FREAKY FRIDAY CREATURE FEATURE: CHUPACABRA

In this week’s installment of freaky Friday, creature feature, I want to talk about the Chupacabra.
 
This creature originates from Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico, mainly. The name is Spanish and literally translates to Goatsucker. This creature is mythical in nature, but like any good mythical creatures, there have been sightings since around 1995 in Puerto Rico.

Photo from Britannica

​The first sightings were the result of attacks on goats, sheep, and other livestock. Landowners were finding their livestock dead and drained of blood, but the animal’s meat remained untouched.
 
Unlike some other creatures, there are two contested beliefs about what the Chupacabra looks like. Some say it looks like a canine, moving around on all fours.

Others say that it looks more like a giant reptilian kangaroo with red eyes. This secondary depiction is like that of the Jersey Devil. It has a kangaroo’s body, a horse’s face, the head of a dog, bat wings, horns, and a tail. Both representations have been depicted in monster movies. 

​In 2017, Cary Shuker of Riverside County said “This thing was standing out there, looking at me. It was the ugliest looking thing. I stole its breakfast. It was hunting my cat. This wasn’t no coyote, by any means.”

Photo from Audible

​As for me, I’m not sure what I think about the existence of the Chupacabra. After all, it is hard to really understand or believe what you haven’t experienced yourself. I do know that several experts suspect that the dog-like creature many people report is probably a coyote or other dog-like animal suffering from mange.

​There are also reports of blood-sucking bats which could be to blame for the livestock being drained of blood but left untouched otherwise. I don’t know if I think that’s true, since I think it would be difficult for one bat to drain all the blood out of a cow or something.

What do you think? Are these mysterious, blood-sucking creatures real, or just folklore?