Animal Class: Mammal
Diet: Carnivorous
While both the fossil record and historical reports show that these creatures were once found all over the United States and even into parts of Mexico and Canada, they are now considered critically endangered due to a number of reasons such as overhunting, habitat loss, loss of prey, and climate change. As their name suggests, they are now found only in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
While they mainly walk and run on all fours, many are shocked to discover that they can actually stand up and walk/run on two legs for a very long time. However, they don't get up and move on their hind legs too often because doing so wastes too much energy.
Like their name suggests, they do howl. The few that are left do it to communicate with each other over long distances and to scare off intruders that have entered their territory, but as time goes on, these howls have become less and less frequent.
Like Devil Monkeys, their ancestors were reportedly much more aggressive with famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone have killed at least 2 of them during his travels. Many farmers lost entire flocks of Sheep and herds of Cattle to Ozark Howler attacks. It is now widely believed that this is a big part of the reason that their population is as low as it is in the present day.
The fossil record indicates that they first appeared during the Pleistocene era and had to compete with things like Dire Wolves, Short-Faced Bears, Saber Toothed Cats, American Lions, and early Humans for food. This could be an explanation as to why their ancestors were so aggressive.
Their horns do not appear to have a purpose and it is believed that they evolved them as way to intimidate prey and other predators.
The ones that lived in the Ice Age were pack hunters and hunted in groups of around 5 to 10, but after the larger prey they hunted( such as Mammoths and Giant Ground Sloths) went extinct, they became solitary hunters and remain that way to this day.
It is believed that there are less than 300 Ozark Howlers left and if something doesn't change, they will be extinct in about 10 or 15 years.
They appear to be both pursuit hunters and ambush hunters. They have no problem chasing down prey( which is mainly Deer), but also have no problem lying in wait in the bushes or waiting in trees and jumping down on top of the prey when it gets close.
Extra Fun Fact: Scientists have been trying to capture wild Ozark Howlers in order to breed them in captivity in order to save their species, but the Ozark Howlers that are left are not only very elusive, but also very intelligent and have avoided every trap that has been set for them.