SCP-2709
Can Anyone Hear You Scream?
Special Containment Procedures
The forest within SCP-2709's affected area is to be cordoned with chain link fences and patrolled daily by a security team. Every two months, the forest is to be swept for animal life, and any specimens should be relocated to a part of the forest at least 5 kilometers from the anomaly. Following each sweep, a controlled burn of all vegetation is scheduled for the area of activation to ensure safety of personnel.
Description
SCP-2709 is the designation for a phenomenon occurring in █████████ Forest in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The phenomenon has a radius of ten kilometers. SCP-2709's anomalous properties manifest at sundown each day. At this time, all animals between 10 and 8 kilometers away from the origin point of SCP-27091 will cease normal behavior and begin to vocalize loudly and incessantly (if capable) until sunrise. Affected animals will cease vocalizing if moved out of the area and show no ill effects once given sufficient distance from the anomaly. Human entry into the affected area at any time provokes an aggressive response from any animals nearby, which has made further research difficult. No animal life can be found within an 8 km radius of the calculated origin point of the SCP-2709 phenomenon. If released too close to the origin point, the animal will immediately try to escape outside the 8 km radius, at which point it will resume behavior consistent with animals inside the area of activation.
Mission Log November 19th of 20██:
In order to investigate further into the area affected by SCP-2709, the animals residing within the "trigger" area of SCP-2709 were either exterminated or relocated, and the area was enclosed to allow for the undisturbed passage of an exploratory delegation from forestry-based MTF Epsilon-36 ("Rangers and Druids"), consisting of Agents Thayer, Reed, and Miller, led by Captain Ives. Despite his past trauma after an incident with SCP-417 (see Incident Log 417-Theta for more details), Agent Thayer's knowledge of the local wildlife was deemed valuable in detecting potential anomalies, and was thus judged fit for combat. Unmanned expedition via drone had shown no evidence of visible anomalies. As such, the area was judged safe for human entry.
Audio-video transcript of salvaged mission footage below:
SCP-2709-1 appears to trigger a universal fear response in all animals except humans. SCP-2709-1 exudes a VOC2 in its waste that affects the amygdala (or brain stem in animals that do not possess an amygdala) of all animals living in a 20 km radius. Exposing non-native animals to even trace amounts of this compound over 3 to 6 days will cause the subject to become affected. Exposure to the higher levels of the compound found in the affected area can change behavior within hours.
SCP-2709-1 preys exclusively on humans. The aggression shown in affected animal subjects is hypothesized to be a form of warning, based on the behavior of affected human subjects. Why affected subjects attempt to drive humans out of the affected area is not known. Previous trauma or history of anxiety can make a human subject susceptible to SCP-2709's effects. Due to the nature of SCP-2709-1, all further expeditions should be unmanned.