Phylis Canion of Cuero, Texas, too has mounted heads of a zebra and other exotic animals in her house. But she never expected to find the most exotic ‘head’ right in her ranch. Phylis can’t wait to have the rare find stuffed, but for now, the animal head is in her freezer, waiting DNA testing.
What animal was it?
That’s the question that scientists are working on. The mammal, which looks quite terrifying, has big ears, large fanged teeth and greyish-blue, mostly hairless skin.
Phylis Canion says she has never come across an animal of this kind. "It has to be a cross between two or three different things." she says, “It probably is the bloodsucking Chupacabra.”
If you have never heard of an animal by that name, don’t worry. Chupcabras are creatures whose existence has not been established with scientific certainty!
The name translates from the Spanish as "goat sucker." It comes from the creature's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. The most eerie aspect of the vampire animal is that it is almost bloodless!
The most common description of Chupacabra is a lizard-like being, with leathery greenish-gray skin and sharp quills running down its back. It stands approximately 3 to 4 feet high, and hops like a Kangaroo.
In another version, Chupacabra is a dog-like reptile. It is hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, eye sockets, fangs, and claws.
Though there have many claims of Chupacabra sighting, its body has been found only 3 or 4 times.
In mid-August 2006 a person from Texas reported that an "evil looking" rodent-like creature had been found dead alongside a road. The mystery beast was apparently struck by a car, and was otherwise unidentifiable. Reports confirmed that the creature was unlike any dog or wolf in the area. The carcass was picked clean by vultures before experts could examine it. DNA tests have been done on the other specimens but the results are still inconlusive.
Not all zoologists believe that the elusive animal exists. Some hold that the stories are mostly a product of mass hysteria. Some specimens of the dead animal studied were found to be coyotes ( wolf family) suffering from very severe parasitic infestation of the skin. The presence of the parasites, the biologists say, explains the absence of hair and blood in the animal!
Some are kinder and suggest that the Chupacabras could have all been part of a mutated litter of dogs, or a new kind of mongrel.
Whatever the truth, the latest find has spawned a local and international craze. 5$, T-shirts that read: "2007, The Summer of the Chupacabra, Cuero, Texas," accompanied by a caricature of the creature are selling like hot cakes!.