Possible encounter report, March 15 2002 - Sean

Date and season March 15. Early Autumn.
Approximate Location Gallery forest, Grose River, Yarramundi
Time of day app. 12.40 a.m.
People in attendance 2
Time and conditions: Warm, clear night; app. new moon. No wind
Nearest town:Richmond, NSW
Observed: 1. Reasonably substantial branches breaking and movement (not a continuous sound) thru thick undergrowth adjacent to river, app. 50 m distance, directly on opposite river bank.
2. Howl/scream/yell, three times, each subsequent call closer than the previous; each call separated by 3-4 minutes silence. Each call slightly different, but this may have been affected by distance, not that the distance was great. First call may have been excess of 500 m distance, final call may have been 200-300 m distance. Call was quite distinctly made from a large animal. Source of calls and branches breaking/movement thru undergrowth not the same. It was obviously something large that was responsible for the both noise types. Certainly not possum, dog, koala or cow. Not aware of any bird species that can make such vocalisations. Vegetation and topography of riverbank inaccessible to cow, though cattle were present in the area. Environment: As described above. Within 5 km of Blue Mountains Nat'l Pk. Broken forest and open paddocks exist in the immediate area.