The chupacabra, or goat killer as the name means, was a first brought to the media attention in Porto Rico after multiple attacks on farm animals. These attacks were odd because what was killing the goats and chickens was not eating them; it would bite them and then “drink” the blood. This was thought because there was no blood in or around the bodies. The attacks caused such a public out cry that the government got involved and did an investigation into it.
At the time the descriptions of the creature made it out to be a hairless, gargoyle like beast with large glowing red eyes. Many people claimed to have seen this beast and one man claimed to have been stalked by it for a number of nights. A “nest” was eventually fond and hair samples were taken. At the time DNA fingerprinting was not as accurate as it is now so now real test were done on the hairs.
Recently though a new chupacabra has been found and documented. This one is here in the US and it is being found in different parts of Texas. Pictures of dead ones as well as bodies have been taken and examined. This time the creature is a dog/rat/kangaroo looking beast. It was very prominent canine teeth on both the top and bottom of its mouth. It seems to be hairless but in photos it has blue eyes.
This new creature had testing done on its DNA and different features to see where it could have come from or what it could be related to. The hairs that were found at the first “nest” were also tested to see if they were the same. The results showed that the hairs from Texas and Porto Rico were from the same species. They could not say what it was but the skull of the animal was able to say that it could be a cross between a large domesticated dog and a coyote.
These results seem like the truth to me. To me it seems more likely that this hybrid animal is the case rather than a gargoyle that drinks blood. This creature may bite the animal and then lap up the blood because it is unable to do eat the meat for some reason or another. Being a mix of the same family but not the same species could make it more susceptible to mange and other disorders giving it the hairless look.
While I will give most cryptic animals a fair chance at being real this is one case were I think science has found the “myth” and found the real explanation as to what it is; a mistake of nature that cannot find its place in the wild.
All data talked about here was gathered from Monster Quest on The History Chanel.
Old chupacabra picture thanks to: http://upsidedownhippo.com/archives/chupacabra-november1.jpg
Texas chupacabra picture thanks to: http://images.ibsys.com/2005/0825/4894992.jpg
I always find I can not look away when shows like Monster Quest are on the television. It is so bizarre to hear about the creatures people swear to seeing. One that caught my attention was the Moth Man sightings in West Virginia, because it was near the border of Ohio. Apparently it resembled a winged human male. One hypothesis was that the Moth Man was a mutant caused by a local chemical plant. Just thought I'd share!
ReplyDeleteNotice that the "real" chupacabra (the mangy coyote) bears no resemblance at all to the mythical monster that was reported. This is why crytpozoology is a pseudoscience. It takes seriously personal eyewitness accounts that there is no good reason to take seriously.
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