We have all kinds of critters here in Alabama that don’t exist. I have personally seen a pine marten and heard a panther. We were told for years that alligators could not live as far north as Montgomery. Now we have a gator season and they are killing some whoppers.
I don’t think anyone really knows what is out there in states that have a lot of wooded land. Enough people have seen panthers (mountain lions) around here. I sure believe they and other things are out there.
The Ivory Billed was 'highly endangered,' or 'extinct' in various degrees for about 60 years before they discovered one in Arkansas in the mid-2000s. Then researchers from Auburn found more near the the Choctawhatchee.
Before that, there was a grainy B&W photo from the late 60s or early 70s, dismissed by many as a fraud, and a few other 'yeah, right' sightings. There were even Ivory-billed Woodpecker expeditions.
There weren't as many sightings as those of bigfoot, but then again the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was 'extinct,' not just cryptozoological.
There's more wildlife out there than we know; just look at the number of 'new' insects catalogued each day.