Exactly what the title says it is.
This is adapted from Monsters and Villains of the Movies and Literature by Gerrie McCall, Dragons: Fearsome Monsters from Myth and Fiction by Gerrie McCall, and Mythical Monsters by Chris McNab.
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EYES: The size of hens' eggs, the big eyes glow an alien red. Some witnesses claim they fire laser beams to paralyze victims.
CLAWS: The monster's feet and hands have huge, viciously curved and wickedly sharp claws for pinning down helpless prey. LEGS: These are long and muscular for bounding 66ft (20m) at a stride when advancing on prey. Strangely, the monster never leaves footprints. FANGS: Witnesses say the chupacabra's mouth bristles with great fangs. Some say they are bright red. SKIN: Some witnesses say the beast has bare gray or blue skin, others that it has scales or fur. WINGS: The chupacabra is usually said to have bat-like wings with a span up to 13ft (4m). A few reports say it has no wings. SPINES: These reportedly burst through the skin of the monsters head and back. Their purpose is unknown, but they may offer protection against enemies. SIZE: Eyewitness accounts are muddled. Estimates of the creature's height in the standing position vary from 3ft 3in (1m) to 6ft 6in (2m).
A modern menace of the Americas, this blood-sucking, bat-like fiend is blamed by farmers and the authorities alike for the brutal slaughter of pets and livestock. This multi-fanged, many-spined, foul-smelling monster was first reported in 1995. It seeks out its victims in the dark of night and preys on a range of of farm and domestic animals, sucking them dry of blood-it's name means "goat-sucker," after its first victim. Some people say that the chupacabra comes from outer space, while others say it is the result of US military experiments.
A chupacabra swoops toward a small herd of goats and drops silently between the trees-a ragged silhouette against the night sky. Sensing danger, the goats shuffle nervously, then start to bleat in panic as the monster strides toward them, moving unnaturally fast on its long legs. Paralyzed by terror and the foul, sulfurous odor of the chupacabra, the goats are helpless to flee. The monster seizes the nearest one with its claws, plunges its huge fangs into the animal and sucks out every last drop of blood. Goat after goat, it drains the whole herd , then slips off in search of other prey-for a chupacabra's craving for blood is never satisfied. It leaves no tracks behind.
DID YOU KNOW? Two Brazilian fishermen claim they shot a chupacabra dead and still have its head-which they refuse to let anyone examine.
The mayor of Canovanas, a town in Puerto Rico, leads chupacabra search parties, armed with a crucifix and a gun. He also sets traps around the town in the hopes of catching one of the elusive creatures.
In 1996, a Mexican policeman opened fire on a chupacabra at close range-but his bullets had no effect, and the creature escaped.
Attacks on humans are rare, but a nurse in Mexico reportedly lost an arm to the fangs of a chupacabra.
