It was a really low guttural growl, and sounded like a larger animal. If I didn't know better, I would have thought a dog or gator. It was definitely warning me. 

 

The setup:
I was fishing just a few feet away from a tule island...the thin kind with no real dry land on it. I was just about 15 feet from the point and a few feet off a really REALLY dense large tule clump / edge... I could see the water about 6 feet away on the other side. As I'm going towards the point, this thing issues a pretty loud growl. It was very clear it was a warning me - a "I'm about to slap yo upside the head" kind of noise. I didn't question it, and backed off. But it sounded large. Way larger than a river otter, but I can't imagine how anything larger could get in the tules that were SO THICK, and why it would hang out with no real dry ground around.

Anyone know what issues warnings like this? Anything like this happen to you?

Freshwater Hippopotamus? I've seen a few here on our Ga. beaches but I couldn't tell which end the growling was coming from. 

Never heard anything like that before on the Delta…first guess would’ve been the otter, second maybe a sealion?

The river otter.    I’m going with River otter 

 

ive heard them growl at each other.   Hmmm. Maybe the Nutria?  

I not sure if that bear that was caught on home surveillance cameras in Oakley a few months back is still around… https://abc7news.com/bear-in-oakley-ca-bay-area-sighting-girl-pushed/10746791/

Maybe it was on the other side of the tules in the clear water and sounded like it was in the middle of them. Would allow for a bigger animal.

 

If the bank wasn't too far away I'd say possibly a dog and that it just sounded closer than it really was.

 

Sound travels over the water, and I had a conversation once with someone on the other side of the San Joaquin as if we were standing next to each other...well almost. I couldn't believe how easily I could hear him.

 

I've only been "growled" at by catfish there

Nutria being attached by a Rottweiler.

Tom 

Maybe a Cormorant? Those things sound pretty spooky when they do their deep calls. Would never expect a noise like that to come from a bird.

I think I identified it as a seal. I was able to hear their warning growls on youtube and it was exactly the same sound. It must have swum up and buried itself deep in the tules or was hanging out on the other side where I couldn't see it. I thought they would only 'chill' on rocks, land, or beaches, and not up in those kinds of places.

On 11/30/2021 at 11:13 AM, RNSkeeter said:

I think I identified it as a seal. I was able to hear their warning growls on youtube and it was exactly the same sound. It must have swum up and buried itself deep in the tules or was hanging out on the other side where I couldn't see it. I thought they would only 'chill' on rocks, land, or beaches, and not up in those kinds of places.

Maybe I’m that case, it might have been stuck?

Sea Lions will swim up and growl/bark at you, at least I've seen it in videos. That would scare the crap out of me in a yak. They get really big.