"Chupacabra" Bodies Discovered in Texas

Could These Unknown Carnivores Be the Legendary Chupacabra?

The strange, doglike creature emerges from deep underground only at night to stealthily stalk its prey. Its nearly hairless, blue grey skin allows it to blend into shadow or moonlit landscape with near invisibility. The enlarged eyes and ears are adapted to the dim light and faint sounds of the night. Creeping up on its sleeping victims, it draws near and suddenly pounces, sinking in its daggerlike fangs and latching on with powerful jaws. The nocturnal creature feeds, vampire-like only on the prey's blood and fluids.

Could this hideous mammal, discovered near Cuervo, Texas be the legendary Chupacabra? The name in Spanish literally means Goat-sucker, due to the many goats that were found slain at night, intact but with a single hole in the carcass, the blood completely drained. There are many hundreds of eye-witness accounts from Puerto Rico, Latin America, Mexico and the southern United States. The sightings always occur at night, often by torchlight, lantern or campfire, and the descriptions vary. The most common features, however are a hideous face, greyish skin and a crest of some sort along the neck and back.

Three lifeless bodies of an unidentified mammal matching that general description, weighing about 40 pounds, were found by Phylis Canion and her neighbors in July, 2007 near Canion's ranch. Prior to the discovery, as many as 26 of Canion's chickens may have been killed by the creatures during the past couple of years, and none of them were eaten or carried away- just drained of blood. (Follow this link to see story and photos). The condition of the chickens is typical of the reported feeding habits of the Chupacabra.

Inspection of the creatures reveals the following characteristics and possible indicators:

The nearly hairless, smooth skin is characteristic of animals that live in underground burrows.The thick, muscular forelegs with broad paws and stout claws support this probability. Weaker hindquarters and slender rear legs generally indicate an animal that does not habtually travel long distances above ground.