From wikipedia.com; The chupacabra (or chupacabras) is a creature said to inhabit parts 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 Spanish as "goat-sucker". It comes from the creature's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Sightings began in Puerto Rico in the early 1990s, and have since been reported as far north as the Carolinas, and as far south as Chile.
Notable sightings in the United States include one reported by multiple eye-witnesses in Calaveras County, California, and at a recent birthday celebration of a Development Team member of a local charity in Houston, Texas.[citation needed] According to these reports, the creature was sighted for the first time in the early to mid 1990s, harming animals of different species. However, it is now thought that the people did this themselves.
In July of 2004, a rancher near San Antonio, Texas, killed a hairless, dog-like creature which was attacking his livestock. This creature is now known as the Elmendorf Creature. It was later determined to be a canine of some sort, most likely a coyote, with demodectic mange. In October of 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 travelling to the location where the first was found. Specimens were studied by biologists in Texas. The creatures are thought to have been canines of undetermined species with skin problems and facial deformities. Chupacabra? or Armorless Armadillo?
The chupacabra has often been spotted in Michigan. A recent sighting occurred in Grand Haven, when a 42-year-old man claimed he saw it suck the blood out of a cat.
Recently, there has been a surge of chupacabra sightings in the United States, specifically in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and outside of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. However, controversy exists whether these chupacabra sightings are legitimate. Most recently, in August of 2006, supposed chupacabra sightings were rumored as far north as New Jersey. Notably, in the town of Piscataway, on an old farm which has recently undergone scandal and been sold by the family at the behest of the town government. Though speculation exists towards the mutilation of the livestock as a catalyst to the farm's closing, it remains only a rumor at present. Could it be that the 'Goat Sucker' is explanding its' search for livestock to the New England Area?
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Descriptions of the physical appearance of each specimen can resemble descriptions of other reports, or be completely different from other chupacabra descriptions. Differences in descriptions are too wide to be attributed to differences in the perceptions of the observers, causing cryptozoologists to speculate that chupacabra reports may in fact be attributable to several species. Although they have different appearances, chupacabra descriptions have several common traits. They are typically described as being 3 ft. (1 m) or taller, and roughly humanoid in shape.
Usually, chupacabras are said to appear in three specific forms:
* The first and most common form is a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. 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.
* The second variety bears a resemblance to a wallaby or dog standing on its hind legs. It stands and hops as a kangaroo, and it has coarse fur with greyish facial hair. The head is similar to a dog's, and its mouth has large teeth.
* The third form is described as a strange breed of wild dog. This form is mostly hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, teeth, and claws. This animal is said to be the result of interbreeding between several populations of wild dogs, though enthusiasts claim that it 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 the conclusion that it is simply a strange breed of wild dog. The alleged corpse of the animal was found in Tolapa, Nicaragua, and forensically analyzed at UNAN-Leon. Pathologists at the University found that it was just an unusual-looking dog. There are very striking morphological differences between different breeds of dog, which can easily account for the strange characteristics.
Some reports 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 with venom. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabras sucks all the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole or two holes.
Please remember that you take responsibility for your own safety when going after this cache. You have been warned!!