The Ozark Howler- hoax or panther or something else?

The Ozark Howler, or Ozark Black Howler, is a creature that has been reported as being seen in remote wooded areas in the following states Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is described as being about the size of a bear with thick body, stocky legs, black shaggy hair, and sometimes as having horns or looking like a very large cat.. Its cry is often described as being a combination of a wolf's howl and an elk's bugle. Some say it is an Eastern cougar and nothing crypto zoological at all.

The idea that the ozark howler is a cat originates from a sighting in the early 1980s when a truck driver who had pulled off the side of the road for the night saw what he described as a black "cat-like" creature with a long tail, shaggy fur, a stocky build, a beard, and red eyes. However in the 1950s, there was a sighting reported that describes the ozark howler as a "black, goat-shaped creature".

The howler was said to be a hoax started on the internet by a student but that doesn’t explain the 1950’s sightings when the student possibly wasn’t born.

A ranger on duty at a remote Arkansas station told a reporter recently that she believed Ozark Howlers were real. In fact, she’d recently seen one. “It was late at night and something big and black darted out in front of my vehicle,” she said. “I stopped to get a closer look and couldn’t believe what I saw—a huge black panther. It snarled at me before it disappeared into the woods.” Although the ranger reported the incident to her superiors, she said that Arkansas Fish and Game Department refused to acknowledge the existence of the creatures because no one had ever caught one or recovered a carcass. Despite reportedly hundreds of sightings, the Arkansas Fish and Game Department state that the legendary Ozark Howlers were “pet panthers” that had escaped captivity.

Site about the hunt for the Howler:http://ozarkhowler.20m.com/

Interesting isn’t it? Even if it is a black panther it is an out of place animal . The original sightings though did not say the Howler was cat like more goat like. So could an unknown animal be wondering in remote areas? It is always a possibility.