish a captive breeding program. Those animals became the foundation for an effort that prevented the red wolf from disappearing completely.

Today, the only recognized wild population exists in eastern North Carolina.

That makes the discovery of red wolf ancestry in Gulf Coast canines especially fascinating. The wolves themselves may have disappeared from Texas, but some of their genetics apparently did not.

What Was in My Crosshairs?

I’m not claiming that the animal I encountered that night was a genetically pure red wolf.

There was no DNA test. I didn’t capture it. I didn’t have a biologist standing beside me.

I can only tell you what happened.

I saw those eyes emerge from the bushes. With a mountain lion recently reported in the area, I raised my rifle. When I got a better look at the animal, what I saw looked like a red wolf.

So I lowered the gun.

Years later, as research began revealing the surprising amount of red wolf ancestry surviving in some Gulf Coast coyotes, encounters like mine became even more interesting.

Could I have encountered an animal carrying substantial red wolf genetics?

I don’t know.

But unlike a lot of mysterious wildlife stories, we now know there really are wild canines along the Texas Gulf Coast carrying genetic echoes of the red wolf.

And that makes this story worth another look.

Hear the Full Story

In the complete Dark Outdoors episode, I tell the story of that night and explore other unusual encounters I’ve had with wild canines over the years.

Listen to “The Night I Had a Red Wolf in My Crosshairs”:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-night-i-had-a-red-wolf-in-my-crosshairs/id1630809603?i=1000788048061

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gtxNaNdRgw1PSBYJAbnTS?si=oMTRler3T-2zW3qRAG-SggI

Then go deeper into the Texas red wolf story with our video on Gulf Coast coyotes, red wolf DNA and the efforts to preserve those remarkable genetics:

Watch on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ZB0iVEcGp44?si=IoPli3VoyXMQMJk1

Sometimes the most interesting wildlife mysteries aren’t about creatures science says don’t exist.

They’re about animals we know existed—and the pieces of them that may still be running wild.

Because the outdoors has a dark side.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Crytozoology, Dark Outdoors

He Found an African Lion in His Chicken Coop in Texas

A man walked outside his Texas home and discovered a huge cat inside his chicken coop. It wasn’t a bobcat, and it didn’t look like a mountain lion. The animal he described looked like an African lion.

That encounter is at the center of a new episode of Dark Outdoors®, examining one of the strangest categories of wildlife reports I have investigated over the years: big cats that don’t seem to belong where people are seeing them.

LISTEN TO THE DARK OUTDOORS® EPISODE

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/he-found-a-lion-in-his-chicken-coop-in-texas/id1630809603?i=1000788610512

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QaAVZ7vnU4cvByWbY8CJg?si=Xw1X5E8NR5KmIzzt8pHNGQ

A Lion Where No Lion Should Be

For decades, I have investigated reports of unusual cats in Texas and across the South. Mountain lions are responsible for some of them. Bobcats, especially when seen briefly or under unusual conditions, can account for others. Misidentification is a legitimate part of investigating any unusual wildlife report, and it should always be considered before looking for a more exotic explanation.

But occasionally a report comes along that doesn’t fit comfortably into those categories. The chicken-coop encounter is one of them. The witness described an animal that appeared to be an African lion. That’s an extraordinary claim, and without photographs, DNA or other physical evidence, there is no way to prove exactly what stood inside that coop.

The possibility of an exotic cat appearing in Texas, however, isn’t as impossible as it might initially sound. Texas has a long history of privately held exotic wildlife. Animals escape, and historically some have been deliberately released. In some cases, an exotic animal could potentially survive unnoticed for a period of time, particularly in remote country with abundant cover and prey.

That doesn’t mean every report of an unusual cat is an escaped exotic. It simply means the possibility shouldn’t automatically be dismissed when examining a credible report.

The Giant Tracks

The lion report isn’t the only strange big-cat case I discuss in this episode. I also recount one of my own investigations involving enormous cat tracks that immediately caught my attention because of their size.

Photo by Chester Moore

I’ve spent much of my life around wildlife and studying animal sign, and these tracks appeared far larger than what I expected to find from a native cat in that area. That doesn’t automatically make them evidence of some exotic predator. Tracks can be deceptive. Mud can distort a print, a paw can slip and multiple impressions can overlap.

Those possibilities always have to be considered, but when unusually large tracks begin showing up in the same broader conversation as reports of unusually large cats, the subject becomes much more interesting.

Could Exotic Cats Be Roaming Texas?

Texas is enormous, with millions of acres of forests, swamps, brush country, ranchland and river bottoms where an animal can remain surprisingly difficult to detect. Mountain lions themselves demonstrate how effectively a large predator can move primarily at night, avoid people and cover tremendous distances without being seen by most of the people living around it.

Now consider an escaped exotic cat behaving in much the same way. Could a lion, leopard or another large captive cat survive for some period of time in the wild? Under the right circumstances, it’s certainly possible. The much harder question is whether that possibility explains any particular sighting.

That’s where evidence matters. A witness report can begin an investigation, but tracks, photographs, video, hair, scat or DNA can move a case into an entirely different category.

But unfortunately A.I. has changed this to a large extent because it’s very difficult to believe any photo or video evidence.

The Mystery Cats of the South

Stories of strange cats have circulated through Texas, Louisiana and other parts of the South for generations. Some witnesses report oversized mountain lions. Others describe black cats they call panthers. Still others report animals whose size, coloration or physical appearance doesn’t seem to match any native species.

There is a temptation to put every one of those reports into the same box, but I don’t think that’s useful. Some are undoubtedly misidentifications. Some may involve actual mountain lions appearing in places where people aren’t accustomed to seeing them. Other reports simply don’t contain enough information to reach any conclusion.

Then there are the cases that remain difficult to explain. Those are the ones that have kept me interested in this subject for decades.

Something That Isn’t Supposed to Be There

The goal isn’t to turn every strange animal sighting into a monster story. It’s to investigate what people report and ask the right questions. What did the witness actually see? Does the description match known wildlife? Could an exotic animal have escaped in the area? Are there tracks, photographs, hair, scat or other physical evidence? Have independent witnesses reported something similar?

Those questions are far more interesting than simply declaring every unusual sighting impossible or, on the other extreme, believing every extraordinary claim without evidence. Most wildlife mysteries probably have ordinary explanations.

But every once in a while, somebody walks outside, looks into a chicken coop and sees something that isn’t supposed to be there.

That’s when things get interesting.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

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To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

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Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Animal Attacks, Crytozoology, Dark Occult

They Could Hear Them Tearing the Calf Apart: A Strange Brazos River Predator Encounter

Deep along the Brazos River, something attacked a calf in the darkness.

The people nearby couldn’t clearly see what was happening.

But they could hear it.

They described multiple animals involved in the attack and, most disturbingly, what sounded like bones breaking as the calf was seemingly pulled apart with astonishing speed.

What happened that night?

I don’t know—and I’m not going to pretend that I do.

In the new Dark Outdoors® episode, “They Could Hear Them Tearing the Calf Apart,” you can hear the account directly from one of the people who was there. The earwitness tells his own story, describing what he heard along the Brazos River that night and why the experience has stayed with him.

Hear his firsthand account on Dark Outdoors®:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-could-hear-them-tearing-the-calf-apart/id1630809603?i=1000788179283

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1H8NLrnvs7kIaIdwUjU5V5?si=ajO9sdN8SaueGBjq3gY0Mw

Predators Along the Brazos

The Brazos River runs through some wild Texas country, and there are certainly predators capable of attacking young livestock.

Coyotes immediately come to mind, particularly when multiple animals are described. Bobcats occur throughout Texas, mountain lions are present in parts of the state and feral hogs can attack vulnerable animals and readily scavenge carcasses.

But identifying what could kill something is very different from determining what did.

That’s important here. This was an event experienced primarily through sound, in darkness, during what was apparently a violent and chaotic attack.

We make no assumptions about what was responsible.

What makes the story compelling is the extraordinary nature of what the earwitness describes hearing and how quickly the attack seemed to unfold. In the podcast, you aren’t simply hearing my interpretation of his story. You hear him describe the encounter in his own words.

Strange Things Happen in Predator Country

I’ve spent decades observing wildlife, and I’ve encountered strange examples of predation myself.

Sometimes you find evidence that seems straightforward. Other times you look at tracks, wounds, feeding patterns or the condition of an animal and something doesn’t fit what you expected.

That doesn’t mean a monster did it.

It means you don’t know.

Wild animals don’t always behave according to the simplified descriptions we give them. Predators exploit unusual opportunities, multiple species may visit the same carcass and scavengers can dramatically change a scene after an animal dies.

I’ve seen strange predation in the wild where I couldn’t confidently explain exactly what happened. Experiences like those are one reason I take accounts like this seriously without making extraordinary claims about them.

Hearing Can Be Worse Than Seeing

Anyone who has spent significant time outdoors after dark knows how powerful sound becomes when you can’t see its source. Your mind tries to construct an image from what your ears are telling you.

Now imagine hearing an animal fighting for its life somewhere beyond your ability to see clearly.

Nature isn’t a horror movie. Predators aren’t evil. They kill because that’s how they survive, and predator-prey relationships are fundamental to the natural world.

But that doesn’t make hearing a violent kill in the darkness any less unsettling.

In the full episode, the Brazos River earwitness describes exactly what he remembers hearing. I also examine some of the possibilities and share other unusual predator-prey observations that have left me with questions of my own.

Hear the complete firsthand account:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/they-could-hear-them-tearing-the-calf-apart/id1630809603?i=1000788179283

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1H8NLrnvs7kIaIdwUjU5V5?si=ajO9sdN8SaueGBjq3gY0Mw

We make no assumptions about what happened along the Brazos River that night. We simply present the account, consider what we know about predators and let the person who experienced it tell you what he heard.

Sometimes there isn’t enough evidence to explain everything that happens in the wild.

And sometimes hearing it is worse than seeing it.

Because the outdoors has a dark side.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.

Feral Humans

What Are Feral Humans? A Strange Law Enforcement Encounter in Oklahoma

What exactly are feral humans?

The phrase conjures images of people living beyond civilization—hidden deep in forests, mountains and other wild places. Online, the term has become associated with everything from strange figures spotted in remote forests to stories that sound more like folklore than documented human behavior.

But the reality may be far more complicated.

In this special episode of Dark Outdoors®, “Law Enforcement Feral Human Encounter,” I explore what the term feral human could actually mean and examine a bizarre account involving law enforcement, a helicopter and thermal imaging in rugged Oklahoma country.

Listen to the full Dark Outdoors® episode:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/law-enforcement-feral-human-encounter/id1630809603?i=1000787916830

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/73nluQXh5vrZNfxgooRX9e?si=CJGjdF38QAmHE2pxYc4fYw

What Do We Mean by “Feral Human?”

First, I am not suggesting there is some scientifically recognized population of mysterious wild people secretly inhabiting America’s forests.

That’s not what this is about.

For Dark Outdoors, the concept is broader. There are people who deliberately disappear into wilderness areas. There are people living transient lifestyles far beyond normal population centers. There are fugitives, criminals and individuals who simply choose to exist outside the boundaries most of us consider normal society.

Then there are encounters that aren’t so easily categorized.

That’s where things get interesting.

The Oklahoma Thermal Encounter

At the center of this episode is an unusual story from Oklahoma involving law enforcement and a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging.

During the incident, a human figure was detected moving through rugged, isolated country below.

The technology could establish something important: there was a person down there.

What it couldn’t explain was who that person was, what they were doing in such an isolated location or the circumstances that brought them there.

And that is where I think discussions about “feral humans” become more interesting than internet legends.

We don’t have to invent monsters.

Human beings are strange enough.

The complete account—and the details that make this encounter particularly unsettling—are in the podcast.

Our Award-Winning Feral Human Investigation

This isn’t the first time Dark Outdoors has investigated reports of mysterious people living or moving through remote wilderness.

Our Dark Outdoors feral human documentary won Best Video Storytelling from the Press Club of Southeast Texas, and it takes a deeper look at the subject through firsthand accounts and investigation.

Watch the documentary:
https://youtu.be/yMKK5wsCM-w?si=PJoAoFhGRBn1nms8

The goal isn’t to prove internet folklore or force unexplained encounters into a sensational explanation.

It’s to investigate what people are actually reporting.

Some encounters may have ordinary explanations. Others involve genuinely strange or disturbing human behavior. And occasionally there simply isn’t enough evidence to determine exactly what happened.

The Human Factor

People tend to think about outdoor danger in terms of animals—bears, mountain lions, venomous snakes and feral hogs.

But one of the recurring lessons of Dark Outdoors has been that some of the strangest—and potentially most dangerous—encounters in remote places involve other human beings.

That doesn’t mean every person living in the wilderness is dangerous. There are countless legitimate reasons someone might be deep in the backcountry.

But awareness matters.

If you encounter someone behaving strangely in an isolated area, you don’t have to solve the mystery. Maintain distance, trust your instincts and remove yourself from the situation if something doesn’t feel right.

Hear the Oklahoma Account

So who was the person detected from that helicopter, and what were they doing in the Oklahoma wilderness?

We make no extraordinary claims about the answer.

But the circumstances surrounding the encounter are strange enough to deserve examination.

Hear the full account on Dark Outdoors®:

Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/law-enforcement-feral-human-encounter/id1630809603?i=1000787916830

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/73nluQXh5vrZNfxgooRX9e?si=CJGjdF38QAmHE2pxYc4fYw

For an even deeper investigation, watch our documentary, winner of Best Video Storytelling from the Press Club of Southeast Texas:

Sometimes the strangest thing hiding in the woods isn’t an animal.

Because the outdoors has a dark side.

Chester Moore

Follow Chester Moore on the following social media platforms

Chester Moore’s YouTube.

@thechestermoore on Instagram

@gulfgreatwhitesharksociety on Instagram

To support the efforts of Higher Calling Wildlife® click here.

Subscribe to the Dark Outdoors podcast on all major podcasting platforms.

Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook

Email Chester at chester@chestermoore.com.