general
El Chupacabra (translated to 'the goat-sucker') is a tricky cryptid. El Chupacabra possesses a rapid-fire history which is frantic, odd, and almost nonsensical at times. The time when Chupacabra accounts began cropping up is the exact time of the advent of widespread internet use, which aided insurmountably to spreading the awareness of this menacing beast.
There are scant pieces of forensic evidence and just enough variation in Chupacabra sightings to leave a fog of mystery over the existence of el Chupacabra. The mystery clings to this cryptid stubbornly, perhaps just in time when many are tempted to dismiss el Chupacabra as a byproduct of histrionic urban myth and sensationalist media.
Even the very physical structure of el Chupacabra changes drastically in sightings which began to filter in from Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California. The one thing that remains a steady constant is the bizarre carnage it leaves in its wake - farm animals and household pets often exsanguinated through two puncture marks at the neck. At other times, victims were found entirely disemboweled, seemingly, through the eye sockets.
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description/appearance
When describing el Chupacabra, witnesses paint a fairly consistent picture of this horrifying creature. El Chupacabra is said to be 3-5 feet tall with a lean body. Set inside a small round head, its large slanted eyes range from yellow to red. Both the hands and feet of el Chupacabra are said to end in three long and powerful claws. El Chupacabra lacks a tail and has been described as manlike. Inside its mouth hide teeth adorned with prominent fangs. The legs of el Chupacabra are the most consistent feature always being described as very long and strong, capable of propelling the creature
Witnesses close enough to smell the creature make special note of its sickening smell. El Chupacabra also emits a high-pitched cry or scream when confronted or fleeing. Many have noted that when it flies, el Chupacabra makes a humming noise. Oddly enough, this sound has been associated with a feeling of nausea more than the foul odor of el Chupacabra.
Jorge Martin, a 'Chupacabra Expert' wrote this description, as composed through information from reports gathered in Canovanas and other locations in Puerto Rico:
"It appears to have strong coarse hair all over its body; and whilst most observers claimed that the hair is black, it has the remarkable ability to change colors at will, almost like a chameleon.
In the dark, it will change to black or a deep brown color - in a sunlit area, surrounded by vegetation, it changes to green, green-gray, light brown or beige. The creature has two small arms with three-fingered clawed hand and two strong hind legs, again with three claws. This appears to enable it to run quickly and leap...over 20 feet in a single bound. According to many observations, the creature's legs look almost reptilian or goatlike. It has quill-like appendages running down from its back, with what seem to be fleshy membranes that change color from blue to green, red to purple, et cetera."
Other descriptions paint el Chupacabra as a bizarre hybrid of bat, monkey, alien, kangaroo, and reptile - the most common description is of a gray-skinned, dark-furred creature, standing at three to four feet tall. The face is bare, either simian or bat-like, the hind legs long and powerful. The majority of its movements are bipedal. It is said to have vicious-looking claws on its three-fingered hands, and spines running from the head to the small of its back. Wings are accounted for just as often as they are not, whether bat-like or bat-like and partially feathered. It's said to have monstrous, hollow fangs, through which el Chupacabra completely drains its prey of blood.
Meanwhile, accounts and even alleged specimens of el Chupacabra from the Southwestern United States paint a much different picture of this cryptid. It is said to appear mostly canid, quadruped in nature, about the size of a medium-built dog with very long back legs. Its fangs are remarkably long, both upper and lower. Its skin is extremely thick, rough and almost scaly to the touch, and with very sparse, almost bald, distribution of fur. Phylis Canion, who collected the Cuero Texas specimen, claimed the skin was so thick it was extremely difficult to cut through.
In both South America and the US, el Chupacabra's primary prey is domesticated farm-animals, such as chickens, horses, dogs, cats, and obviously, goats. In Puerto Rico, farmers reported hearing screeching, flapping wings, or a hissing-humming sound which was described as most unusual.
El Chupacabra allegedly possesses speed, agility, and general impossibility of movement which has lead a few observers to coin the locomotive abilities of el Chupacabra as 'defying the laws of physics'.
El Chupacabra of both South America and the United States is mostly elusive, often leaving its work behind and no forensic evidence of the attack. There are multiple accounts of Chupacabras venturing into neighborhoods and looking into or entering occupied homes. Misael Negron Mendez of Puerto Rico reported his encounter with a Chupacabra in the fall of 1995. "El Chupacabra is as tall as me; it's got red oval eyes. It's got four long fangs." Mendez was standing on his balcony upon first witnessing the creature. "The whole time I was just looking at him, looking at him. I started walking towards it. I went into the house and immediately closed the door. I looked toward the windows and el Chupacabra was looking at me. "
Another witness came forward recounting bold behavior on part of el Chupacabra. Madelyne Tolentino reported noticing a terrified driver lingering on the road in front of her mother's Canovas, Puerto Rico home. As she watched, a strange, bipedal creature which fit the description of el Chupacabra stepped from the side of the house and into Tolentino's view.
One of these accounts even takes place in a metropolitan area of San Jose, Puerto Rico. There is a widespread commonality in the majority of Chupacabra reports which state that the creature seems apathetic to humans or fearful to engage in any lengthy human interaction. However, if the above accounts are true, el Chupacabra - or, at least, certain specimens of it - are capable of boldness even predators known to science typically dare not attempt.
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range/habitat
Chupacabra sightings and attacks were first reported in Puerto Rico, and then expanded over South America to Chile, Nicaragua and Mexico. Later, the United States became home to Chupacabra reports in Florida, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. A few accounts have been reported from as far away as Maine, Spain, and Russia. There are also accounts of animal maulings in England and Ireland in the late 1800's to the early 1900's which bear a startling similarity to those associated with el Chupacabra.
The inconsistency of Chupacabra habitat spreads between desert areas (such as Arizona, Texas and New Mexico) and thickly-wooded rainforest. However, the 'traditional' Chupacabra of Puerto Rico (the described bipedal hybrid in many accounts) is often spotted in heavily-wooded, tropical, and subtropical environments. Meanwhile, the quadruped canid 'version' of el Chupacabra from the Southwestern United States seems to favor plains and deserts as well as forests.
While there exists one account of Chupacabra specimens found in the deep rainforests of Puerto Rico, the majority of sightings take place around rural, farming communities or, at least, on the outskirts of larger communities where access to dense forests is easy. Evidence of Chupacabra activity in deep wilderness is nonexistent, and no wild animals have been found preyed upon in the hallmark manner of el Chupacabra. This lack of evidence may not be entirely unimaginable, as remains of Chupacabra prey can easily be scavenged by other local wildlife.
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history/origin
The beginnings of the history of el Chupacabra are often credited with the first actual reports from Puerto Rico in the 1990's. However, there are certainly accounts which date before the 1990's.
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado led a mounted army of Conquistadors in April of 1540 at the behest of the governor of New Galacia. The expedition was sent out into unknown territory, now known as Arizona and New Mexico. During the expedition, de Coronado decided to set camp between what is now the San Pedro River and the southwestern tip of the Hauchuca Mountains in southwestern Arizona. The camp also consisted of a herd of close to 1500 cattle. According to the account, the livestock were attacked during the night. The attackers were described as small, dark, horn-skinned men. de Coronado's army drove them off with torches and spears, but not before many of the 1500 cattle were exsanguinated.
The Zuni Indian Pueblo at Hawikuh, in western New Mexico, spoke of sporadic, long-ago wars between the Zuni and 'devil men'. These 'devil men' were described as anomalous gray men with 'knives on their backs', which bears a stark similarity to the Puerto Rican Chupacabra's spine-like spinal structures. It was said they were capable of jumping incredible heights and distances, thus able to drop their warriors upon Zuni warriors or within Zuni ranks. They also drank blood, although whether livestock or human was not verified.
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timeline/major sightings
El Chupacabra is a cryptid with an incredible following over its recent, chaotic history. With as many as hundreds of attacks reported within a matter of months, even modern, mainstream news sources took note - some as established as the New York Times. Cryptozoologists, wildlife experts, government, conspiracy theorists, journalists and the average citizen have all stood in various roles in documenting, augmenting, disclaiming, and fueling the global fascination of el Chupacabra.
Late 1800's-Early 1900's: A rash of sheep killings took place in Cavan, Ireland, as Gravesend in Kenth, Badminton in Gloucestershire, Guildford, and Windsor, England.
The carnage numbered up to thirty sheep a night, all found with injuries at the throat and entirely drained of blood.
1975: Livestock were found killed and drained of blood in Moca, Puerto Rico. Deep puncture marks were found on the bodies, causing the killer to be dubbed 'The Moca Vampire' - locals attributed the deaths to killer snakes and birds. During the timeslot of these killings, an eyewitness spotted a creature walking across the road as she drove home in the El Yunque rainforest of Puerto Rico. According to her, it was four feet high, monkey-like in appearance, with dark fur or hair, bird-bat hybrid wings, glowing eyes which bulged from its bat-like face, and clawed, elongated fingers.
1995: Goats, chickens, and other small farm animals were found dead with puncture marks and without blood near the Puerto Rican villages of Morovis and Orocovis in March.
1995: Chupacabra sightings peaked in 1995 in Puerto Rico. Local papers regularly reported Chupacabra incidents on an alarmingly frequent basis. An astounding number of attacks were reported in a matter of months. The Puerto Rican government stepped in to investigate.
Field Operations Supervisor, Hommy Vasquez, has fifteen years of experience in the field and stated that he had not seen such activity in the duration of his career.
1995: On May 11, reports filtered in of a clawed, gargoyle-like creature preying on city rats and menacing pedestrians at a bus stop in metropolitan San Juan, Puerto Rico. One witness, a police officer, attempted to drive the creature off with a billy club. The creature snatched the weapon from the officer's grip as it rose straight into the air in a remarkable and almost unbelievable demonstration of flight, escaping.
Later that night, residents complained of an unidentifiable source in the night sky, creating a disturbance with its screams and howls.
1995: Eyewitnesses, local and national media coin the term 'Chupacabra' in the month of August. This is the birth of the name this cryptid still goes by and gains infamy through, even as the years wear on.
1995: Canovanas mayor Jose 'Chemo' Soto, former police officer, led a search into the local mountain range on an expedition to capture a live Chupacabra specimen.
In November, rumors started that Puerto Rican and U.S. federal authorities captured and held two chupcabra specimens.
Mid-1990's - Mark Davenport, UFO Researcher and Monster Hunter, and Joe Palermo, video producer, were filming in Puerto Rico when they heard of el Chupacabra hysteria and decided to investigate. Their interview with the Mayor of the town of Canoramas was cut short with a pressing phone call. Canoramas was home to a rash of reported attacks every night for four months, and residents believed they had found a Chupacabra 'nest'. Davenport and Palermo gathered hairs from the nest-site to send out for analysis.
1996: The first major American sighting took place in March in Miami, Florida. Another from Sweetwater, Florida was recorded on March 10th of a woman witnessing an 'inhuman shape' crossing her property. Later in the same month, another Sweetwater resident lost twenty-seven chickens and two goats to an unidentified predator. That same night, family members witnessed a shadow with a similar bearing to that of a man cross outside their bedroom window.
1996: Reports from other Carribean islands, Mexico, Chile, Guatamala, Costa Rica, Spain, and southwestern US states such as Arizona and Texas began filtering in. In Texas, whole packs of dogs were found attacked, some exsanguinated, some disemboweled, it appeared, through the eyes. Meanwhile, in Florida and Baja, CA, livestock and dogs were reported to have been exsanguinated through puncture marks in the neck.
1996: Reports of Chupacabra sightings petered off drastically this year in Puerto Rico, although Chupacabra-blamed attacks continued. On June 27, however, a sighting was reported from Toa Baja, a small city in the northeast of Puerto Rico. Debra Hernandez witnessed a dark creature "...with pointed ears and enormous fangs." preying on one chicken from her ransacked chicken coop. Upon seeing her, it dropped the chicken and escaped. This was not the first attack on Hernandez's livestock. Earlier she had lost a goose, two guineas, and six hens. "The chickens were left bloodless, but their wounds appear to indicate that their intestines were removed. I know this could not have been done by dogs because there are no feathers anywhere - only the chicken's bodies."
1999-2003: Reports of cattle mutilations in Texas and Northern Florida, as well as Chile and Brazil, increased. The animals were exsanguinated through puncture marks, and no physical evidence of the predator was left - whether it is blood, fur, skin, or tracks.
2004: Eleven goats were found slaughtered inside their pen at the Illusion Children's Park in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Fausto Radaelli, petting zoo owner, made the discovery. A December 3, 2004 article printed in Primera Hora newspaper stated:
"Three of the goats presented large bite marks, dismemberment, and one of them had half of its body devoured; all of its internal organs, excepting its stomach, were gone. The rest of the goats had bite marks and fang marks on the rear of their bodies. The marks resembled the ones found on animals allegedly attacked by the infamous Chupacabras." Biologists, however, were skeptical. Ernesto Marquez acknowledged abnormal behavior on the part of this mysterious predator even in his skepticism, stating "...The animal leaped; it is an agile animal, attacking from the rear. It's astute and knows human beings. This is vicious. The animal isn't psychologically well."
2005: Elmendorf, TX. Farmer Devin McAnally witnessed a creature stalking around his chicken coop on four separate occasions. "...???I found as many as 30 chickens [dead]." This account coincided with other strange appearances in other locations in Texas. McAnally managed to shoot and kill the creature. His photos show a quadruped canine-like creature with sparsely-haired, gray, oddly-textured skin and remarkably long upper and lower fangs. He kept the bones long enough for the 2008 Monster Quest expedition team to analyze them.
2005: Chupacabra-like predatory activity was reported in farms around Orenburg, Russia in the month of March. A family lost thirty-two turkeys to exsanguination. Later, in Gavrilovka, sheep were found dead in a similar manner. In Vozdvizhenka and Shishma three to four sheep and goats were also victim to the predator. Erbulat Isbasov, resident of the area, recalled witnessing the creature
"I heard the sheep start to bleat loudly. I ran up to them and saw a black shadow. It looked like a enormous dog that had stood up on its hind legs. And jumped like a kangaroo. The beast sensed my presence and ran away. It squeezed through an opening in the panels of the fence."
Upon witnessing the animal again a few days later, Erbulat observed the creature to be about three feet tall and capable of clearing fences with a mere jump. He later found claw marks and a clump of ginger-grey hair on the fence. According to Martin's description found in the 'Appearance/Discription' section of this entry, changing fur to a gray-brown color was one of el Chupacabra's abilities.
Another sighting was reported in September on the banks of the Sakmara river.
2007: Phylis Canion of Cuero, Texas reported an unknown creature on the grounds of her ranch. The time of this sighting coincided with the rash of attacks her flock of chickens had become victim of. According to Canion, "...most of the animals here will kill an animal and take it away, so I was perplexed about what kind of animal it was that would just kill and not take the meat. There was no blood at all."
Later, Canion collected samples from a alleged Chupacabra roadkill specimen which had been found in Cuero and froze the head for analysis.
2007: Ben O'Quinn of Pollock, Texas recounted an incident when his dogs had cornered something underneath their house. Son, Tyrel, crawled underneath with a rope to try to fish it out, O'Quinn at the ready with a gun in case of any aggressive behavior. Upon seeing the anomalous appearance of the creature, O'Quinn shot and killed it. Photographs taken bear a stark similarity to the Elmendorf and Cuero specimens, as well as other eyewitness accounts from Texas.
2008: History Channel's Monster Quest program featured an expedition in Texas in search of proof of el Chupacabra. Ken Gerhard, cryptozoologist, found the Elmendorf skeletal specimens preserved by Devin McAnally to be particularly interesting, observing that the Sagital Crest of the skull was far more pronounced than in other canines. The teeth were of interest also, as Gerhard stated "This is obviously the canine tooth on this animal; this is a lot more pronounced than we'd see on an animal this size." Sharman Hoppes of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Texas agreed with Gerhard's observations.
During the expedition, the molars from the Elmendorf, Texas specimen were sent in to New York University for DNA Analysis. Skin, hair, and dental samples from the Cuero Specimens were sent in for analysis as well. It was noted by Gerhard that the Cuero Specimen and Elmendorf Specimen both had very similar teeth.
Hair samples from the Cuero Specimen were submitted to Irving Kornfield, a specialist in forensic analysis who usually provides his expertise to solving poaching cases. The hairs were compared to known mammals of Puerto Rico and the Canoramas, Puerto Rico hair sample gathered by Davenport and Pallermo in the mid 1990's. Kornfield concluded both the Canoramas hair sample and the Cuero Specimen hair sample were from some sort of canid.
Molar samples were sent to Todd Disotell of New York University for DNA analysis. Disotell concluded the Elmendorf sample was from a domesticated dog, while the Cuero sample's mitochondrial DNA was that of a coyote's, and the Y chromosome was conclusive to that of wolves reintroduced to Texas and Mexico for wildlife conservation purposes.
Joanne Mansell of the American College of Veterinary Pathology tested skin samples from the Cuero specimen for skin anomalies and mange. Mange is a parasitic condition which can, once chronic, cause fur loss, thickening, and an almost reptilian scaling of the skin. Mansell found the specimen problematic and was unable to identify any anomalies or infections.
Meanwhile, Ken Gerhard and wildlife expert, Lee Hales, conducted an investigation on Canyon Ranch in Cuero, Texas. Motion-sensitive cameras and a baited trap yielded nothing, but there was an abnormal reaction to one lure set by the investigators. A post sprayed with coyote urine was found aggressively scratched up to three feet from the ground - extremely unusual behavior for any creature which would have remote interest in coyote scent-marking behavior. Unfortunately, the motion-sensitive cameras trained on that area had malfunctioned.
The conclusions of the Monster Quest expedition were just solid enough to be disheartening, created a tentative parallel between alleged Chupacabra activity between Texas and Puerto Rico through the hair samples analyzed by Kornfield, and just vague enough to inquisitive individuals to seek more answers.
A few weeks after the Monster Quest expedition, Phylis Canion found another dead specimen on her neighbor's property in Cuero, Texas.
2008: Sheriffs of DeWitt County, Texas witnessed an unusual creature while on patrol on August 11th. According to the report, it ran down a dirt road, alongside fence lines. The officers claimed it could be a Chupacabra, quadruped and canid in nature, as reported in previous Texas sightings. Images of the animal were captured on the police car's dashboard camera.
2008: Famer Reggie Lagow of Coleman, Texas set traps after losing a number of chickens and turkeys. On August 25, he captured and photographed a creature which was described as a combination of a hairless dog, rat, and a kangaroo - much like the Pollock, Elmendorf, and two Cuero specimens.'
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suspected hoaxes
Mass hysteria was spurred by the carnage left behind by el Chupacabra and the sheer number of incidents in el Chupacabra's 'heyday'. Because of the general sense of widespread anxiety in regard to these animal mutilations, it is not unimaginable that people would point fingers at el Chupacabra at the slightest provocation. Perhaps a number of animal maulings and mutilations credited to el Chupacabra were, in fact, perfectly mundane in nature.
On multiple occasions veterinarian autopsies contradicted eyewitness accounts, notably, the conclusions showed that there was still blood left in many of el Chupacabra attack victims. There are, of course, other scientists who are baffled at the lack of forensic evidence left at kill sites, as well as noting signs of behavior which was not common in some of the suspected, average predators.
On August 16th 2006 in Turner, Maine, a canid specimen was discovered by residents near power lines on Route 4, struck down and killed by a car. Residents speculated that this abnormal-looking creature was the very one which terrorized the area with strange vocalizations and aggressive attacks on pet dogs for half a generation. Many attributed this creature, judging by its similarities, to el Chupacabra of the Southwestern United States. By the time wildlife officials investigated the reported remains, it was picked over by vultures and not much tissue was left of the dead animal.
Loren Coleman, author and cryptozoologist, noted the animal's ears and snout. It bore a similarity to another creature which was shot by a hunter in Northern Maine which could not be identified.
However, DNA analysis by wildlife officials concluded the specimen in question was a wolfdog hybrid.
One popular Chupacabra photograph originated in Puerto Rico and depicts a reddish, black and brown creature lunging and baring its teeth. For some time this photograph was taken as a preserved specimen by many, but it is, in fact, a photograph of a statue.
Another popular Chupacabra photograph circled the internet through an e-mail in 2003, depicting a man holding an alleged Chupacabra head while one child pokes it with a stick and another looks on behind a fence. The realism of the photograph is genuinely astounding, and simply a matter of artistic skill. Snopes.com credited the photograph to the work of Charlie White on May 1, 2005, and the particular work in question entitled 'Highland Park'. The artist himself did not specify the creature as a Chupacabra, but often draws direct inspiration from established monster myths.
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proposed explanations
Despite el Chupacabra's infamy, legions of incidents, and widespread activity, we still have yet to have any firm scientific footing on just what el Chupacabra is. Therefore, many have hypothesized on the origin and nature of el Chupacabra. Such theories come from every direction and possibility.
One theory centers on the paranormal and metaphysical. More than one person has proposed that el Chupacabra is some kind of demon or malevolent spirit, which would explain the lack of forensic evidence at kill sites, its monstrous appearance and its ever-changing characteristics between Puerto Rico accounts and Southwestern US accounts.
A few eyewitness details seem to support this theory. According to Madalyne Tolentino???s experience, el Chupacabra she had witnessed hissed and spat as it went, smelling 'like sulfur'. In demonology, unpleasant vocalizations and a sulfurous smell are signs of a malevolent spirit.
In Tucson, Arizona of the year1996, Jose Espinoza witnessed a creature which fit the description of a Chupacabra sitting on his seven-year-old son???s chest after having snuck into Espinoza residence in the early-morning hours. It soon hopped out through a bedroom window and escaped. Espinoza claimed it had "mumbled something".
Perhaps Espinoza was just shocked, or, perhaps, we see further ties into the demonology theory, supported by skewed but somewhat familiar and unsettling vocalizations.
In Puerto Rico, near Morovis and Orocovis, investigators looked at a rash of killings which took place in March of 1996 on Enrique Barreto's property. One officer spotted the creature and attempted to pursue it. In doing so, he was overcome with a bout of nausea.
Jaime Torres, UFO investigator, reportedly saw a Chupacabra specimen at the same location on Enrique Barreto's property after the officer's investigation. As Torres observed the specimen, it shook its head and hissed. The hiss, somehow, made Torres feel faint.
These physical responses experienced by the witnesses may be a small piece of evidence, if true, further supporting the occultic/paranormal nature of el Chupacabra. Demonologists are very familiar with many symptoms a person may be overcome with in the presence of a malevolent spirit - crippling nausea and unexplained manifestations of physical ailments being one of them.
Perhaps these occurrences are biological instead of paranormal. It could be possible that el Chupacabra possesses a little-known toxin-based self-defense. Such popular examples in the animal kingdom are skunk sprays, dart frog skin secretions, squid inking behavior, et cetera.
A witness driving home with a friend from Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, recounts her experience in 1991. She was suddenly compelled to drive higher into El Yunque rain forest, which is uncharacteristic of both witnesses. Upon rounding a bend in the road, they claimed to have seen a four to five-foot-tall biped creature matching el Chupacabra description crossing the road in front of them. It then disappeared into the foliage opposite of the road.
Despite the multitude of Chupacabra sightings in the 1990's, the most virulent of them took place in 1995. Taking this fact into consideration, why would an average, non-thrillseeking person feel such a compellation? Could it be something of a psychic urging on the part of the creature in an attempt to stir the pot of fear and hysteria in later years?
There is an interesting connection between the accounts of animal mutilations in the early 1900's in England and el Chupacabra of Puerto Rico. At the exact same time el Chupacabra reports of Puerto Rico were in full swing (1995), accounts of a slightly similar creature in England, dubbed 'Owlman', began to filter in. Usually seen by young girls in the forest of Mawnan, England, the area and the horrifying nature of this creature are closely linked to theories of the occult.
Earlier, the year 1976 holds significance in both the history of the Puerto Rico Chupacabra and English Owlman. While an eyewitness claimed to have encountered el Chupacabra - considered rare in Puerto Rico before the 1990's - an account by Jane Greenwood in the summer of 1976 in the Falmouth Packet newspaper regarding Owlman was published:
"I am on holiday in Cornwall with my sister and our mother. I, too, have seen a big bird-thing. It was Sunday morning, and the place was in the trees near Mawnan Church, above the rocky beach. It was in the trees standing like a full-grown man, but the legs bent backwards like a bird???s. It saw us, and quickly jumped up and rose straight up through the trees???How would it rise like that?" This particular creature has been said to display many of the remarkable flight patterns found in Chupacabra reports.
Upon investigating the Owlman phenomena, a ???monster hunter??? claimed to be overcome by a sudden and very strong psychic backlash. Owlman is said to favor old churches, holy grounds, and places with an occult history.
Later, in Puerto Rico in the year 2006, an eyewitness walked past the Church of the Three Kings when he heard a ???loud roar??? coming from a copse of trees adjacent to the building. He then saw a huge, feathery bird come looming out of the tree canopy. It hovered like a helicopter and soared off in the direction of a nearby farm. It may simply be a strange coincidence where a Chupacabra was mistaken for a large bird (yet again) and unwittingly displayed Owlman characteristics.
Animal mutilation outbreaks are nothing new ??? the ancient Romans were familiar with such sprees of violence, and figured the culprit to be a demon. Chupacabra folklore is tentatively attached to paranormal and occult beliefs. Orlando Pla, a ???Chupacabra Expert??? of the El Yunque Rainforest says ??????legend says that if you see the spikes go up on its back you should sing it a song, a lullaby, which will calm it, and then you should run as fast as you can.???.
Certain people of rural Puerto Rico claim el Chupacabra as the departed spirit of evil men, come back to wreck havoc on communities which have scorned them. It is said el Chupacabra could be held at bay with a crucifix, as well.
It could, perhaps, just be a very lucky coincidence that the first modern documented report of a Chupacabra-like creature occurred in the same year as the ???Owlman??? phenomenon, and mild correlations between the two and the paranormal/occult continued through the years. There is hardly enough evidence to make a solid conclusion.
Another theory is a ???group think??? hypothesis. Because el Chupacabra was documented and studied in a modern time when media and the internet were easily accessible by many, worldwide, the public was enraptured or horrified by the reports of this strange creature en mass and in a very short period of time. The phenomena of making something ???real??? through sheer belief and perception is a theory found in some schools of new age thought, far-eastern spirituality, and even spiritualist-influenced magic.
The proposed manifestation powers of a large group of believers could possibly be the explanation behind the coinciding rash of Chupacabra and Owlman sightings in the mid-to-late 1990???s, when news of the creatures and, more so, documentaries began to air in US, Canada, and European television.
Benjamin Radford, Author of Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias hypothesizes that the vast discrepancy between the Puerto Rican/South American Chupacabra and the Texas Chupacabra are influenced by mass media hysteria which was rapidly spread through a more mobile and flexible news sources, with strong focus on the bizarre manner of predation attributed to el Chupacabra. In other words, what mattered is how it kills, not how it looks. Like a nightmare game of ???telephone???, could el Chupacabra???s vast variation in appearance be due to this ???manifestation of widespread belief??? theory?
Another proposed explanation is rather simplistic, yet dually conspiratorial, in nature. Simply, el Chupacabra is an urban myth, used by people to embellish otherwise average animal killings. A myth created and planted by military to strike fear in the heart of civil unrest in Puerto Rico.
It would not be the first time such a tactic was used. Fervent belief in the Philippine vampire-like ???aswang??? was credited by some to the work of American psychological warfare planners in the 1920???s. In certain circumstances, playing on the superstitious belief of local rebels and striking fear into the hearts of such enemies would prove beneficial to war strategists.
Is el Chupacabra the physical manifestation of the strong beliefs of a large group of people, or accounts hyperstylized by a histrionic public?
Puerto Rico is also a known hotbed of extraterrestrial activity. Perhaps that is where the alien-like factor of the Puerto Rican Chupacabra???s appearance is influenced from. More so, a number of attacks attributed to el Chupacabra are extremely similar to bizarre and macabre cattle mutilations found in ???traditional??? extraterrestrial reports; notably victims found with their innards entirely removed, seemingly, through their eye sockets. An example of animal mutilation with a seemingly extraterrestrial influence exists in this account from March 31, 1991, in regard to an attack on a Puerto Rican couple???s dogs and the dog???s attackers:
???Some three to our feet tall, of gray color, big heads, big black eyes, and almost imperceptible nose, and with a mouth like a little cut.??? He described the remains of the dog as ??????empty, with nothing inside. It was as if all [internal organs] had been sucked out through its eyes. It had empty eye sockets, and all the internal organs had disappeared. It had only the bones inside its skin. It was hollow.???
Jorge Martin, investigator, often stated sentiment to the extraterrestrial hypothesis. According to Martin, alleged Chupacabra blood was collected after a witness managed to wound one before it escaped. The blood was analyzed by Puerto Rican and U.S. authorities. Martin claimed to have access to a copy of the analysis, and the analysis stated that the blood was, in no way, compatible with normal human blood. The trace ratio of magnesium, phosphorous calcium and potassium was far higher than that found in the blood of humans. Albumen/glouline RG ratio was also found to be vastly different. Further still, the results were found incompatible with any known animal species. The analysis team claimed the blood not to be from a creature native to Earth.
Martin???s radio show also received a caller who stated he was a former serviceman. The caller claimed to have seen Chupacabras during his tour of duty in Vietnam, as well as witnessed specimens held in cages in the American Southwest. According to the anonymous caller, ???These creatures looked at you pleadingly with their sad eyes???They appear lost in an unknown world.??? These claims, however, remain unverified.
Fernando Toledo, President of the Puerto Rico Agricultural Association, agreed with Martin???s alien hypothesis, stating ???We must be dealing with an extraterrestrial.???
According to Jorge Martin, two Chupacabra specimens were captured ??????one???in the town of San Lorenzo, in the center-east of Puerto Rico; the other in the National Caribbean Rain Forest in El Yunque, to the east. Both were alive and allegedly taken to the United States by special personnel.??? There is no concrete proof of this account, although widespread belief in this theory was fueled by anti-U.S. Military sentiments, particularly in regard to the Roosevelt Road U.S. Naval Base in the El Yunque forest . It was very much a ???they know something they are not telling us??? sentiment among the local public.
The specimens were said to have been later moved to a top-secret location within the United States in the late 1990???s, right when Chupacabra reports began cropping up regularly in the Southwestern United States. Anomalous Biological Entities held, undetected by the public, in top-secret locations? It is not a far stretch of the imagination to bring to mind the notorious Area 51. Such a connection is extremely lenient, at best, but enough for hyperbole and suspicion to take hold.
Finally, a rather typical Chupacabra report takes a somewhat science fiction-like twist in 2000. Puerto Rican farmer, Antonio, lost one of his hoofstock through exsanguination via puncture marks to the neck. An undisclosed number of rabbits were also found by him at the same time in a similar manner of victimization.
After a brief confrontation with a creature he claimed to be a Chupacabra, the creature fled. Antonio claimed that a man and woman dressed in black suites showed up shortly after to question him on his farm animal???s death. A literal Men In Black twist to the bizarre history of el Chupacabra.
Another hypothesis which toes the line of ???Conspiracy Theory??? ??? if not outright dives in- and firmly points the finger at Puerto Rican and US Military. The focus, this time around, is on genetic manipulation.
According to Jorge Martin, Investigator, ???genetic manipulations??? may have produced el Chupacabra. He references Genetic Scientist Dr. Tsian Kanchen, who allegedly worked for the former Soviet Union. According to Martin, Kanchen produced certain ???genetic manipulations??? under laboratory conditions and may have created a new species of electronically crossed plant and animal hybrids. Kanchen allegedly created genetically hybridized goats, rabbits, and cereal crops.
Martin further speculated that Kanchen defected to the west after the collapse of the U.S.S.R, offering his expertise to the USA.
In modern science, we know of splicing jellyfish DNA to make cats glow and create the vibrant coloration and light found in the common aquarium zebra danio ???glofish???. Pets and livestock have been cloned, while stem cell research has just been given the go-ahead for human trials in the US by the FDA. There is no widely-publicized science, however, which would be capable of creating something as wildly imaginative as a Chupacabra.
While the genetic manipulation theory stands on shaky legs, an incident with the U.S. Military did not help stall suspicions held by the residents of Puerto Rico. In 1930, rhesus monkeys were brought to the U.S. Air Force Primate Research center in the rainforests of Puerto Rico for biological warfare testing purposes. A number of primate specimens allegedly escaped a few decades later, and the concern was a very real one ??? the rhesus monkeys, for testing purposes, were HIV positive.
Typical for many cryptids, el Chupacabra has also been explained through bioanamolies. Evolutionary jumps or, conversely, holdovers from a prehistoric age which have survived in the uncharted wild until recently discovered.
Some have speculated, due to the exsanguination feeding behavior of el Chupacabra and the accounts of leathery or sparsely-feathered wings, that the creature in question is really an evolutionary jump of the vampire bat. A very, very large vampire bat. While the vampire bat does feed on blood, they do so by creating small wounds on the host animal from which they lick, not suck, the blood. However, if such a large version of this creature exists, who knows how their feeding biology has evolved? Still, the vampire bat hypothesis may lend credence to the description of coloration and facial structure, as some eyewitness accounts tell of very similar facial characteristics to a vampire bat.
Hill farmer Luis Guadalupe witnessed an attack on one of his livestock. A local newspaper printed his account, and Guadalupe described the creature ??????like an ugly dwarf???[with a] pointy, long tongue like a snake???s.???
While the ???pointy tongue??? description is not always found in the majority of Chupacabra accounts, it is correct in belonging to the physical characteristics of a vampire bat. The vampire bat possesses a similar tongue that it uses to lick blood from its host, which is usually large livestock.
The prehistoric candidate in an effort to explain the origins of el Chupacabra seems to take into consideration the typical Puerto Rican Chupacabra physical characteristics, albeit leniently. Microraptor is a 1 ??? 2 ???? long dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. Fossil records of Microraptor have been found in China. The description is of a winged and semi-feathered reptile, possessing a ???crown??? of spines and three-fingered hands with claws.
A further supposed biological anomaly was reported on April 23, 1995 in Naranjito, Puerto Rico. Witness Reynaldo Ortega told of a spotting a creature which was three to four feet tall, with black feathers and a thick neck, possessing canine-like snout instead of a beak.
Later, a certain shift in Chupacabra descriptions started taking a firm and final hold in 2004. Southwestern US locals began to describe a slightly different Chupacabra than the one which had gained infamy in Puerto Rico. This Chupacabra was said to be a canine-like quadruped, with thick, grey skin and remarkably vicious-looking upper and lower fangs.
Could there possibly be a connection between the Ortega account, el Chupacabra of Puerto Rico and el Chupacabra of the US?
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influence on culture
The spike of Chupacabra activity in Puerto Rico in the year 1995 coincides with conflict in regard to Puerto Rican politics, with some political factions seeking independence from the United States of America. Because of this political fervor, trust in the United States Military was not universally stable. That, in turn, encouraged certain people to blame Puerto Rican and US Military, Naval and Army bases in having a hand with either covering up the truth of, or even creating, el Chupacabra. El Chupacabra and politics were closely intertwined in more than a few instances.
In the 1990???s, Mark Davenport (UFO investigator) and Joe Palermo (film maker) made the following observations in regard to Puerto Rican society and el Chupacabra. Davenport notices ??????animal deaths continued almost daily.??? while Palermo states ???Day and night, over radio, on television, in the newspaper, whatever. They were constantly talking about this chupacabra???this was very serious to them.???
The hysteria was so great that, upon discovering small puncture marks in livestock, locals in certain parts of Mexico set fire to foliage in an attempt to ward the supposed Chupacabra off. The fire damage was so formidable that local ecosystems went under serious threat.
The beginning of 1996 saw international media attention focused on el Chupacabra hysteria. On January 26th, the New York Times published a story about el Chupacabra. Thus, el Chupacabra cultural phenomenon in the context of entertainment media and worldwide interest began in earnest.
El Chupacabra seemed to have gained something of an entertainment-based following almost overnight. El Chupacabra was sung of in folk ballads in Latin America, printed on t-shirts in Texas, and even featured on popular television, such as the X-Files.
Multiple cryptozoologists have written about el Chupacabra and multiple documentaries have been filmed for popular television, namely the Sci-Fi Channel???s ???Proof Positive??? and History Channel???s ???Monster Quest??? programs. Even artists have been inspired by el Chupacabra, as seen by ???Chupacabras! Artists Reinterpret the Myth??? exhibit by the National Museum of Mexican Art of Chicago, IL. The exhibit explored how el Chupacabra myth has impacted the Latin American and North American psyche. Another piece of art worth mention is the debunked ???Chupacabra Head Photo??? by Charlie White. The ???Highland Park??? work is a classic example of how modern media has and continues to lend its strength to fuel worldwide interest in el Chupacabra.
Commerce has also found el Chupacabra to be something of a macabre muse, with a multitude of shirts, bumper stickers, toys, pins, and other Chupacabra merchandise available dually in tourist traps in Mexico and at the click of a mouse. Phylis Canion of Cuero, TX, capitalized on her discoveries by selling chupacabra-themed merchandise. She states ???These shirts, four of them, are going to Sicily. We have sent shirts to Guam; we have sent shirts to Iraq, California, and Memphis???. Canion has sent shirts as far away as Australia.
Even though el Chupacabra seems to have taken the role of a mythological character, a science fiction creation suited more for movies and t-shirts than the hysteria it initiated in the mid 1990???s, reports are still taken seriously due to the brutal nature of el Chupacabra???s predatory tactics. Chupacabra sightings have been reported as recently as 2008, and we still have yet to break the mystery of the modern age???s very own cryptid.
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