Chupacabra, which means ‘goatsucker’ in Spanish, seems a fitting name for these creatures who leave their prey intact except for small puncture wounds where they drain the blood.
No one knows exactly what a chupacabra should look like as descriptions vary from dog-like and hairless to lizard-like with spines along the back and even bat-like with wings. Some are reported to be greenish in color, others blue or gray. Some have been described as large as 100 lbs or more and others much smaller.
As with any new unknown, imaginations run wild. Some say it is a new species, some say it is a new type of canine cross, and others like to think it is a space alien or something supernatural. Given the various descriptions and locations they’ve been spotted, perhaps chupacabras are not even a single type of animal but different kinds of crosses or mutations just prowling for a meal. Or, could they be simply a myth providing fuel for campfire stories?
Texas Chupacabra DNA Results
What Phylis Canion found in 2007 on her Cuero Texas ranch was not a myth but a real animal. It was described somewhat dramatically in some articles as having big ears, large fanged teeth, and bluish-gray hairless skin. Canion linked the strange creature to her loss of chickens who had had their blood sucked dry.
Canion’s evidence was more than a dark, fuzzy photograph. She had the body to prove her discovery. This also provided the DNA for a proper identification, eliminating all the fun speculations. Results of tests conducted at Texas State University at San Marcos declared the animal a coyote. Mike Forstner, a Texas State University biologist, said, “The DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from the coyote.”
However, due to the strange appearance of the creature, Canion felt the results were not detailed enough. She sent more tests to the University of California, Davis, which specializes in animal forensic science. Their results proclaimed the animal a cross between a coyote and a Mexican wolf.
Diseases and Malnutrition Affect Canine Appearance
Dr. Danny B. Pence, a pathology expert at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, explained the coyote’s hairlessness, “Sarcoptic mange – that’s exactly what it is.”
Sarcopsis is an infestation of tiny mites which burrow into the skin and cause hair loss and a darkening and thickening of the skin. Mangy skin can also have a flaky, scaly appearance which may account for the chupacabra descriptions as lizard-like. A hairless dog will have a very different appearance from a dog of the same breed with a full coat.
An emaciated, mangy canine with only a few hairs along the spine could have the appearance of spines on the back, explaining some chupacabra descriptions. Canines in the wild do not have the advantage of regular meals and veterinary care. All sorts of diseases and malnutrition can cause deformities and have a dramatic effect on appearance.
Canion, a nutritionist, speculated that maybe these wild canines have some kind of nutritional deficiency causing their appetite for blood.
Perhaps the chupacabra reports have been rooted in truth, yet stretched through a lack of knowledge or dramatized by a little imagination. Maybe all along, the chupacabra has been only a poor, ordinary mangy canine, trying to scrounge up some supper.
Sources:
Cryptomundo.com
Joy Butler - Writer, retired lab tech, mom, and animal lover with over 20 years' experience rescuing, kenneling, training and showing dogs.
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