Chupacabra
Chupacabra is a creature that resembles a living gargoyle said to exist in parts of Latin America, mostly Mexico and on the island of Puerto Rico. The Chupacabra has also been sighted by multiple eye-witnesses in Calaveras County, California. Reports say that the creature might have first appeared during the early to middle 1990s, harming animals of different species.Translated literally from Spanish as "goat-sucker" (compare with chotacabras, the nightjar), the chupacabra is said to attack small livestock and drink their blood. Descriptions of this creature vary, and no one has produced undisputable evidence of its existence.
History
The legend of El Chupacabras, as it was known in Spanish, started to grow in about 1992, when Puerto Rican newspapers El Vocero and El Nuevo Dia began reporting the killings of many different types of animals, such as birds, horses, and, as its name implies, goats. While at first it was suspected that the killings were done randomly by some members of a satanic cult, eventually these killings spread around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. The killings had one pattern in common: Each of the animals found dead had two punctured holes around their necks.
Some witnesses reported seeing a small, dark or green figure around the areas of the killings, giving police and news reporters the feeling that the chupacabras could, in fact, be an extra-terrestrial figure.
Soon after the animal deaths in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths began being reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, the United States and most notably, Mexico. Both in Puerto Rico and Mexico, El Chupacabras gained urban legend status. Chupacabra stories began to be released several times at American and Hispanic newscasts across the United States, and chupacabra merchandise, such as t-shirts and baseball hats, were sold.
It is possible that the animal deaths could have been produced by satanic worshippers or by disease. However, neither of those two theories were ever proven. No hard evidence of the deaths being caused by an extra-terrestrial or by a strange animal ever surfaced either, however.
Chupacabras are said to prominently appear in three specific forms. The first: a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery/scaley greenish skin and sharp spines running down its back. It stands approximately 3-4 feet high, and stands/hops in a similar fashion as a kangaroo (in at least one sighting, the creature hopped 20 feet). This variety is said to have a sort of proboscis extending from its mouth, with a forked tongue protruding from it.
The second variety also stands/hops as a kangaroo, and it has coarse fur with greyish facial hair. The head is similar to a dog's, and its mouth has large teeth.
The third form is simply that of a strange breed of wild dog that is mostly hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, teeth, and claws, but is otherwise a typical canine. This animal is said to be the result of interbreeding between several populations of wild dogs, though enthusiasts claim that it might be an example of an extinct dog-like reptile. The account during the year 2000 in Nicaragua of a Chupacabra corpse being found supports the conclusion that it is simply a strange breed of wild dog. The alleged corpse of the animal was found in Tolapa, Nicaragua and forensically analyzed at UNAN-Leon. Pathologists at the University found that it was just a dog; albeit a little unusual looking one. It should be noted that there are very striking morphological differences between different breeds of dogs (which wild dogs are generally descended from) that easily account for the strange characteristics of such an animal.
Some believe the chupacabra myth is a product of "mass hysteria" while others feel this is a weak explanation for the real dead animals resulting from the creature's unexplained attacks. There are many eye-witness accounts dating back many years.
A famous appearance in the city of Varginha in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is often attributed to the chupacabra. However, regarding this particular incident, most people associate the being with an unidentified extraterrestrial rather than a chupacabra, since no attack was reported.
Semi-mythical creatures similar to the Chupacabra include the Jersey Devil, the Skunk Ape of south Florida, West Virginia's Mothman, and the Monkey-man of New Delhi.
A few pictures which may be hoaxes (link below) exist of the Chupacabra.
See also: Cryptozoology, Vampire
Supposed semblance
External links