The chupacabra, also called chupacabras, is a mysterious creature from the folklore of parts of the Americas. Its name comes from Spanish words meaning "goat-sucker," as it is said to attack and drink the blood of animals like goats.

Descriptions of the chupacabra differ. In Puerto Rico and parts of Hispanic America, it is often described as a large, reptilian creature with a row of spines along its back, similar in size to a small bear. In the Southwestern United States, it is usually shown as more dog-like in appearance.

The first reports of the chupacabra appeared in Puerto Rico in 1995. Since then, people have claimed to see it in many places, including Maine, Chile, Russia, and the Philippines. However, these reports are based on personal stories and lack proof. Some sightings in northern Mexico and the Southern United States were later found to be dogs suffering from a skin condition called mange.

Name

The word "chupacabra" comes from Spanish and means "goat-sucker," combining "chupar" (to suck) and "cabras" (goats). It is called both "chupacabras" and "chupacabra" across the Americas. "Chupacabras" is the original name, while "chupacabra" became the more commonly used form. The name was first used by Puerto Rican comedian Silverio Pérez in 1995. He introduced it while discussing mysterious attacks on goats as a radio DJ in San Juan.

History

In 1975, a series of animal deaths in the town of Moca, Puerto Rico, were blamed on a creature called el vampiro de Moca ("the vampire of Moca"). At first, people thought a Satanic cult was responsible. Later, more animal deaths were reported across Puerto Rico, with many farms losing animals. Each animal was found with its body completely drained of blood, and small circular cuts were made on its skin.

The first attack linked to the chupacabras happened in March 1995. Eight sheep were found dead in Puerto Rico, each with three holes in their chest and no blood left. In August of the same year, a witness named Madelyne Tolentino saw the creature in Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, where up to 150 animals and pets were reported killed.

A Puerto Rican comedian named Silverio Pérez is credited with creating the name "chupacabras" after the first reports appeared in the news. Soon after, similar animal deaths were reported in other countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and the United States.

In the mid-1990s, reports of the creature increased in many places. In Nayarit, Mexico, many animals were found with injuries. Similar sightings were reported in other parts of Mexico, the southwestern United States, and China. In 1995, Puerto Rico had over 200 reports of the creature.

In April 2000, about 100 farm animals in Calama, Chile, were found drained of blood or badly injured. This continued until the end of 2002. Later, some people claimed a NASA mission was studying the creature, but scientists later found that dogs were responsible. Footprints and hair from the scene matched those of domestic dogs.

In early 2002, injured cattle were found in Argentina. Some reports linked the injuries to the chupacabras or to satanic groups. However, officials later said foxes or a type of rat called hocicudo were responsible.

In July 2004, a rancher in Texas killed an animal that looked like a hairless dog. Scientists later identified it as a coyote with a skin disease called mange. In October of the same year, two more animals were found nearby, and tests confirmed they were also coyotes with mange.

In Coleman County, Texas, a farmer named Reggie Lagow trapped an animal that looked like a mix of a hairless dog, rat, and kangaroo. He later let wildlife officials examine it, but he said he disposed of it after two days.

In August 2006, a woman in Maine photographed an animal that looked strange. It was later identified as a mix of a wolf and a dog. In 2007, a woman in Texas found an animal that looked like a coyote but had unusual features. Scientists later confirmed it was a mix of a coyote and a Mexican wolf, and its appearance was due to mange.

In 2008, a deputy sheriff in Texas filmed an animal that looked like a hairless coyote. In 2009, a video of a dead animal was shown on CNN, and some people thought it might be a chupacabras. A taxidermist in Texas said it might be a mutated coyote.

In 2010, a man in Texas shot an animal that was later identified as a coyote and dog mix with mange. In 2010, another man in Kentucky shot an animal that looked like a cat but had unusual features. In 2011, a man in Texas saw an animal he thought was a chupacabras, but experts said it was likely a coyote with mange.

In 2013, a family in Argentina found a small animal that was later identified as a naturally mummified cat. In Missouri, reports of the creature were linked to a dog with mange. In 2014, two couples in Texas claimed to have killed a chupacabras, but experts said it was likely a raccoon or another animal with mange.

In 2019, a video showed what appeared to be an attack on chickens in Puerto Rico. Scientists are still studying the events.

Reputed origin

A five-year study by Benjamin Radford, written about in his 2011 book Tracking the Chupacabra, found that the description of the chupacabra given by the first eyewitness in Puerto Rico, Madelyne Tolentino, matched the alien creature Sil from the 1995 science-fiction horror film Species. Tolentino said she saw the movie before she reported seeing the chupacabra. She described the creature as having spines on its back and looked very similar to Sil. Radford found that Tolentino believed the events she saw in Species were happening in Puerto Rico at the time. Because of this, Radford concluded that the most important description of the chupacabra cannot be trusted. This, he believes, makes it harder to believe the chupacabra is a real animal.

Reports that the chupacabra sucked blood from animals were never proven by a necropsy, which is the only way to confirm if an animal was drained of blood. Dr. David Morales, a Puerto Rican veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture, studied 300 animals reported to have been attacked by the chupacabra. He found that none of them had been bled dry.

Radford grouped chupacabra reports into two categories: reports from Puerto Rico and Latin America, where animals were attacked and it was said their blood was taken; and reports from the United States, where people described sick or injured mammals, mostly dogs and coyotes with mange, as "chupacabras" because of their unusual appearance.

In 2010, biologist Barry O'Connor from the University of Michigan concluded that all chupacabra reports in the United States were actually about coyotes infected with the parasite Sarcoptes scabiei. This parasite causes symptoms that explain many features of the chupacabra, such as thin fur, thick skin, and a strong smell. O'Connor explained that coyotes with mange are weak and may attack livestock like goats instead of hunting faster animals like rabbits or deer. Both dogs and coyotes can kill prey without eating it, either because they are not experienced, injured, or have trouble killing the prey. The prey might survive the attack and later die from internal bleeding or shock. The two holes in the neck of the animals, which match the shape of canine teeth, are normal for land carnivores, as this is how most of them catch their prey. Some reports also mention stray Mexican hairless dogs being mistaken for chupacabras.

Appearance

The most common description of the chupacabra is that of a reptile-like creature. It is said to have rough or bumpy greenish-gray skin and sharp spikes or bristles running down its back. It is about 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 meters) tall and moves by standing and jumping, similar to how a kangaroo moves. This description was the main one given in Puerto Rico in 1995 by people who claimed to have seen the creature. Similar sightings were later reported in parts of Chile and Argentina.

Another common description of the chupacabra is that of a strange type of wild dog. This version is mostly hairless and has a raised ridge along its back, very large eye sockets, fangs, and claws. This description began appearing in the early 2000s from sightings that spread north from the Yucatán Peninsula, northern Mexico, and into the United States. It became the main description after that. Unlike typical predators, the chupacabra is said to drain all the blood (and sometimes organs) from animals. This is usually done through three holes shaped like an upside-down triangle, but sometimes only one or two holes are used.

Plausibility of existence

The chupacabra panic began in late 1995 in Puerto Rico. Farmers reported strange deaths of many farm animals. In these reports, farmers described two holes in the animals' bodies. These killings were linked to animals that looked normal except for the holes, which were said to be used to drink blood. Reports of these killings spread across the country and later reached places like Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and the southern part of the United States.

These areas often have very dry seasons. In 1995, Puerto Rico and 1996, Mexico were dealing with or recovering from serious droughts. Studies in both countries found that the killings were very violent. These dry conditions may explain the deaths: wild animals that usually hunt other animals for food may have lost their usual prey due to the drought and turned to attacking farm animals instead. This idea could also explain the increased violence in the killings. Desperate animals searching for food may have caused more deaths and more severe attacks.

Evidence for this is found in page 179 of Benjamin Radford’s book Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore. Radford’s chart lists ten major reports of chupacabra attacks. Seven of these reports had the dead animals examined. These examinations showed the animals were attacked by other animals, as proven by DNA found on the carcasses. Radford also provides more evidence on pages 161–162, showing that animals often die from attacks by coyotes. This suggests that it is not unusual for a dead animal to have only holes or small signs of attack.

The possibility that the chupacabra exists is questioned because of the many different descriptions of the creature. People who saw it described it with thick skin or fur, wings or no wings, a long tail or no tail, and compared it to bats, dogs, or even aliens. These varied descriptions make it hard to believe all sightings were of the same creature. A possible explanation is that people who heard about the chupacabra before seeing a strange animal may have thought they saw the creature. Some scientists suggest that what people call chupacabra might actually be wild or domestic dogs suffering from mange, a disease that causes thick skin and hair loss.

Related legends

The "Ozark Howler," a large bear-like animal, is the focus of a similar legend.

In Chile, the Peuchens are described as winged snakes, not dog-like creatures. This legend might have come from the vampire bat, an animal found only in that region.

In the Philippines, a creature called the sigbin has many similarities to the chupacabra. The discovery of a cat-fox in Southeast Asia suggests that sightings of the chupacabra might actually be of this animal, which was unknown for a long time.

In 2018, reports of suspected chupacabras appeared in Manipur, India. Many farm animals and chickens were killed in a way similar to chupacabra attacks. Some people claimed they saw strange creatures. Experts studied the remains of a dead animal and concluded that street dogs were likely responsible for the attacks.