Chupacabra

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Chupacabra
Creature
Name: Chupacabra
Classification
Grouping: Vampire
Data
First Reported: Early 1990s
Last Sighted: Present Day
Country: Puerto Rico,
Mexico,
United States
Region: Unknown
Status: Legendary creature

Chupacabra (also chupacabras) is a cryptid said to inhabit parts of both of the Americas. It is associated particularly with Puerto Rico (where it was first reported), Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities. The name translates literally from the Spanish as "goat sucker". It comes from the creature's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Supposed sightings began in Puerto Rico in the early 1990s, and have since been reported as far north as Maine, and as far south as Chile. Though some argue that the chupacabras may be real creatures, mainstream scientists and experts generally contend that the chupacabra is a legendary creature, or a type of urban legend. It is supposedly a heavy creature, about the size of a small bear with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail.

Contents

[edit] History

The legend of cipi chupacabra began approximately in 1987, when Puerto Rican newspapers El Vocero and El Nuevo Dia began reporting the killings of many different types of animals, such as birds, horses, and, as its name implies, goats. However, it is predated by El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca), a creature blamed for similar killings that occurred in the small town of Moca in the 1970s. While at first it was suspected that the killings were done randomly by some members of a Satanic cult, eventually these killings spread around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. The killings had one pattern in common: Each of the animals found had their ovaries ripped out and shoved into their eyes.

Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term "chupacabras" soon after the first incidents were reported in the press.[citation needed] Soon after the animal deaths in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Brazil, the United States and Mexico.

Both in Puerto Rico and Mexico, the chupacabra gained urban legend status. Chupacabra stories began to be released several times in English and Spanish language newscasts across the United States, and chupacabra merchandise, such as T-shirts, baseball caps, and even candy, were sold.

[edit] Sightings

In July 2004, a rancher near San Antonio, Texas, killed a hairless, dog-like creature named JoAnne, which was attacking his livestock. This creature is now known as the Elmendorf Creature. It was later determined to be an unknown canine of some sort, similar to a coyote with demodectic mange. In October 2004, two animals which closely resemble the Elmendorf Creature were observed in the same area. The first was dead, and a local zoologist who was called to identify the animal noticed the second while she was traveling to the location where the first was found. Specimens of the dead animal were studied by biologists in Texas, who found that the creatures were some sort of canines of an undetermined species.[1]

In Coleman, Texas, a farmer named Reggie Lagow caught an unknown animal in a trap he set up after the deaths of a number of his chickens and turkeys. The animal appeared to be a mix between a hairless dog, a rat and a kangaroo. The mystery animal was reported to Texas Parks and Wildlife in hopes of determining what it was, but Lagow said in a September 17th, 2006, phone interview with John Adolfi, founder of the Lost World Museum, that the "critter was caught on a Tuesday and thrown out in Thursday's trash."[2]

In April of 2006, MosNews reported that the chupacabra was spotted in Russia for the first time. Reports from Central Russia beginning in March 2005 tell of a beast that kills animals and sucks out their blood. Thirty-two turkeys were killed and drained overnight. Reports later came from neighboring villages when 30 sheep were killed and had their blood drained. Finally eyewitnesses were able to describe the chupacabra. In May of 2006, experts were determined to track the animal down.[3]

In mid-August 2006 Michelle O'Donnell of Turner, Maine, described an "evil looking" rodent-like creature with fangs that had been found dead alongside a road. The mystery beast was apparently struck by a car, and was otherwise unidentifiable. Photographs were taken and several witness reports seem to be in relative agreement that the creature was canine in appearance, but unlike any dog or wolf in the area. The carcass was picked clean by vultures before experts could examine it. For years, residents of Maine have reported a mysterious creature and a string of dog maulings.[4]

In September 2006, the Lost World Museum acquired the remains of what is considered to possibly be a Chupacabra. Spotted, hunted and killed in late August 2006, 15 year old Geordie Decker and 16 year old Josh Underwood of Berkshire, New York he handed over the bones of what he described as "a small fox like beast that hopped, had yellow eyes and an orange strip of hair going down its almost bald gray back", to Museum owner John Adolfi. Its bones are currently on display on the Lost World Museum's web site while further examination and investigation continues.

In December 2006, a local farmer in Peru claimed to have seen a creature resembling a Chupacabra attacking a wild boar on his farm. The man, who referred to the creature as "Zahir," later told the authorities that he feared for his life when he saw the creature devour the boar within minutes. The creature then ran faster than any animal the farmer has ever seen. Shocked at the sight of the creature, the farmer stated that he is haunted by the evil in the Zahir's eyes.

The most recent, undocumented sighting of the Chupacabra was in Hawaii on the island of Maui. Witnesses who apparently saw the beast outside of the Kuia Leia Airport described the creature as half dog half human.

Cryptozoologists believe that descriptions of the different Chupacabra may in fact be breeds.[citation needed]

[edit] Appearance

Although they have various differences in appearance, Chupacabras also have several common traits. They are all typically described as being three feet (1 m) or taller, and roughly humanoid in shape.

The most common breed of Chupacabra is described as a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back.[citation needed] This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo. In at least one sighting, the creature hopped 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue protruding from it, large fangs, and to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave a sulfuric stench behind. When it screeches, some reports note that the chupacabra's eyes glow an unusual red, then give the witnesses nausea. For some witnesses,[specify] it was seen with bat-like wings.

Another breed of Chupacabra, although not as common, is described as a strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. It is claimed that this breed might be an example of a dog-like reptile. The account during the year 2001 in Nicaragua of a chupacabra's corpse being found supports this conclusion. The corpse of the animal was found in Tolapa, Nicaragua, and forensically analyzed at UNAN-Leon. Pathologists at the University found that it was an unusual-looking dog-like creature of unknown species.[citation needed]

Some reports[citation needed] claim the Chupacabra's red eyes have the ability to hypnotize and paralyze their prey, leaving the prey animal mentally stunned, allowing the chupacabra to suck the animal's blood at its leisure. The effect is similar to the bite of the vampire bat, or of certain snakes or spiders that stun their prey. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabra sucks all the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole or two holes.

Many residents of South America have reported sightings of Chupacabras, and although varying, the descriptions share some significant likenesses. In many reports, accounts include the visible inflation of the stomach region, after a Chupacabra has been feeding. The appearance of the animal changes when an internal bladder-like organ fills with the blood of its prey. Furthermore, almost all witnesses have reported large protruding fangs. These fangs are suspected to be hollow and be the vesicles for the blood on which it feeds.[citation needed]

Some Puerto Ricans also say that the Chupacabra is growing.[citation needed] First reports of mutilations in the 1990s included domesticated cats and dogs and the beast itself was described as roughly dog-sized. Later on, the creature became infamous for attacking goats and was described as a larger creature. Some current sightings have even gone so far as to describe a nearly-man-sized monster attacking horses and cattle.

[edit] Theories

  • Chupacabras have been described as similar in appearance to gargoyles, so it has been theorized that the creatures were seen in Medieval Europe, and possibly taken to South America on board Spanish galleons. According to this theory, gargoyles were carved to resemble chupacabras, to keep the public (and sometimes believed to keep evil spirits) afraid of any place with gargoyles.
  • Some cryptozoologists speculate that chupacabras are alien creatures. Chupacabras are widely described as otherworldly, and, according to one witness report, NASA may be involved with this particular alien's residency on earth. The witness reported that NASA passed through an area in Latin America, with a trailer that was thought to contain an incarcerated creature.[citation needed] There have also been UFOs seen where chupacabras have been at the same time on occasion. Others speculate that the creature is an escaped pet of alien visitors that wandered off while its master was visiting Earth. The chupacabra does have a slight resemblance to the Greys, which could mean that they are somehow related.
  • Some people in the island of Puerto Rico believe that the chupacabras were a genetic experiment from some United States' government agency, which escaped from a secret laboratory in El Yunque, a mountain in the east part of the island when the laboratory was damaged during a severe storm in the early 1990s. The US military has had a large presence across Puerto Rico since the 1930s, with bases on the island used as Research and Development facilities (amongst other things) up to the present day. The lethal agent orange chemicals were tested by the US on the crops of Puerto Rico in widespread crop-spraying operations, all performed without notifying local people or farmers, and the efficacy and safety of contraceptive medicines was also secretly tested on islanders who had no knowledge of their 'guinea pig' status at all. ("UFO's Strangest Mysteries", Discovery Science) This may explain some of this alleged paranoia.
  • Another possibility would involve giant vampire bats of which a few fossils have been found in South-America.
  • Some believe that the chupacabra is most likely a close relative of the Aye-aye, a primate that is Madagascar's equivalent to the raccoon in appearance and woodpecker ecologically. Like the vampire bat, the Cchupacabra evolved to feed on the blood of other animals.
  • It has also been theorized that the chupacabra is an enormous spider, due to the fact that witnesses say victims are drained of fluids and have only puncture marks as evidence, which is similar to a spiders method of feeding. When a spider feeds, it bites its prey, injecting digestive acids, which liquefy the insides of the victim. The resulting "soup" is then sucked out by the spider, leaving only two punctures from its fangs. This theory is unlikely, however, since spiders lack a circulatory system effective enough to allow them to grow large enough to attack the kinds of animals chupacabras are said to prey upon.

[edit] In fiction

Chupacabras have appeared in a variety of fictional works. Examples include the following:

[edit] Novels

[edit] Short stories

  • In the short story, "Kiss", by Steve Berman, the Chupacabra plays a role in a young gay man's search for his own identity.
  • In the horror anthology, Tropical Tales of Terror, by Roberto Guzman, (published by Bookman publishing, 2004) the short story "The Elderly Xeno Hawks of El Yunque" suggested that the chupacabras legend was based on a hidden race of intelligent creatures descended from prehistoric hawks.

[edit] Fictional articles

  • In an issue of The Onion, an online satirical newspaper, there was a fictional article by the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, titled, "The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is The Chupacabra".[5]

[edit] Comics and graphic novels

  • In the Vol. 2 Trade Paperback of the Comic Book Series The Amazing Joy Buzzards published by Image Comics El Campeon who is a mythical Mexican Wrestler teams up with bandmember Gabe Caryle in Costa Rica to take out a den of Chupacabras in the story "The Devil's Zapatos". El Chupa is also a villain in this series who rules over and has Chupacabras as his minions.
  • In the issue 4 of the Image Comics series Hero Camp the Chupacabra makes an appearance as he threatens to eat the Goat Man.
  • A comic book version of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror featured a story of a chupacabra that escaped Professor Frink's lab and killed off almost all of the regulars at Moe's Tavern.
  • In the volume 4, episode 33 of the manga Mikakunin Shounen Gedou the Chupacabra appears.
  • Josh Lesnik's webcomic, Girly, features a character named "El Chupacabre," a former supervillain who possesses an "aura" that makes any nearby females lust insatiably after him. El Chupacabre has since reformed and is going steady with another character but still has his "aura." He goes by the nickname "Chuy."
  • Eric Millikin's comic, Fetus-X, features El Chupacabra, a goat-sucking extraterrestrial and masked Mexican professional wrestler. In the comic the U.S. government maintains a color-coded Chupacabra alert system which has been raised to metallic magenta.

[edit] Film

  • El Chupacabra is a B-movie released in 2003.
  • Independent film released in 2005 Mexican Werewolf in Texas originally titled Chupacabra.[6]
  • Independent filmmaker Henry Serrato made a 41 minute mockumentary film called Search for the Chupacabra.
  • The Utah film company Wombat Films created a comedy about the chupacabra
  • A few mockumentaries have been made revolving around el chupacabra, at least one of which, Hunt for la Chupacabra, is available on youtube[7]

[edit] Television

  • In episode 1-01 ("Dia de los Dangerous") of The Venture Bros., the Chupacabra is said to be, per a superscientific formula, an urban legend, but appears later in the episode, attacking Dr. Venture. After it was disposed by Brock Samson, Dr. Venture asked, "What the hell was that?!?" and Brock replies, "Chupacabra. They're all over Mexico."
  • The episode "El Mundo Gira" of the TV series X-Files is about a man believed to be El Chupacabras (an issue of the Topps comic book based on the FOX series also featured the chupacabras).
  • In November of 2005 the Sci-Fi Channel aired a movie called Chupacabra Terror, about a beast killing on a cruise ship.
  • An episode of Dexter's Laboratory had the Chupacabras as one of Dexter's experiments (which he named Charlie) that escaped to South America. Throughout the episode, Dexter could not remember the creature's purpose until the end, when he realized that he created Charlie to scare his sister, Dee Dee.
  • In an episode of Jackie Chan Adventures, the Chupacabras only came out at night, and attacked the live-stock in its area. If the Chupacabras bit or scratched a person, he or she would become a chupacabra, similar to the mythical Werewolf.
  • A monster named El Chupanibre appeared in an episode of the TV Series Futurama. It was portrayed as a large bipedal/primate like reptile which lived in the sewers and preyed on mutants.
  • In an episode of Maya & Miguel, the twins claimed that they had a Chupacabras as a pet, and tried to trick the whole town into believing them, before realizing that the real chupacabra was there.
  • In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Billy found a supernatural video documentary on the Chupacabras which summoned the chupacabra from the TV screen to suck out the viewer's brain.Billy thought it was a dog and named it 'Daisy'.
  • In Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico, the gang attempted to track down a chupacabra which was terrorising Veracruz and the nearby villages. Instead of the correct reptilian beast, a bigfoot was incorrectly used.
  • In an episode of Mucha Lucha, The Flea tried to use a hair grow formula to sport a new hairstyle, and ended up being mistaken for the chupacabra, angering the real chupacabra, which resulted in a fight.
  • In episode 2 of Red vs. Blue, "Chupathingy" (a derivative of "Chupacabra") is suggested as a name for the "new vehicle" which was in fact, a Warthog.
  • In the episode "Game Slave 2" of Invader Zim, Gaz told Dib that there was a chupacabra in the parking garage of the mall to get rid of him, to which Dib replied, "But there isn't a goat to feed on for miles."
  • In an episode of American Dad, Stan and daughter Hayley engaged in back-and-forth insults, with Stan eventually resorting to calling Hayley "Chupacabra!" Hayley's response was to ask "I'm the Mexican Bigfoot?"
  • In the episode "Bite Me" of Charmed, while looking in the Book of Shadows for a creature that flies and bites (later found to be a Vampire), Piper found an entry for chupacabra, which said that while Chupacabra's fly and bite, they only attack livestock.
  • The Chupacabra appears in one episode of Sealab 2021 entitled "Episode 40 - Isla de Chupacabra".
  • In the American television show "Will & Grace" (First episode of season 4), Rosario startles Karen, to which Karen tells her "You scared the hell outta' me! I thought you were the Chupacabra!!"
  • In the American television series Supernatural's third episode of the second season, a fellow demon tracker mentions that a chupacabra is two states over and the main characters are welcome to hunt it rather than interfere with his vampire hunt.
  • Several references in the Japanese television series Negima!? are made to chupacabras. Vampiric attacks are blamed on a chupacabra (as well as Dracula), a Chupacabra hunt is formed, and there is even a brief look at female lead Asuna wearin a chupacabra costume, strumming a guitar, and singing, "Chupa chupa chupa chupaCABRA!" In the manga, during a conversation about the vampire rumour, Sakurako and Konoka imagine Makie being attacked by a chupacabra.
  • In the Danny Phantom episode Attack of the Chupacabras, the main character and his friends Sam Manson and Tucker Foley along with his sister Jazz Fenton encounter a large nest of the creature while visiting Jack Fenton's friend in Southern Mexico. On the show, the creatures were portrayed as large group of them looking like the basic chupacabra, but acting like the Xenomorphs from Alien crossed with Marvel Comics Brood with living in a hive and being led by a large chupacabra queen. The creatures were destroyed when Danny stabbed the head of the Chupacabra queen and using his fire powers to burn the hive down. They are hinted to reappear again when at the end of the episode a chupacabra egg is seen pulsating on the bottom of the Fenton's RV.
  • In the episode of Sealab 2021 the creature appears in episode 40 in season 4 titled "Isla de Las Chupacabras!". In the episode Captain Shanks takes the team of Sealab to hunt Las Chupacabras on "Happy Funtime Island" (which is also populated by the worlds deadliest snake known to man, the tree cobra). Stormy says that the creatures were created by the old ones to guard their temple from the evil Ktulu in time before time. Black Debbie also says that they have retractable fangs and tank treads for feet. Dolphin boy is also killed by these creatures and they take a picture of themselves eating him. It is said that they crack open your bones and suck out the marrow. They also seem to stay away from fire.

[edit] Games

  • The chupacabra appears quite frequently in the Castlevania series of videogames most commonly encountered in underground areas and attack by sticking out an elongated tongue. Depending on the version, it may be called a "Cave Troll," (related to the idea that Puerto Ricans believe that chupacabras lived in a grouping of caves) even though its description usually says something about goat-sucking.
  • There is a mid-boss monster called "El Chupacabras" in the PC game, Diablo; also 'sand leapers', which resemble & act like chupacabras, are featured in Diablo 2.
  • The Chupacabra appears as a villain in the role-playing game, Heroes Unlimited.

[edit] In music

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  • Canadian punk-pop band Chixdiggit recorded a song named "Chupacabra".
  • American Power Metal band Cage recorded a song named "Chupacabra".
  • Psychedelic Welsh rockers the Super Furry Animals released a song called "Chupacabras" on their 1997 album "Radiator".
  • The experimental rock band M.I.R.V. has a song titled "Chupacabras" on the album "Feeding Time on Monkey Island".
  • The hip hop collaboration group Danger Doom has a song titled "El Chupa Nibre" on the album "The Mouse and the Mask".
  • In the song "Earthquakes and Sharks" by the indie rock/emo band Brandtson "Chupacabras" are mentioned.
  • The Belgian metalband Sons of Jonathas has a song that is called "Chupacabra".
  • Sacramento local punk band The Groovie Ghoulies recorded a song named "Chupacabra".
  • Orange County, California, band The Friendly Indians also has a song called "Chupacabras".
  • Also appears in a song by Mexican band "Los Cocodrilos" called "chupacabras".
  • American Heavy metal band SOiL recorded a EP named " El Chupacabra (album)"
  • Chilean Hip Hop band called "Tiro de Gracia" has a song called "Chupacabras"
  • Argentinean bassist Fernando Huergo, who lives in Boston, has composed a song "Chupacabras" in a jazz and chacarera style.

[edit] See also

Similar creatures include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Chupacabra? or Armorless Armadillo?".
  2. ^ "Texas Farmer Claims He Caught Legendary 'Chupacabra'", KNBC Los Angeles, 2005-08-25.
  3. ^ "Chupacabra the Goatsucker Vampire Sightings Reported in Central Russia", MosNews, 2006-04-17.
  4. ^ "'Hybrid Mutant' Found Dead in Maine", Associated Press, 2006-08-16.
  5. ^ http://www.theonion.com/content/node/40312
  6. ^ http://www.mexicanwerewolf.com Mexican Werewolf
  7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/somethinggoodinc youtube

[edit] External links

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