# Creature Catchers

An episode of [Animal Tales: The Kids' Story Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1644596989), 25 Mar 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70797281/at481_creaturecatchers_mixdown.mp3

One man and his faithful golden retriever go in search of some unusual creatures. Written especially for this podcast by Alice. If you enjoyed this story, please do leave us a review. And, if you'd like to suggest an animal for a future Animal Tales story, you can do so by emailing podcast@animaltales.uk. We would love to hear from you. Animal Tales Books! Collections of Animal Tales children’s stories are available to buy exclusively at Amazon. Simply search for Animal Tales Short Stories or follow this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CLJQZ9C9?binding=paperback&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi Become a PREMIUM Subscriber You can now enjoy Animal Tales by becoming a Premium Subscriber. This gets you: • All episodes in our catalogue advert free • Bonus Premium-only episodes (one per week) which will never be used on the main podcast • We guarantee to use one of your animal suggestions in a story You can sign up through Apple Podcasts or through Supercast and there are both monthly and yearly plans available. Discover a brand new story every Monday, Wednesday and Friday – just for you! You can find more Animal Tales at www.animaltales.uk A Note About The Adverts In order to allow us to make these stories we offer a premium subscription and run adverts. The adverts are not chosen by us, but played automatically depending on the platform you listen through (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc) and the country you live in. The adverts may even be different if you listen to the story twice. We have had a handful of instances where an advert has played that is not suitable for a family audience, despite the podcast clearly being labelled for children. If you’re concerned about an advert you hear, please contact the platform you are listening to directly. Spotify, in particular, has proven problematic in the past, for both inappropriate adverts and the volume at which the adverts play. If you find this happening, please let Spotify know via their Facebook customer care page. As creators, we want your child’s experience to be a pleasurable one. Running adverts is necessary to allow us to operate, but please do consider the premium subscription service as an alternative – it’s advert free.

## Transcript

[0:12] Speaker 1: Hey yo, Hello everyone, and welcome to the Animal Tales podcast,
[0:18] Speaker 1: where you suggest the animal for us to write a
[0:20] Speaker 1: story about. My name's Josephine, and I've got a brand
[0:24] Speaker 1: new animal story here just for you. For a tiny fee,
[0:29] Speaker 1: you can listen to all Animal Tales stories advert free
[0:33] Speaker 1: via our premium service, where you also get over ninety
[0:37] Speaker 1: premium only stories. Find out more in the text that
[0:40] Speaker 1: accompanies this episode. Ella is from Colorado, USA, and she
[0:47] Speaker 1: would like a story featuring a golden retriever, a yetti,
[0:51] Speaker 1: a bigfoot, and a mothman. You can learn more about
[0:55] Speaker 1: these creatures in the animal facts after the story. Now
[0:59] Speaker 1: settle back, relax, and I'll begin creature catches. Somewhere out
[1:07] Speaker 1: in Oregon's vast forests, a man and his dog were
[1:10] Speaker 1: attempting to be very quiet. The man was called Hank,
[1:16] Speaker 1: and his dog, a golden Retriever, was named Ella. Together
[1:21] Speaker 1: they were on a very strange quest. Hank, you see,
[1:26] Speaker 1: was a cryptozoologist, which meant that he studied creatures known
[1:30] Speaker 1: as cryptids that most people thought didn't exist. Hank thought otherwise,
[1:37] Speaker 1: but in order to prove it, he needed evidence, not
[1:41] Speaker 1: a smudged footprint or a blurry photo. Those weren't for Hank.
[1:47] Speaker 1: Hank wanted evidence that nobody could argue with, which meant
[1:51] Speaker 1: actually catching a cryptid. If he could do that, then
[1:55] Speaker 1: he would be famous, not just amongst cryptozoologists, but throughout
[2:01] Speaker 1: the entire world, which was why he and his trusty
[2:05] Speaker 1: dog Ella were creeping through the Oregon forest. It was
[2:10] Speaker 1: here that Hank hoped to capture a beast many people
[2:13] Speaker 1: had heard of, but there was no actual evidence to
[2:16] Speaker 1: prove it existed, a cryptid called Bigfoot. At present, Ella's
[2:23] Speaker 1: nose was pressed to the mossy forest floor as she
[2:26] Speaker 1: followed an odd smell like a cross between a human
[2:30] Speaker 1: and a bear. Hank followed behind his hound through bushes
[2:35] Speaker 1: and thickets, over streams and fallen logs, until they came
[2:39] Speaker 1: to a spot before a dark cave in a rocky cliff.
[2:44] Speaker 1: Could this be Bigfoot's lair, questioned Hank excitedly. Good job, Ella.
[2:52] Speaker 1: He threw her a treat, then got to work as
[2:55] Speaker 1: quietly as possible. Hank strung up nets and ropes around
[3:00] Speaker 1: the clearing outside the cave. He then pulled a drum
[3:04] Speaker 1: from his bag, which he hung around his neck. I
[3:08] Speaker 1: believe that Bigfoot is a nervous creature, he whispered to Ella.
[3:13] Speaker 1: It's why there's barely any pictures of them, So my
[3:16] Speaker 1: plan is to scare it out by making some noise.
[3:20] Speaker 1: Come on, Ella, let's catch us a bigfoot. Hank started
[3:25] Speaker 1: banging his drum while singing loudly. Ella thought this was
[3:30] Speaker 1: a great game and joined in with barks and howls.
[3:35] Speaker 1: They drummed, shouted, sang, and yowled all afternoon until the
[3:41] Speaker 1: sun went down and their voices were hoarse, but nothing
[3:45] Speaker 1: had emerged from the cave. It's too dark to carry
[3:50] Speaker 1: on now, said Hank, feeling quite exhausted. Let's set up
[3:55] Speaker 1: camp for the night and try again in the morning.
[3:59] Speaker 1: After us meal around a camp fire, Hank unrolled his
[4:03] Speaker 1: sleeping bag and was asleep within minutes, snoring gently. Ella, though,
[4:09] Speaker 1: remained awake and on guard at least for the moment.
[4:14] Speaker 1: But even golden retrievers grow sleepy, and it was while
[4:18] Speaker 1: she began to doze that she heard a twig snap
[4:22] Speaker 1: somewhere near by. Her eyes flew open to see a large,
[4:27] Speaker 1: hairy creature lit by the fading glow of the camp fire.
[4:32] Speaker 1: It stood on two legs and had huge hands, and feet. Howdy,
[4:38] Speaker 1: said Bigfoot, What was that horrible noise all about? Ah?
[4:44] Speaker 1: Sorry about that, Ella said, guiltily. My human thought it
[4:49] Speaker 1: would scare you out of your cave to catch you.
[4:54] Speaker 1: Oh another cryptozoologist, is he? Bigfoot asked? That's right, Ella replied,
[5:02] Speaker 1: Is there a chance you'd let him capture you? I'm
[5:06] Speaker 1: afraid not, Bigfoot replied, with a shake of his big,
[5:10] Speaker 1: hairy head. I don't want to end up in a zoo.
[5:14] Speaker 1: I much prefer the peace and quiet of my forest.
[5:19] Speaker 1: That's understandable. Ella had to agree. Look, if you wouldn't
[5:24] Speaker 1: mind making yourself scarce for a couple of days, then
[5:27] Speaker 1: he'll give up and try something else. Good idea, said
[5:32] Speaker 1: Bigfoot as he headed off, snagging his furry coat on
[5:36] Speaker 1: a branch as he left. Nice to have met you.
[5:41] Speaker 1: Ella knew that Hank would be disappointed to not catch
[5:44] Speaker 1: his prize, but there are plenty more creatures on the list.
[5:49] Speaker 1: He'd just have to try elsewhere. As it turned out,
[5:54] Speaker 1: elsewhere was a long long way from Oregon. Their next
[5:59] Speaker 1: stop was the Hymn Layers in search of another famous cryptid,
[6:03] Speaker 1: a creature called a Yeti. Hank was certain they would
[6:08] Speaker 1: find the evidence he needed. This time, it was extremely
[6:12] Speaker 1: cold as they trekked through the snow of the mountains.
[6:16] Speaker 1: They searched for days looking for signs of a YETI.
[6:21] Speaker 1: Hank was beginning to lose hope when they heard an
[6:24] Speaker 1: unusual sound echoing down a steep valley. That doesn't sound
[6:29] Speaker 1: like any animal I know, Hank said, with a grin,
[6:33] Speaker 1: follow that YETI. The snow was knee high and their
[6:38] Speaker 1: faces were blasted with a freezing wind, but they pressed
[6:42] Speaker 1: on until they came to a wide sheltered spot. The
[6:47] Speaker 1: yety howls are nearby, smiled Hank as he pulled out
[6:51] Speaker 1: a large, fluffy white coat from his backpack. It was
[6:56] Speaker 1: only when he pulled it on that Ella realized it
[6:59] Speaker 1: was a YETI costume. I believe the YETI gets awfully
[7:04] Speaker 1: lonely up here, he explained to his dog as he
[7:07] Speaker 1: pulled on some thick white gloves. My guess is that
[7:11] Speaker 1: it's hard for them to find one another in these mountains,
[7:15] Speaker 1: So if I pretend to be one, we just might
[7:18] Speaker 1: tempt that noisy creature close enough to catch it. Once dressed,
[7:25] Speaker 1: Hank carefully buried a rope tied to trap any one
[7:29] Speaker 1: that stepped into it. That should do it, he muttered
[7:33] Speaker 1: to himself. This time, my plan can't fail. Hank then
[7:39] Speaker 1: began to howl, just like the yet He had his
[7:43] Speaker 1: echoes bouncing off the mountain slopes around them. There was
[7:48] Speaker 1: silence for a moment before the distant YETI called again,
[7:53] Speaker 1: and each time Hank howled, the other Yeti's reply sounded
[7:57] Speaker 1: that bit closer. It's working, Hank giggled, hopping from foot
[8:03] Speaker 1: to foot, but in his excitement and desire to stay
[8:07] Speaker 1: away from his hidden trap buried beneath the snow, Hank
[8:11] Speaker 1: strayed too close to the edge of the slope. His big,
[8:15] Speaker 1: fake Yetty feet didn't help. One moment he was dancing
[8:20] Speaker 1: with joy, the next he was toppling over a steep,
[8:24] Speaker 1: snow covered edge. There was nothing Ella could do but
[8:28] Speaker 1: rushed to the edge and hope for the best. I'm
[8:32] Speaker 1: all right, Hank called up from below. I've landed on
[8:37] Speaker 1: this ledge. Give me a moment to climb back up.
[8:41] Speaker 1: But this was harder than it looked, especially while wearing
[8:45] Speaker 1: a YETI costume. What's he doing, said a low voice
[8:50] Speaker 1: at Ella's side. It was the Yetty he fell down,
[8:56] Speaker 1: Ella explained and now he's struggling to get back up.
[9:01] Speaker 1: He looks funny, said the yetty, chortling, ha ha ow.
[9:08] Speaker 1: The yetty hobbled sideways. Oh my toe, Is that why
[9:15] Speaker 1: you were making so much noise? Ella asked. The yetty
[9:20] Speaker 1: nodded it's been hurting a lot. The yetty replied, Can
[9:25] Speaker 1: I have a look? Ella offered. The yetty agreed, lifting
[9:31] Speaker 1: his foot from the snow. The end of one of
[9:34] Speaker 1: the yetty's claws was broken, hanging loose. Ella took a
[9:39] Speaker 1: firm grip and whipped it off. Oh that's much better already,
[9:45] Speaker 1: said the yetty, gratefully. Thank you, no problem, Ella replied,
[9:53] Speaker 1: it looks as if it'll grow back nicely now while
[9:57] Speaker 1: you're here, Is there any chance you willing to let
[10:00] Speaker 1: my human catch you catch me? I'd rather not, said
[10:06] Speaker 1: the yetty. That would mean me having to leave my
[10:09] Speaker 1: lovely snowy home. Well, yes, it probably would, admitted Ella.
[10:17] Speaker 1: Perhaps you'd better head off before he gets back up here.
[10:21] Speaker 1: Down below, Hank was still struggling in his suit, so
[10:26] Speaker 1: the Yeti slipped away into the whiteness while Ella waited
[10:30] Speaker 1: patiently for Hank. He was sure to be disappointed again,
[10:35] Speaker 1: but it wasn't so bad. At least Hank could try
[10:38] Speaker 1: the next creature on his list. This meant a trip
[10:43] Speaker 1: back to the USA to West Virginia. This was the
[10:48] Speaker 1: third and final cryptid on Hank's list, and quite possibly
[10:52] Speaker 1: the least well known of the three, but that didn't
[10:55] Speaker 1: make it any less exciting or important. The creature they
[11:00] Speaker 1: were hunting was called mothman, and as they drove through
[11:04] Speaker 1: the West Virginia evening in Hank's truck, he talked to
[11:08] Speaker 1: his favorite dog about this particular beastie. In truth, not
[11:14] Speaker 1: much is known about mothman, he explained. It's said that
[11:19] Speaker 1: he's human sized, with huge wings and red eyes. If
[11:24] Speaker 1: I can catch one, then are be the envy of
[11:26] Speaker 1: every cryptozoologist. They were heading for a spot in the
[11:31] Speaker 1: countryside where the mothman had supposedly been sighted. Upon arriving
[11:37] Speaker 1: at the edge of a field, Hank unloaded some equipment
[11:40] Speaker 1: from the truck's bed, building a large cage with a
[11:44] Speaker 1: bright lamp inside it. Moths are attracted to light, he
[11:49] Speaker 1: explained to Ella, so it only makes sense that this
[11:53] Speaker 1: mothman would be attracted to a light too. All we
[11:57] Speaker 1: have to do is sit back and wait and so
[12:02] Speaker 1: with night upon them, they sat in the truck a
[12:05] Speaker 1: short distance away and waited. Hank was determined to stay alert.
[12:11] Speaker 1: He didn't want to lose out on his prize for
[12:14] Speaker 1: a third time, so he'd made himself several tuna sandwiches
[12:19] Speaker 1: to help keep himself awake. It was a warm night,
[12:24] Speaker 1: so the pair of them had their windows down, with
[12:26] Speaker 1: Ella sat with her head poking out, staring at the
[12:30] Speaker 1: stars thinking. She thought about Bigfoot and how he didn't
[12:36] Speaker 1: want to get caught. He just wanted to live peacefully
[12:39] Speaker 1: in his forest. And she thought about the Yetty, who
[12:43] Speaker 1: also preferred to remain free high in the snowy Himalayas.
[12:49] Speaker 1: It seemed to the Golden Retriever that in order to
[12:52] Speaker 1: make Hank happy, Acryptid would have to become sad, and
[12:57] Speaker 1: to keep a cryptid happy had to be disappointed. What
[13:03] Speaker 1: a predicament, sighed Ella, as the sound of large wing
[13:07] Speaker 1: beats could be heard in the darkness. It's coming, Hank
[13:12] Speaker 1: whispered with a smile. I can hear it, but I
[13:16] Speaker 1: can't see it. Ella didn't dare move a muscle. Whatever
[13:22] Speaker 1: it was, it didn't aim for the bright light in
[13:25] Speaker 1: the cage. Instead, it went for Hank's tuna sandwich. Hey
[13:31] Speaker 1: leave that alone, screamed Hank, as the sandwich was snatched
[13:36] Speaker 1: from his hand. It had been too quick for either
[13:39] Speaker 1: of them to get a good look, so Hank burst
[13:42] Speaker 1: from the truck, chasing the black shape as it blotted
[13:45] Speaker 1: out the stars. It was headed for the cage, landing
[13:50] Speaker 1: on top, meaning that Hank was now dazzled by the
[13:53] Speaker 1: bright light. As he rushed forward. In his haste, he tripped, stump, umbled,
[14:00] Speaker 1: and crashed through the open cage door, which slammed shut
[14:04] Speaker 1: behind him. It was only at that point that Hank
[14:09] Speaker 1: realized that the sandwich thief was nothing more than a large,
[14:13] Speaker 1: hungry bird, A crane. Oh biscuits, Hank groaned as the
[14:20] Speaker 1: crane swallowed his dinner then flew off. Hank got to
[14:26] Speaker 1: work trying to open the lock as something landed gracefully
[14:30] Speaker 1: beside Ella's window. It had moth shaped wings made from feathers.
[14:37] Speaker 1: That was funny, said the mothman. I have to admit
[14:42] Speaker 1: things haven't been going well. Ella admitted. I don't suppose
[14:47] Speaker 1: you'd let him catch you. It would make him feel
[14:50] Speaker 1: so much better. I've been avoiding capture for sixty years.
[14:55] Speaker 1: Said the mothman. I'd rather carry on doing that for
[14:59] Speaker 1: another sixty I don't blame you, said Ella sympathetically. Perhaps
[15:06] Speaker 1: it's all for the best. I know he wanted to
[15:09] Speaker 1: catch you, but he's not a bad person. It sounds
[15:13] Speaker 1: to me like you're a very loyal, very good dog,
[15:17] Speaker 1: said the mothman. He's lucky to have you. And with
[15:22] Speaker 1: that he spread his wings and disappeared into the night,
[15:27] Speaker 1: leaving behind a single feather to float in through the
[15:30] Speaker 1: open window. Back at home, Hank was feeling like a failure.
[15:38] Speaker 1: We've traveled all the way round the world looking for
[15:41] Speaker 1: evidence of cryptids and we haven't got any proof at all,
[15:45] Speaker 1: he moaned as he sat slumped in his chair. Ella
[15:50] Speaker 1: dropped something into his lap. It was a clump of
[15:54] Speaker 1: bigfoot fur, a yetty claw, and a mothman feather. What
[16:01] Speaker 1: a good girl you are, grinned Hank happily, as Ella
[16:05] Speaker 1: wagged her tail. This just might be what we were
[16:10] Speaker 1: looking for. Animals, fat golden retrievers were first bred in
[16:19] Speaker 1: Scotland over a hundred years ago. The retriever part of
[16:24] Speaker 1: their name comes from how they would retrieve water fowl,
[16:27] Speaker 1: such as ducks that had been shot by hunters. Bigfoot, Yetti,
[16:33] Speaker 1: and the Mothman are all examples of cryptids, creatures that
[16:37] Speaker 1: some say exist even though nobody has proved that they're real.
[16:42] Speaker 1: Other examples are the Lockness Monster, the Tupicarborough, and the Thunderbird.
[16:49] Speaker 1: Could cryptids really be out there? Just remember that when
[16:54] Speaker 1: anyone makes a big claim about something being real, it
[16:57] Speaker 1: needs to be backed up by big evidence. Thank you
[17:02] Speaker 1: for your very unusual suggestions, Ella. We hope that you
[17:06] Speaker 1: all enjoyed the story. Wherever you're listening in the world,
[17:10] Speaker 1: don't forget to look at our animal Tales books over
[17:13] Speaker 1: on Amazon Great bedtime reading, especially if you've discovered the
[17:17] Speaker 1: joy of reading for yourself. Make sure you join us
[17:21] Speaker 1: next time for another great animal tale. Good Bye,

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