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In March of 1995 the tiny island of Puerto Rico experienced a mysterious wave of animal deaths and mutilations in which the animals were found sucked dry of blood, usually with puncture wounds on their bodies. That September residents of Puerto Rico began to report encounters with a being that would become known as the Chupacabras, or “Goatsucker”, since one of its favorite types of prey were goats.

To quote the description given in Coleman and Clark’s Cryptozoology: A to Z, “It was said to be hairy, about four feet tall, with a large, round head, a lipless mouth, sharp fangs, and huge, lidless red eyes. Its body was small, with thin, clawed, seemingly webbed arms with muscular hind legs. The hairy creature also had a series of pointy spikes running from the top of its head down its backbone.” The Chupacabras quickly became an international sensation as the drawings and reports of the animal were disseminated over the Internet to researchers and news outlets worldwide, bringing global attention to the wave of sightings taking place in Puerto Rico. The phenomenon soon spread to the rest of Latin America and then to parts of the southwestern United States such as Texas and Arizona, being predominantly reported in Hispanic communities.

Researcher Nick Redfern, along with the Centre for Fortean Zoology, has conducted extensive research into the Chupacabras mystery, actually traveling to Puerto Rico twice in 2004 and 2005 to collect eyewitness testimony and valuable data about the creature. Their work has shown that the Chupacabras phenomenon is still an ongoing one and that Puerto Rico remains a hotspot for encounters with the goat-sucking beast.

Written by  Brian Gaugler.

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Chupacabras

Said to drink the blood of livestock, Chupacabras are a recent addition to the list of unconfirmed animal species. Reports of their activity, which is mainly the death of livestock and the draining of their blood through small puncture marks, come from all over Latin America, Mexico and the United States, and since 2006 from Russia and eastern European countries.

The first murmurs of Chupacabas began in 1950 but grew louder in 1987 when newspapers in Puerto Rico began printing reports that an animal vampire or satanic cult was on the loose and reported sightings began flooding in from 1990.

Two different types of creatures have been describes under this name, a cross between a kangaroo and a lizard with pointed quills running along its spine and leathery greenish skin, or a large fanged dog like animal with fine downy hair and the face of a panther with large bulging eyes. These differing descriptions suggest to some crypto zoologists (scientists who study animals who may or may not be real) that there maybe two different creatures with the same M.O..

Conspiracy theories about Chupacabras abound, some believing them to be extra terrestrials, others believing they’re mutants created by the US Government.

Chupacabra sightings are centred around Guanica, Puerto Rico; Canovanas, Puerto Rico; Klamath Falls, Oregon; Miami, Florida; Calama, Chile; Juarez, Mexico; Sonora, Mexico.

Review posted 29th August 2007 by World Reviewer Staff. Comment on review.

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