I live in an area with a lot of wildlife (deer, wild turkey, fox, bear, elk, peacock, guinea hen, skunks, raccoon etc.)...and as it was getting dark a guy in a truck stopped me to say that he just saw a cougar on the prowl a few hundred yards away and to be careful.
Several neighbors have heard "animal noise/growls" at dusk/night...it's hard to explain, but you can definitively tell when a large animal is nearby...the sound is deeper, throatier...and "big"...and with winter approaching (and animals trying to get a coat of fat for the winter) it's a bit unnerving to be walking in pitch dark along a road in the country.
Naturally, my phone was turned on and a news program played...loudly...with lots of talking...from my front shirt pocket...it must have worked...I'm still here.