Chupacabra

## Overview and Evidence

The **Chupacabra** (translating from Spanish as "goat sucker") is a cryptozoological, seemingly vampiric animal believed by many to inhabit the arid desert regions and rural grasslands of the southern United States and some areas of Central America. A member of the Cryptozoological Big 5, the chupacabra was first reported in early 1995 in a rural area of Puerto Rico, but sightings have since been reported on the mainland, particularly in northern Mexico and southern Texas. Despite its relatively recent fame, the chupacabra has become an iconic piece of folklore in Central America, particularly due to the deaths it has allegedly inflicted on the countless livestock that it reportedly drains of blood.

Pinning down the alleged physical appearance of the chupacabra is a difficult task as reported sightings generally describe it in one of two different ways (potentially signifying either the presence of two creatures or a case of mass hysteria). The earliest sightings described the beast as a reptilian entity with a posture not unlike that of a kangaroo or theropod dinosaur. Covered with greenish or gray scales, the creature allegedly stands at least four feet in height and possesses a row of sharp quills or bony spines running down its back. The chupacabra searches for potential prey using its large eyes, which are said to be either red or black, and it often is described as having a large head like that of a grey alien and large teeth. The second, and more modern, description of the chupacabra depicts a quadrupedal canine-like creature with wrinkled gray skin and protruding fangs.

Due to the wildly disparate accounts of the creature, it is often considered to be no more than an urban legend. Paranormal investigator and skeptic Benjamin Radford has pointed out in several published works that the reptilian interpretation of the beast, popularized by early eyewitness Madelyne Tolentino of Puerto Rico, is eerily similar to the alien form of Sil, a character from the 1995 science fiction/horror film *Species*, which had released the month prior to Tolentino's sighting and which Tolentino admitted to having seen. As for the canine-like depiction, it has been determined that these are most likely coyotes or domestic dogs infected with mange. For example, a Texas woman named Phylis Canion became famous in August of 2007 when she brought forward the body of a creature she believed to be the chupacabra, but DNA analysis and inspection of the corpse's anatomy proved it to be a coyote with mange. With both interpretations of the creature lacking hard evidence (and being demonstrably influenced by popular culture in the case of the former), most have concluded that the chupacabra is simply the result of mass hysteria and misblamed animal attacks.

## Popular Culture

### Film

* Gellert Grindlewald has a pet chupacabra named Antonio in *Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald*. This version is a large lizard-like creature with large black eyes and a face resembling that of a deep sea anglerfish.
* The animated film *Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico* features the chupacabra as the eponymous monster. However, this version is said to be the Mexican equivalent of sasquatch and is depicted as a large hairy biped.

### Television

* An episode of the *Jackie Chan Adventures* animated series features the creature. This incarnation of the beast can transform other creatures into chupacabras by biting them and can be killed by exposing it to sunlight.
* One episode of *The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy* revolves around Billy befriending and adopting a pink chupacabra that emerges from a supernatural video tape (a reference to the horror film *The Ring*).

### Video Games

* Chupacabras appear in *Red Dead Redemption's* Undead Nightmare DLC, taking on their 'mangy coyote' appearance.

## Sources

1. ↑ https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2011/05/p45.pdf
2. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/2014-monsters.html

## Gallery

### Image Gallery

An alleged taxidermy chupacabra (now known to be a mangy coyote)