All language subtitles for Expedition.X.S05E02.The.Ozark.Howler.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-SLAG_track4_[eng]

I saw something
large, black just walking
on the road.

[Josh] My team is heading
deep into the wild forests
of the Ozarks...

[Jessica Chobot]
That's scaring me.

[Josh] ...where terrified
witnesses are reporting seeing
a monstrous creature

and hearing
its horrific scream.

[animal howling]

Oh, my gosh.

-Well, I stood there
with a shotgun.
-Yeah.

[Josh] Some believe
it's on a killing rampage.

Had a piece of it eaten
out of its side.

Holy [beep]!
There's a big chunk
of meat over here.

[Phil Torres]
That is so fresh.

[Josh] Phil and Jess hunt
for evidence
of this mysterious predator.

[Phil speaking]

[Jess]
It's terrifying actually.

[Josh] Or are they
the ones being hunted?

[Jess] I just saw something.

[Phil whispers] All right,
let's get closer.

[Phll] Ooh! [beep]

[Josh reading]

My name is Josh Gates.

In my travels,
I've experienced
strange things

that defy logic and made me
question everything.

Oh, my God.

Now, I've put together
a team to investigate

the stranger side
of the unknown.

Let's go.

[Josh] Phil Torres
is a scientist who hunts
for rational explanations.

[Phil speaking]

[Josh] Jessica Chobot's
paranormal research
has made her a true believer.

If you're here with us,
knock again.

[Josh] Together we're
searching for answers...

[Phil] What is happening
here, Jess?

...to the world's
most extraordinary mysteries.

This isExpedition X.

All right, guys,
I wanna start today

by playing
an audio recording for you.

Phil,
as our resident biologist,

I'm very eager
for your take on this.

Give a listen.

[animal howling]

[Phil] Oh, wow.

Sounds almost like a wolf,
but not quite.

It's weird, right?
One more time.

Listen.

[animal howling]

I mean, that's freaky.

It is freaky.

What is it?

That's a great question.

That's what people
in the Ozarks wanna know,

which is where
this was recorded,

and it's what they refer to
as the Ozark Howler.

Okay, I have heard of this.

It's kind of
like a hell hound
sort of thing.

Yes. It's a hell hound.
It's a mutant cat, bear, wolf.

No one knows what it is.

But people have been seeing
and especially hearing it
in the Ozarks

for 100s of years

And one
of the alleged witnesses

is an iconic hero
from American history.

[Josh] The Ozarks,

47,000 square miles
of ancient mountains
and plateau,

carved by time
into a labyrinth
of rugged cliffs.

Much of it is unexplored,

riddled with dangerous
sink holes and over 300 caves.

And if the legends
are to be believed,

there's a large and dangerous
predator prowling these woods.

1810, as the story goes,
one famous explorer had seen

pretty much every
native animal
on the American frontier.

But a run-in
with the so-called Howler

made him flip
his coonskin cap.

It is said that none other
than Daniel Boone

wrote a letter
to his sister-in-law
about his encounter

with a creature that was quote
"black and swarthy with horns
a top his scalp.

I am told of the sound
that it makes,

a terrible howling
in the middle of the night.

Warnings of this for settlers
should be passed along."

By the late 1800s,
reports of violent

and sometimes
fatal confrontations
with the beast increase.

Survivor descriptions
are similar.

A large, agile, dark,
and horrifying creature
with a blood curtailing cry.

Described as a cross
between a wolf's howl
and an elk's call.

In the last decade,
claims of run-ins
with the beast have exploded.

Farmers, hunters, hikers,
all recount terrifying brushes

with this mysterious
apex predator.

Some say that as more and more
people build homes
at the edge of the forest

perhaps these creatures
are emerging
to protect their territory.

Now, there's a sudden rise

in the number
of livestock and pets
that have gone missing.

Or even worse have been found
chewed to pieces.

Some fear it's only
a matter of time

before there's
a deadly confrontation

between a human
and the Ozark Howler.

So what do you think?

You know, Josh,
when you mentioned the Ozarks,

I thought you were talking
about the new season
of the Jason Batemon show.

-Ooh!
-A pop cultural reference

-from Phil. What?
-I did it!

Did I do it right?

Yeah, but there's no way
you watch Ozark.

[Phil] No, I watch some shows.

Yeah, bugs.

Yeah, the 24-hour
Bug News Network.

-Is that real?
-[Josh] No.

-'Cause I would watch that.
-I know you would!

Listen, with the Ozark Howler,
I kind of love the story

because there's clearly
a lot of eyewitnesses,

and we have this recording.

So if we figure out
what known animal
made that noise,

we solve the case.

And in this area,
there are black bears,
there's mountain lions.

A lot of large predators.

And any big animal's gonna
leave behind some
biological evidence.

So I wanna get out there,
look for DNA, for hairs,
for scat.

I mean,
my only issue with this

is that none
of the descriptions match
anything that's out there.

But if you run across
a black bear in the middle
of the night,

that's enough to scare
the scat out of anyone.

That's pretty good.

However, black bears
don't have horns.

Yeah, and they don't howl.

I'll admit
I'm a little baffled,

but that's why I think
we should try to get
our own recording

and try to find
some physical evidence
out there.

So that's your mission?

I've connected
with the witnesses

that recorded this audio.

I want you to go meat them.

Go to the place
where they heard this.

See if you can hear
the same thing.

See if you can find
that elusive
physical evidence.

Is this
a mis-identified animal?

Or is this Ozark
mystery beast?

-Mystery beast.
-Mis-identification.

Oh, boy. Good luck, guys.

[Josh] Phil and Jess fly
just over a 1,000 miles

from New York City
to Springfield, Missouri

and then drive straight
into the heart
of Ozark country.

Wow, that's pretty.

[Josh] The cliffs, rivers,
and remote forests
of this land lost in time

hide rare
and unusual wildlife,

like a giant
nocturnal salamander,

known as
the Ozark hell bender,

and a blind subterranean fish
that lives deep in caves
and dines on bat guano.

It's enough to make you wonder

what else could be hiding
out here.

Wonder why they call Missouri
the Show-Me state.

No idea, but I hope it shows
me the Ozark Howler.

[chuckles] That's
such a stupid joke.

-[Jess laughs]
-It's what I'm here for, Jess.

Stupid jokes.

But they also it
the Cave State.

Well, they know that's where
the Ozark Howler is hiding.

[Josh] I've arranged
for Phil and Jess to meet

with the witnesses
who recorded
those eerie howls.

They say they captured
more strange sounds
just a few nights ago.

[Sharon Robinson]
Welcome to the hot Ozarks.

[Josh] Steve Robinson
is a former Navy SEAL,

and his wife Sharon
was a professional
animal trainer.

They have lived at the edge
of the Ozark forest
for over 20 years.

We gotta hear this thing.
What recording do you have?

[Steve Robinson] Got him
in a rainstorm.

Let me see here.

[animal howling]

[Phil] You can hear it
over the rain?

-[Jess] Yeah.
-That tells you
that must've been loud.

Let me try the other one.

[animal howling]

Oh, my gosh.

This went on for 45 minutes.

That's scary sounding.

-Yeah, he was-- Yeah.
-Well, I stood there
with a shotgun.

-[Jess] Yeah!
-That does not sound
like a happy animal.

[Sharon] He was not.

So I have to ask.
You guys live near the woods.

You must hear all sorts
of wild animals calling.

-[Steve] Oh, yeah, yeah.
-[Sharon] And that's
the thing.

You hear coyote packs running

-and [imitating a coyote]
and running or howling.
-[Phil] Sure.

-You hear of the neighborhood
dogs and foxes.
-[Jess] Yeah.

So odd sounds.

-[Sharon] So all
of those things...
-Oh, yeah.

-...that are natural we hear
over and over again.
-[Jess] Yeah.

-You know,
nighttime, daytime. Nothing.
-[Steve] And this does not.

-[Steve] It's not something
we can identify.
-[Sharon] Yeah.

[Phil] You know,
I can't either.

[Jess] Steve gives us
a copy of his audio files

so we can have
the sounds analyzed.

-Awesome!
I'll take care of this.
-Yep.

[Jess] Then they share
a suggestion for where
to look next.

Prey animals need water.

If this thing is hunting
prey animals,

it's gonna be near water.

-Okay.
-Perfect.

[Phil] I like your logic.

[Jess] Steve and Sharon
claim the howling happens
only after dark.

It's getting close to sunset,

so we head out
to a remote area
along the water.

[Jess] All right, you ready?

[Phil] Yeah,
let's get out there.

[Phil] This will take
us deeper, more remote

[Jess] I mean,
there's just nothing
around here.

Trees as far as
the eye can see.

[Phil] I'm not sure
what animal made those sounds
Steve and Sharon recorded,

but I still think
that most eye witnesses
in a moment of intense fear

simply mis-identified
a black bear in the distance.

Before it gets dark,

I want to look for hair,
prints, scat,

anything that backs up
my theory.

[Jess] See any tracks
or anything like that?

[Phil] I'm gonna check
this out, Jess.

That's a cave!

Many animals, including bears
and mountain lions,

will seek shelter
from the elements

or a place to hide their young
from predators or humans.

Any animal living here
would leave some
physical evidence behind,

like hair, paw prints,
or bones from its prey.

And of course, Jess is hoping
to find some Howler DNA
in here.

Look at that.

Oh, yeah, you could see

where it's, like,
the water starting
to eat away at it.

[Phil] Oh, yeah.

Well, I'm not seeing
any signs right now
that this thing is inhabited.

What's that smell though?

-[Phil] You smell it?
-I mean, it just stinks.

I don't know
what I'm smelling.

[Phil] Smells kind of
like urine.

There are different types
of animal pee.

Some is just
to, you know,
process urine,

but others is more musky
that would mark its territory,
maybe mark this cave.

-Yeah.
-[whispers] Here, come feel.

[Jess] For decades,
witnesses have reported

seeing and hearing
the Howler at night.

So our senses
are now on high alert.

[Phil] Check this out, Jess.

These are the native
black cap raspberries here,

also known as bear food.

[Phil] Bears are omnivores,

meaning that they eat meat,
and also plants, roots,
and fruit.

Bears do have a sweet tooth.

So where there are berries,
good chance there are bears.

[Phil] Holy [beep]!

[Phil] Oh, my God.

Holy [beep]!

I see a big pad there.

-[Jess] Oh, what is that?
-[Phil] It's hard to tell.

[Phil] This is not
a bear track.

they have five toes, not four.

And they have strong nails
at the tip of each toe,

useful for fighting
or foraging.

So we might see claw marks
here if it was a bear.

If it was a wolf track,
we'd also see claw in prints.

But I'm not making out
any here.

I don't see claw marks there.

So there's a chance [whispers]
that could be a big cat print.

Retractable claws are a trait
that is almost exclusive
to felines.

While bobcats are known
to roam these forests,
mountain lions seldom do.

Once plentiful here,
they were pushed out
by humans

and now
are just rare visitors.

And I'm not aware
of any breeding
populations here.

-So I'm gonna try to get
the 3D scan of them.
-Okay.

[Phil] I'll need a better view
in order to identify
what animal left this print.

I'll make an impression of it
with LiDAR scan.

LiDAR means
light detection and ranging.

Okay.

A pulse laser scans a surface
and creates a detailed
3D rendering.

[Jess] Oh, that's pretty good.

[Phil] I can compare
those images to known prints
from different species.

That's really cool.

[Phil] Let's keep going.

The track seemed
to head in this direction.

[Jess] All right,
let's put the camera traps up.

Okay.

I'll hit the far end
of the spring.

-You run and go closer
to along creek bed.
-Okay.

[Jess] We spread out
over a half-mile wide area

and set up
the motion activated cameras.

[Phil] Oh, boy.

[Jess] Or at least, I do.

Phil's easily distracted.

That's a big spider.

And for scale,
that thing is big.

Whoo.

I love these woods.

Let's set up the camera trap.

Pointing right
at that game trail.

See that right up there.

Anything would cross
right here actually.

Let me check
if there's any hair on this.

Holy [beep].

Look at that.

We got hair.

And it even has the root
of the hair on it,

which means good chance
we can get DNA out of it.

Two of these.

Okay, we got hair.

Looking at that,
it definitely doesn't look
like deer.

Way too thick, way too dark.

Oh, man, this could be a bear.

Or it could be the Howler.

It's probably bear.

Amazing.

I won't have
a definitive answer

until I have it analyzed
at a lab.

So for now, Jess and I have
something planned

that may bring
whatever animal left this hair

running back toward us
along this trail.

[Jess] I set up
my camera trap
right down there,

closer to the prints.

Why don't we set up
around here

and do our calls from here
and see what we can get.

-[Phil] Okay.
-Maybe we can
lure something in.

[Jess] No one can identify
the creature making
the eerie howls

that witnesses
have heard and recorded.

Maybe if we amplify
its unique cry out
into the forest...

...the howls will attract
more of its kind.

Whatever that is.

We can use this limestone
to our advantage too.

Just blast sounds
out this way.

-Mmm-hmm.
-And it'll echo off here

and just really resonate
through this part
of the forest

and will also help us
basically retrieve
any sounds back

-if anything calls back to us.
-Okay.

[Phil] Many large animals
like wolves, coyotes,
and even some big cats

communicate with each other
over long distances
by howling or roaring.

Animals do this to identify
their location

for their pack or pride,

to find a mate,

or as a warning
to others to stay out
of their territory.

Let's hope the message
we're about to send out
is friendly.

I'm gonna play
the Howler noise.

Got it ready.

[Jess] I break out the FLIR
to detect any heat signatures.

Now, we have eyes and ears
ready for any responses.

[Phil] Now, the noise.

Shh.

I thought I heard something,

but I think it might just be
the water from the spring.

Okay, the Howler noise.

-Okay, ready?
-Yeah, I'm ready.

[animal howling over recorder]

It is dead silent out there.

[Jess] I'm
not getting anything.

Zero.

Well, hey, he sent you
two files, right?

So why don't we just play
the second one

-and see if we get lucky.
-Okay.

[animal howling over recorder]

Was that an echo? I thought
I heard it immediately--

-[animal growls]
-[gasps]

Right there, right there.

I did hear it.
It was over here to the left.

[Phil] Why don't we use
the parabolic mic.

If we can isolate that audio

-and compare it to this...
-Mmm-hmm.

...we'll see if it's a match.

-Okay, go grab the mic.
-Yeah.

[Phil] Parabolic microphones
have a reflector

that concentrates soundwaves.

-Look at that guy.
-Yeah.

[Phil] The device amplifies
distant noises

and helps us track
their direction.

[Jess] Okay.

I can play it one more time.

[animal howling over recorder]

We had it.

We absolutely had something
call back to us.

Maybe the 360 might got it

'cause it is running
right now.

Better have.

-But I gotta say--
-Shh.

[Phil] Something's moving
toward us.

[Jess] Play it
one more time just to see

if it's coming over here.
Maybe it's getting closer.

I'm gonna play a clip and then
pause it immediately after.

-[Jess] Okay.
-Ready?

[Jess] Yeah.

[howl recording plays]

[howl recording plays]

[Jess] I'm not
hearing it anymore.

[Phil] Maybe it
caught our scent?

If that is what people
call the Howler here,

we got it on tape.

Oh, yeah.

[Phil] I still can't
identify what animal it is
from the howls we captured.

So, the next morning,
we connect with Josh
to figure out our next steps.

-Hi.
-Hey, Josh.

Hey, how are you? Have you
found the, uh, Ozark Howler?

Daniel Boone and I
are dying to know.

[Jess] Well, we definitely
found something.

We played Howler noises
out into the woods last night

and we actually got
a real-time response.

Yeah, Josh,
take a listen to this.

I'm gonna play you
what Steve gave us

that he's been hearing
around his property.

[howling on recording]

And this is
what we heard back.

[howling on recording]

That is insane.

You got that as a response?

Yeah, it happened
immediately after we
played out Steve's recording.

Wow. Play it again?

[howling on recording]

[Jess] That is not
the sound of a bear.

No, it is not.

Phil, what do you think it is?

It's a Howler.

I'll be honest, I'm starting
to lean a little bit more
away from this bear theory.

I'm just not sure
where I'm leaning towards.

We did find some large
animal tracks last night

that we were able to scan.

And I collected a hair sample.

[Josh] Send all of it my way,
we will get it analyzed.

In the meantime,

word of your investigation is
traveling fast in the Ozarks.

I just got an email
from a woman and her son

who say they actually have
a photo of the Howler

that they want
to show you in person.

[Jess] Oh, wow.
I can't wait to see that.

Perfect. Yeah, text us
the address and we'll
head there now.

Good luck, you guys.
Stay safe.

-Awesome, bye.
-You got it.

[Jess] A photograph is huge.

People in the Ozarks
have reported seeing

an unknown beast
for more than a century.

But this could be the first
photographic evidence of it.

Phil and I drive half an hour
to Highlandville Missouri,

a small town nestled
in the Ozarks

with a population of only
about 1,000 people.

Josh has connected us
with Stephanie Wigger,

and her son, Kendall Nakato.

You have pigs back here?

[Wigger] Just these four guys.

Stephanie has lived in
the area for over 25 years.

and raises livestock
on her farm.

So you guys have
a lot of property out here?

[Wigger] 55 acers.

[Jess] Her son Kendall
is a college student

pursuing a degree related
to wildlife and agriculture.

Well, just right around where
we're standing I've seen

wild boars and coyotes
as well as other wildlife.

So we're interested
in that "other wildlife."

[Jess] So you believe
you've seen the Ozark Howler?

Yeah. The first time
I saw it was just about
five months ago.

When you come up the driveway,
it was in that tree.

-[Phil] Really?
-[Wigger] Yeah.

When I turned around
and looked back,

I saw it come down
the tree and go around
the side of the barn.

[Phil] An animal in a tree
is a big clue.

Canines are lousy
tree climbers,

so whatever Stephanie saw
wouldn't have been
a coyote or a wolf.

[Kendall] I didn't
believe her at first.

and had just thought
she must have seen, you know,

the normal black bear
or something in the tree.

Until I was driving
to the gym less than
a quarter mile from here.

And I saw something large,
black, with brown rings.

And it was very skinny
like it was emaciated, almost.

[Phil] How big
are we talking about?

150 pounds.

[Jess] Oh, my gosh.

I'm just wondering why
it wouldn't come after
one of your hogs out here.

We have had livestock go up
missing and had some of them--

-[Phil] Like what?
-[Kendall] There was a time

when our sheep
was actually attacked.

My sheep was
on the ground, screaming.

And it had a piece of it
eaten out of its side

-while it was alive.
-[Jess] Oh, my gosh.

And it was sitting
in the middle of the pen.

Something had
jumped in there and pinned
it down and eaten it

and jumped out of the pen when
it heard me run out the door.

[Jess] Stephanie shows us
the photo of the predator
captured on a game camera.

[Wigger] That's from
one of the driveway cams.

[Jess] That does look
really suspicious.

I mean, the body
looks like a big cat,

but I can't see the head.

So, that doesn't
rule out the Howler.

The only big cat
that should be out here

would be a cougar
or a mountain lion.

And I've never heard of
a black mountain lion
or one with ring markings.

[Josh] There are no
black big cats native
to the United States.

But what about
escaped exotic pets?

It is estimated that there are

as many as 10,000 privately
owned big cats in the US.

More tigers are kept
in private collections

then there are in accredited
zoos or in the wild.

Ownership of these animals
is a serious issue.

Brought into the spotlight
by media attention

on a controversial breeder
of tigers and other big cats.

...real name is Joseph
Maldonado-Passage

and everybody knows me
as Joe Exotic.

We are a zoo
open to the public

that takes unwanted animals.

It's a circus, let me tell ya.

[Josh] There's also
a booming black market.

And since it's off the radar,

no one is monitoring
the safety of the situation.

Every year, some big cats
escape captivity,

making headlines
across the nation.

And those are just the ones
that are reported.

What about sounds?
Have you guys noticed

any strange sounds coming
from this thing? Or at night?

-[Wigger] Yeah.
-[Kendall] Definitely.

Howls, screams,
guttural sounds.

A little after dusk and stuff.

You know, like, it makes
the hair on my arms stand up.

Okay, well, crazy.

I feel like we are in
ground zero for something

very big and wild out there.

Would you mind if we
try to kinda take on
your property tonight?

-Maybe we could set up
some trail cams--
-Yeah.

...and things like that to try
to document what you guys
have been seeing?

-Sure, go ahead.
-[Kendall] Yeah.

[Jess] Perfect. Thanks guys.

Whoo-hoo.

We head out into the forest
on Stephanie's property

just before nightfall.

[Phil] Big cats are mostly
nocturnal hunters.

We're going to set up cameras

designed to capture full color
images in low light

so there will be no question
what creature we're seeing.

I definitely think
we should set up some
game traps along here.

'Cause not only does that
give us a chance

of getting a photograph of
whatever she's talking about,

but also what it's
eating out here.

Let's go a little bit deeper.

[Jess] Yeah, I would agree.

Phil wonders if people
are seeing either a wildcat
or an escaped big cat,

but I don't believe 200 years
of Ozark Howler sightings

can be written off
as mere misidentifications.

-This seems like
a good location, right?
-[Phil] Yeah.

We're looking for game trials.

If what Stephanie saw
running off in this direction
was a large cat,

this trail would lead it
to water, shelter,

and the food source that is,
unfortunately, their barn.

-Looks like the path
goes that way.
-[Jess] Yeah.

[Phil] Goes that way.

And that way.

So, why don't we
set it up right there?

[Jess] Yeah.

Okay.

[Jess] Wait, I thought
I just saw something.

I thought I just saw
eyeshine over there.

Oh, I just saw it too.

-[Jess] Right? Yeah?
-I just saw it too.

Definitely eyeshine.
It was right...

All right, let's get close.

-Oh, [bleep].
-[Jess] What is it?

[Phil] Oh, [bleep].

What was that?

Do we have bear spray?

-[Phil] Oh, [bleep].
-[Jess] What is it?

[Phil] Oh, [bleep].

What was that?

Do we have bear spray?

Yeah, I've got it.

[Jess] When the biologist
asks for bear spray,

it's really time to worry.

[Phil] Holy [bleep].

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

[Phil] We're at a serious
disadvantage in these woods.

There are plenty of large and
dangerous animals out here,

including bears
and maybe mountain lions,

which have much better night
vision than we humans do.

Bears tend to attack head on,

but large cats
are ambush predators,

striking from behind or above.

Victims seldom know what
hits them until it's too late

and the large animal
Stephanie spotted,
it was up in a tree.

So while we scan
the forest floor for prints,
scat, or other evidence,

we need to remember
to look up as well.

[distant howl]

Wait, shh.

[distant howl]

That sounds like the howl.

[Jess] Let's set up
that camera trap.

[Phil] Yeah.

So, check out what I got.

Did you bring pot
out to the woods?

-[laughing] It's not pot.
-What's you bring?

Oh, is that...

Did you bring catnip?

-[Phil] I brought catnip.
-[Jess] No way.

[Phil] Catnip is an herb
in the mint family.

Cats role around in it,
releasing the oil
from the leaves.

As they inhale it,
they essentially get a high.

You got a cat at home,

what happens when
you put out catnip?

They get all rub-y and weird
and real squirrely and...

-Right?
-Yeah.

The same thing
happens with big cats.

-Really?
-And the rub-y part,

that's what we
can take advantage of.

We got some tape.

So, what we're gonna do
is put the sticky side out--

-Uh-huh.
-...and wrap it
around this tree.

With the hopes that
if a cat does come by,

we'll get a photo of it
and it'll leave us behind

some of its hairs
so we can analyze the DNA

and figure out
who this thing is.

That is
a great "trap", per se.

[Phil] Gotta give it
a good little spread.

And now, what we need
is some tape.

So, I think if we use
the FOXPRO

and sent out some
animal-in-distress sound,

maybe there's a chance
it'll get curious enough

to come take a look.

[Jess] The FOXPRO can
mimic the cries of animals

and it features
some selections we suspect

are on the Howler's
dinner menu.

I'll have my FLIR cam
ready to detect
any incoming creatures.

-We got some options here.
-[Jess] Uh-huh.

One option is "lost sheep."

Oh.

It bit a giant chunk
out of one of their sheep.

Mmm-hmm. Totally do it.

-[Phil] Ready?
-[Jess] Uh-huh.

[sheep bleating]

I'm not picking anything up
on the FLIR.

With no reaction
to the prey animal,

we queue up the sound
that did seem to stir
something up last night.

The Howler recording.

[howling on recording]

[low distant growl]

Shh. You hear that?
You hear that?

Was that Coyotes?

[Phil] I don't know.

Hear the movement?

[Jess] That sound was
coming from over there.

Let's head that way.

-Ready?
-[Phil] Yeah.

[Jess loudly] Holy [bleep].
Check this out.

I mean,
that [bleep] fresh, too.

[Phil] That is so fresh.

You can see it's dislocated
right out of there.

This is something big.

Like a deer or a hog.

[Jess] Or a sheep.

-[Phil] Also, look at the...
Look at where the flies are.
-[Jess] Yeah.

[Phil] Spread all over
so this is really fresh.

I want us to also look up
in the trees right now

because lots of times
when big cats hunt prey,

they will drag them up.

So this could have even
fallen from a tree branch.

-Looking at this side...
-[Jess] Mmm-hmm?

[Phil] There's some scratch
marks that could be from teeth

which could have saliva
which could have DNA.

-Right.
-[Phil] Cool, swab here.

Oh, yeah. Those are
definitely teeth marks.

I mean, here's a thought
though, would a bear
have killed this?

[Phil] Well, a bear
I could see coming back
for the rest of its food.

A big cat, too. Lots of times
they drag piece by piece.

[Jess] I think we should go

because I'm not feeling
terribly safe right here.

I got the bear spray.

So we'll leave
the camera traps up tonight?

[Phil] Oh, yeah.

Between the catnip,
fresh berries,

and that giant chunk of meat,

there's gonna be
some activity.

[Jess] Okay.

[Phil] Based on the pawprint,

the descriptions
from eyewitnesses,

and the sounds we captured,

I'm thinking what people
are calling the "Howler"

is some kind of big cat.

I've contacted Stephanie
Schuttler, a fellow biologist

who's doing research
on big cat populations
in the eastern US.

Who is this?

-[Jess] Hi puppy.
-This is Train.

-[Phil] Train?
-He is our detector dog.

-He's trained, like his name
says, "Train..." [laughs]
-[Jess] Perfect.

[Schuttler] ...to look for
mountain lion scats.

-Well, that's perfect--
-Yeah.

[Phil] ...because we
are after...

We don't really know what
we're after. Should we...

Well, I'm after
the Ozark Howler.

I don't know who
you're after, but...

-[Phil] Let's just show her
what we got.
-[Jess] All right.

We play the howls
Steve recorded.

[howling on recording]

Have you heard a noise
like that before out here?

No, I haven't.

My expertise is not
in vocalizations,

but this doesn't sound
as screechy to me
as a fox, but...

I've heard coyotes, but,
but not like that.

[Phil] Okay.
That's interesting.

There's something else,
though, a photo
from a witness.

This is the best image
that they have.

What do you think of this one?

[Schuttler] I mean,
it's definitely a cat.

It's pretty long
which is usually indicative
of larger cats.

[Phil] It can't be
a black mountain lion.

There has never been
a documented case

of melanistic mountain lions.

It is caused by a gene.

It's when the coat
becomes all black.

So that's what
a black panther is.

And if you see it
in good light,

you'll actually see
the spots underneath.

But, it's just, it's legs
are way too short.

It's just too low
to the ground.

If it's what we call
a black panther which is
a melanistic jaguar,

it just, its shoulders
would be much higher.

So, that's the thing.

If there were a melanistic
big cat out here,

it would have to either be
a jaguar or a leopard,

which has definitely
never lived here.

Yeah. It there were, it would
definitely be an escapee.

So, why would you
use a dog like this
to try and find scat?

Dogs obviously have
a good sense of smell

and they're able to,
to smell it out.

That's critical data to have
those scat samples, right?

Yeah, absolutely. And...

[Jess] Like what
it's eating, what its...

Who its interacting with.

[Schuttler] Yeah,
and the genetics so we
can tell if individuals are

related to each other,
where they come from.

-[Train barks]
-[Schuttler] I think
he's ready to go.

Let's see
what you can do, Train.

[Schuttler] Okay, Train.
Go find it.

[Phil] Oh, and he's off.

Look at him go.

He's got a scent trail.

Did he just find something?

It is said that famous
frontiersman Daniel Boone

wrote a letter
to his sister-in-law

in which he claimed to have
encountered a, quote,

"black and swarthy creature."

But did he really
see a Howler?

Here to help us
unpack this story,

is historian
John Mack Faragher.

It's not beyond speculation

he saw whatever was out there.

What is beyond speculation

is whether he
wrote about it or not.

And why is that?
What makes the letter suspect?

[Faragher] The letter,
it proports to end

with the phrase,
"your umble sarvant."

Well, Boone used
that phrase in his
business correspondence.

We have, in fact,
only one existing personal
letter that Boone wrote

and that was
to his sister-in-law

and it ends,
"farewell, dear sister."

So, no good evidence that
he wrote about the Howler?

If there was such a letter,
we would know about it.

So there you have it, no real
proof that this letter exists.

Which is too bad
because it would have been

a real "Boone"
to the Howler legend.

[Phil] Did he
just find something?

-[Train barks]
-[Schuttler] Show me.

[Jess] It looks like there's
something right here.

[Phil] Oh, we got scat.

[Schuttler] There it is.

[Phil] Oh, wow.

What do you think
just looking at it?

[Schuttler] It's a carnivore
of some kind.

I mean, this is
definitely carnivore scat.

This definitely
ate another animal.

'Cause we are seeing fur
in there, bones in there.

It's evidence we know
something is

wandering around here,
eating people's farm animals.

-Mmm-hmm.
-So, we got our specimen.

We should be able
to get some DNA from it.

[Phil] Yeah, we'll send it
to the lab for a DNA test.

[Schuttler] Awesome.
Well done.

[Josh] If we're to believe
the various witnesses
over the centuries,

a mystery beast
is prowling and howling

deep in the forests
of the Ozarks.

So, when we analyze
the volume of evidence
that Phil and Jess gathered,

is there enough
to positively ID
the so-called Ozark Howler?

The game cam photo
is compelling.

But with the animal's head
obscured and nothing
to indicate scale,

it's impossible to determine
whether it's something large,

like an escaped jaguar,

or as small as
a common house cat.

DNA testing on the single hair
that Phil gathered

from a log on the game trail

came back as a bear.

However, there's the partial
print Phil captured
with the 3D scanner.

Closer inspection confirms

there are no claw marks
around the paw pads.

Retractive claws
are a trait that is
almost exclusively feline.

There are only two types
of wild cats

that are known
to prowl the Ozarks,

mountain lions,
which are extremely rare,

and definitely not black,

and the bobcat.

Bobcats can
be melanistic, meaning,

on extremely rare occasions,
they do have black fur.

There have been fewer than
20 documented sightings

of a melanistic bobcat.

One was captured on video
recently in Vermont.

Is it possible the witnesses
have been seeing and hearing

not a mysterious
hellhound beast,

but a bobcat?

[hisses]

[Phil] Get a little swab here.

[Josh] We analyzed the DNA
from the saliva sample

from the partially
consumed deer.

The culprit? Bobcat.

[Schuttler] Show me.

[Josh] And the scat sample
found by an elite canine?

DNA analysis reveals
that it is bobcat.

And Phil had several
colleagues listen

to the recordings
he and Jess captured.

[howling in distance]

[Josh] As well as the ones
recorded by our witnesses.

[howling on recording]

[Josh] While the identity
of the animal is uncertain,

most said that if they had
to take a guess, bobcat.

If you're still not convinced,

remember the catnip lure

the team placed
on our witness's property?

While the sticky tape traps
my team deployed

didn't collect
any fur samples,

take a close look at the photo
the camera snapped.

It may be difficult to see

because of its
signature spotted coat,

but it appears to be a bobcat.

Though they might seem a bit
smaller than the huge beast

that supposedly is
the Ozark Howler,

amazingly, bobcats can jump
as high as 12 feet

and take down prey
as big as an adult deer.

Coming across this large,
agile cat in the shadows

of the dark woods
would startle anyone.

And it might even seem
almost like a monster
from the old folk tales.

A nightmare come to life.

For more information on
Expedition X,

head to
discovery.com/expeditionx.