Urban Legends and Myths

Chupacabra

The chupacabra or chupacabras (Spanish pronunciation: , literally "goat-sucker"; from chupar, "to suck", and cabra, "goat") is a creature in the of parts of the Americas, with its first purported sightings reported in . The name comes from the animal's reported of attacking and of , especially .

Physical descriptions of the creature vary. It is purportedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail.

Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1995 in Puerto Rico, and have since been reported as far north as , and as far south as , and even being spotted outside the Americas in countries like and the , but many of the reports have been disregarded as uncorroborated or lacking evidence. Sightings in northern Mexico and the southern United States have been verified as afflicted by . According to biologists and wildlife management officials, the chupacabra is an urban legend.

Name

Chupacabras can be literally translated as "goat-sucker", from chupar ("to suck") and cabra ("goat"). It is known as both chupacabras and chupacabra throughout the Americas, with the former being the original word, and the latter a of it. The name in Spanish can be preceded by a singular masculine article (el chupacabras), or the plural masculine article (los chupacabras).

History

The first reported attack occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico. Eight were discovered dead, each with three puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood. A few months later, in August, an eyewitness, Madelyne Tolentino, reported seeing the creature in the Puerto Rican town of , when as many as 150 farm animals and pets were reportedly killed. In 1975, similar killings in the small town of were attributed to El Vampiro de Moca ("The Vampire of Moca").Initially, it was suspected that the killings were committed by a ; later more killings were reported around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. Each of the animals was reported to have had its body bled dry through a series of small circular incisions.

comedian and entrepreneur is credited with coining the term chupacabras soon after the first incidents were reported in the press. Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries.

Reputed origin

A five-year investigation by , documented in his 2011 book , concluded that the description given by the original eyewitness in Puerto Rico, Madelyne Tolentino, was based on the creature Sil in the science-fiction horror film . The alien creature Sil is nearly identical to Tolentino's chupacabra eyewitness account and she had seen the movie before her report: "It was a creature that looked like the chupacabra, with spines on its back and all... The resemblance to the chupacabra was really impressive," Tolentino reported. Radford revealed that Tolentino "believed that the creatures and events she saw in Specieswere happening in reality in Puerto Rico at the time," and therefore concludes that "the most important chupacabra description cannot be trusted." This, Radford believes, seriously undermines the credibility of the chupacabra as a real animal.

In addition, the reports of blood-sucking by the chupacabra were never confirmed by a , the only way to conclude that the animal was drained of blood. An analysis by a veterinarian of 300 reported victims of the chupacabra found that they had not been bled dry.

Radford divided the chupacabra reports into two categories: the reports from and where animals were attacked and it is supposed their blood was extracted, and the reports in the United States of , mostly dogs and with , that people call "chupacabra" due to their unusual appearance.

In late October 2010, biologist Barry O'Connor concluded that all the chupacabra reports in the United States were simply coyotes infected with the parasite , whose symptoms would explain most of the features of the chupacabra: they would be left with little fur, thickened skin, and rank odor. O'Connor theorized that the attacks on goats occurred "because these animals are greatly weakened, they're going to have a hard time hunting. So they may be forced into attacking livestock because it's easier than running down a rabbit or a deer."

Although several witnesses came to the conclusion that the attacks could not be the work of dogs or coyotes because they had not eaten the victim, this conclusion is incorrect. Both dogs and coyotes can kill and not consume the prey, either because they are inexperienced, or due to injury or difficulty in killing the prey. The prey can survive the attack and die afterwards from internal or . The presence of two holes in the neck, corresponding with the , are to be expected since this is the only way that most land have to catch their prey.

There are reports of stray being mistaken for chupacabras.

Appearance

The most common description of the chupacabra is that of a -like creature, said to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. It is said to be approximately 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) high.

Another common description of the chupacabra is of a strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabra is said to drain all of the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) usually through three holes in the shape of a downwards-pointing triangle or through one or two holes.

Related legends

A popular legend in concerns a popular lovers' lane called Grunch Road, which was said to be inhabited by "grunches", creatures similar in appearance to the Chupacabra.

The of Chile also share similarities in their supposed habits, but instead of being dog-like they are described as winged snakes. This legend may have originated from the , an animal endemic to the region.

In the Philippines, another called the shares many of chupacabra's descriptions. The recent discovery of the in Southeast Asia suggests that it could also have been simply sightings of this once unknown animal.

In popular culture

The popularity of the chupacabra has resulted in its being featured in many types of media.

At least one published mystery novel uses aspects of the myth as the centerpoint of the plot. Other kinds of books include those that provide a scientific explanation for the phenomena.The chupacabra has appeared in various science fiction and , including , starring , and , starring . In 2014, the found-footage horror film , involving friends vacation in Panama who find themselves being hunted by a pack of Chupacabra, was released.Ed Lavandera has described the chupacabra as the " of " and has stated that "El Chupacabra also symbolizes the fear of something that doesn't exist". Following the incident in , the popularity of the chupacabra myth was receiving global attention. Phylis Canion, who was responsible for capturing the alleged specimen, claimed that T-shirts highlighting the event were shipped to locations such as Italy, , and Iraq. The publicity that Cuero received following this event has led to some suggesting changing the town's mascot. In July 2008, 's series featured the Texas carcasses, which were determined to be dogs and coyotes.The Welsh rock band has a song on the 1997 album Radiator called "Chupacabras".In a special issue of ' released on December 28, 2007, a group of chupacabras are featured as antagonists.The myth of the chupacabra is mocked in the 2012 episode "" of the cartoon series in which antisemitic main character Eric Cartman claims to have seen a Jewish Chupacabra that kills children on Easter.Chupacabras are dismissed by Dr. Venture as mythical in episode "Dia de Los Dangerous!" (season 1, episode 1), before a number of them appear in Brock Samson's car.In season 4, episode 11 "" (aired in 1997) of the television show , El Chupacabra is featured.The TV show on featured an episode about the creature in the first season.In the episode "" of the TV series , El Chupacabra is a Wesen losing his mind and control over transformations due to a mosquito-spread disease.

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