Urban legend of baby heard in woods at night may be tied to the animal in this video

Multiple urban legends warn that following the sounds of a baby into the woods at night will lead to a ghoul, serial killer or ghost baby.

Laugh, if you will, but there’s actually a grain of truth in the folklore, and the proof comes from an unexpected source.

Just in time for Halloween, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region has shared a video on Facebook that shows there are indeed dangerous creatures in the dark that sound exactly like cooing babies.

They’re not ghosts, however. It’s porcupines, one of nature’s least cuddly animals.

“Porcupines are vocal critters and create a wide array of sounds in various different ways, including shrill screeches, coughs, groans, whines, teeth chatters, and low grunts,” the Fish and Wildlife Service wrote. “These vocalizations are an important communication tool and are used to warn predators and communicate with each other.”

The video, recorded around 11 p.m. on Sept. 20, shows a wandering porcupine making a noise that one commenter likened to the sound of “a satiated baby.” Others called the cooing noise scary and cartoonish.

It’s not clear exactly what the waddling porcupine was doing in the video, other than going in circles in the wooded area.

North American porcupines can be as heavy as 40 pounds, depending on the part of the country, and defend themselves with about 30,000 barbed quills, according to the wildlife service. They have “poor eyesight” but a great sense hearing, which may explain why they’re so chatty in the dark, Vermont Fish & Wildlife reports.

“Despite common folklore, porcupines do not throw their quills. When threatened, they raise their quills, turn their backs, and swish their tails vigorously,” according to FWS.gov. “The quills easily detach from the porcupine’s skin, and the barbed ends may work deeply into any attacker who touches the porcupine, sometimes resulting in death.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Urban legend of baby heard in woods at night may be tied to the animal in this video."