This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Maleficent-Study-383 on 2024-11-03 18:22:11+00:00.
Hey there, allow me to introduce myself as Mark, I won't specify my last name for safety reasons but I have worked as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park which all of you know and have heard alot about, especially if you live in the states. Apologies for my bad grammar, I am an immigrant that moved to the USA in 2008 from China so my English skills would be very lacking but I'm trying my best to share my experience in being a park ranger for 5 years.
Being a park ranger gives you the opportunity to see things that are not seen by city folk and some would even slide off the memory of the human race due to how hidden these things are and trust me, yellowstone is not different. They say the bears in Yellowstone are dangerous, which is true and along with the wolves and other predators but there's more than just bears and other critters that can tear you apart.....the yellowstone has very sinister inhabitants....
Now, you may have heard of the wendigo and may have considered them as folklore along with the skinwalkers but in reality, they are part of the ecosystem in yellowstone but what's even more disturbing is that they're not at the top....I found it out in my second year as a park ranger.
It was just like any other day, mundane....full of life, and I'm just carrying my tasks as a park ranger. Assisting the hikers, patrolling the park, and watching over in the tower to look for wildfires and other stuff and sometimes I do it out of curiousity. That day, I can remember chilling in the cabin and eating food though I don't remember what I was eating but I remember my radio buzzing and the voice of my partner coming out of the radio....
"Mark? Mark? Requesting assistance near the tree line close to where some hikers camped last week, there seems to be a scene that needed to be investigated." The radio crackles
I pick it up and answer "alright, be there in a few minutes"
About thirty minutes later, I arrived at the spot only to be greeted by a grizzly sight of a strange creature lying dead and full of wounds.....large scratch marks and it's body was battered and gored....perhaps this is what folks called the wendigo as the creature had a skull for a head and antlers...it looked formidable but it looked like it was the latest victim of something bigger and at the time, I am no in mood to meet the culprit but I stayed.
"Um..Kevin, what do you think that thing is?" I asked, clearly alarmed by it's dusturbing appearance and the horrible smell
"That's what we call a wendigo" he answered without signs of irritation or apprehension to the smell.
Now, Kevin was an older guy, a white dude in his 40s, tall and hugely built but even he was short compared to the thing that laid dead in front of us....
"What killed this thing?" I asked, disgust and dread etched on my voice but somehow Kevin answered with calmness...
"Bear, could be a mother bear defending her cubs or a male bear defending his territory, anyway...bears suppress the population of these creatures and seemingly compete for the same resources... it's tall and all but really doesn't stand much of a chance against a grizzly..." Kevin said,
Kevin went down on his knee to examine the stinking corpse while I put a distance between me and the desd wendigo as I cannot stand the smell. Kevin in the other hand, kept investigating.
"This creature seemed to have just died last night from all these injuries, it sure was a brutal way to die....though it's good that less of these creatures exist....they really are responsible for most missing cases here in Yellowstone" Kevin said with a satisfied grin
"I just need you to help me move thi-" he got cut off by the rustling in the nearby trees and we both reached for our service weapons. Growls of a bear are heard but what came forward was no grizzly....it was even more frightening as it ran towards us, me and Kevin knew better than to be a bear's next meal so we both rushed to the car and drove away but that bear was no grizzly.....
No....it was too tall to be one and the snout a bit shorter.....it was as tall as me when it was on all fours. Kevin drove us away and as we were going away, the bear stopped at the carcass and tore it apart in a brutal display.
I believe that, that was the bear that killed the wendigo...though it might be another bear but that bear was huge and it was the first time I ran into that huge bear.....
I still have more to share but sleep is calling me now, I'll upload more of my experience in the future but for the moment, can you help me with what that bear is? I've asked Kevin before but he has no idea too...so maybe some of you have and I would appreciate it...