Growling in Bibb County, Alabama

It was a hot afternoon in august. I heard sirens in the distance. the local rescue squad was responding to an incident. curious about what was going on I decide to go and see. when we arrived, I found out that 2 bham men had went canoeing and had not been seen since. the sherrif wanted to call for a helo to search the river. I piped up and told them that in was not a good idea. the trees cause a tunnel affect over the river. the helo wouldn't be able to see under the growth. on top of that the sun was starting to go down. he agreed and sent 6 men in 2 canoes down the river. 30-45 minutes passed and we were told that they had been found at a local bar in b'ham. my friend and I volunteered to pull the rescuers out of the river at a mid point near the road. we set off. the light was almost gone. as we made our way down the trail to a place where the stream and the cahaba meet my friend took off ahead of me. he knew the area better and i could see his light moving ahead of me. as I entered the bottoms where a bamboo thicket grew, I heard brush breaking and grunting noises to my left. I quickley made my way across the stream. I felt much better and safer once I crossed the stream. as I rejoined my friend at the intersection of the stream and river, I told him about what I had heard. he said it was probably a boar rooting for acorns. we sat for about an hour waiting. the moon was out quarter waxing, and hot as hell 100% humidity 90 degrees. after waiting I said to my friend that we must have missed the rescue team in the night. so he went to find out and he left me there on the bank to make sure they were not just slow getting down the river. another 30 minutes went by and I started seeing a light up the bank approaching my position. I pulled myself up into the foliage to camo myself, just in case the light was moon shiners or pot growers. they are notorius for bibb county. minutes passed and I heard my name being called. I made my way back across the stream and through the thicket. the grunting and brush snapping sounds still happening. as I climbed up the hill to the large over hanging rock i paused to catch my breath holding onto the tree. all of the sudden something large much taller than myself( I am 6'8"tall) rushed me. more of the limbs breaking and a vocalization sound like an excited baboon and a fierce growl. My friend was 10' in front of me. we ran quickley away from it. i even jumped a 10' ravine to get away. but it did not pursue further.