A Study Of The Chupacabra Phenomenon http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~bglisson/
Table of Contents
1. Introduction Introduction
On the island of Puerto Rico, a panic has taken over outlying farming communities. Livestock has been found dead at first light. Sheep, cattle, goats, rabbits, hens, ducks, and other animals that have died not of natural causes, but of some kind of attack. Some believe these attacks to be the work of wild dogs or even coyotes. But these killings are very different from the average animal attack in two respects. Animal predators usually kill for food, but forensic evidence in the Puerto Rican killings were puncture wounds along the neck, head, and torso.
And the victims are found completely drained of blood.
Locals say these predators are not the average killers, and have given them a name: Chupacabra.
The Creature
The word Chupacabra, translated literally from Spanish, means goat sucker. Sightings first began in 1994, and the creatures' name is derived from these early attacks, which were directed specifically toward goats. The Chupacabra has been seen by some eyewitnesses, but its physical description varies from sighting to sighting. Some say it has large black wings that it uses to fly; others say it hops like a kangaroo, still others believe it is related to the panther, with a long, snake-like tongue. But the most common of the reports describe:
(1) A creature known as a "Grey" alien humanoid, mainly because of the shape of its head and eyes, and what most eye witnesses describe as the body of a bipedal, erect dinosaur, but with no tail. Its head is oval in s hape and has an elongated jaw. Two elongated red eyes have been reported, together with small holes in the nostril area, a small, slit-like mouth with fang-type teeth protruding upwards and downwards from the jaw... the creature has two small arms, [each] with a three-fingered clawed hand and two strong hind legs, again with three claws.
(2) The creature has a strong, course coat of hair; and color varies from sighting to sighting; however, the colors are consistent with the times of the sighting (same colors during the day, different colors at night). This leads many to believe the Chupacabra can change like a chameleon, to blend in with the surroundings and avoid detection.
(2) The Chupacabra hunts mainly at night (although there have been several daylight sightings), and the attacks show that the creature exhibits some kind of intelligence beyond that of the average night stalker. Its victims have a regular pattern of wounds; a triangular series of punctures into the neck and jaw bone that pierce the brain, and reach the cerebellum, which instantly kills the victim. This is a euthanasia technique; less intelligent predators would not even be able to make these kinds of attacks with such precision. Also, these wounds are cauterized, apparently, some think, to keep blood loss of the victim to a minimum. Some animals have identical punctures on their bellies, but other than these wounds, there is no other trauma, abrasion, scratch, or bruise to be found. (2)
Sightings and Encounters
Madeline Tolentino hails from the Campo Rico community in Puerto Rico, and has a tale to tell about her encounter with a chupacabra. It seems Madeline, along with a few neighbors, spotted one of these strange creatures walking down a street in broad daylight! Madeline claims she approached the beast, but it turned and ran away "at a fantastic speed", escaping into the distance. (2)
Sightings aren't limited to household mothers, as Michael Negron can attest. Negron, a 25 year-old college student, claims to have seen a chupacabra kill his family goat while he watched in horror from the second story balcony. "I saw it step out of a bright light in the backyard," he said (3)
Sightings like Tolentino's and Negron's are rare. Most often, the sound of crying animals awakens nearby residents, who rush out in time to see one of the vicious predators finishing off its latest victim. And these sightings are no longer limited the island of Puerto Rico. The creature has also been seen in Miami, California, Mexico (where it has taken the country literally by storm), and a lone sighting in Tuscon, AZ.
One attack in Miami centered around two households in the Sweetwater district. There, 69 goats, chickens, and geese were slaughtered in a single night. The official explanation was that some stray dogs had entered the backyard, but one older woman claims to have faced the chupacabra, and spoke of her exploits on local TV.(3)
Billy Nubian, a resident of Tuscon, kept two goats, Mattie and Delilah, penned up outside his trailer. About 2 a.m. one evening, Nubian awoke to the cries of his two goats, and ran outside. There, he found a large "ratlike creature" attacking Mattie. Upon seeing Nubian, the chupacabra "let out this unhuman shriek" and went running. (4)
Violeta Colorado awoke to the sound of barking dogs in the wee hours of one May morning. Colorado claims the sounds
came from the trash pile behind her family's concrete home, located in the farming community of Zapotal, Mexico. Among the
growls and shuffling, she claims to have heard a nerve-rattling hiss, a noise unlike any she had heard before. It took an hour for the noise to die down, and in the morning, Colorado awoke to find nine dead sheep in her pasture. All nine were also drained
of blood. (5)
The Official Line
Local governments, like farming districts and municipalities in Puerto Rico and Mexico, take events like these very seriously. For example, Jose Soto, the mayor of Canovanas, Puerto Rico, led local police and civil defense forces in search of the creature that slaughtered their livestock. Soto was armed with a 12-inch crucifix. Ismael Aguayo, a civil defense worker and chief investigator of local Chupacabra sightings, had this to say about concern there:
We are all very worried here. Our animals are dying at an alarming rate. Many people have described the creature to me, and they all say the same things, including our local pastor and many other credible, Christian citizens. For now it's just the animals being attacked. But we are worried that our children may be next. (6)
While local government may take a more tolerant stance on these claims, big government isn't quite so believing. Tito Roman, director of the Puerto Rican governor's office, speaks of a letter they received in their offices, with no return address, which asks for help concerning a chupacabra sighting: "When I first saw the letter, I said, OK, this might be some kind of psycho. But we got a good laugh out of it." (6)
Official investigators are also skeptical, but their findings are mixed. In the Miami incident, for example, an official from the MetroDade zoo, attended the investigation. He claims to have evidence that the killer of the 69 farm animals was not a chupacabra; instead, he says a large dog did the dirty work. But these claims contradict the eyewitness who encountered the creature, and were not paid attention to by anyone outside the police. (3)
Other attempts have been made to discredit the existence of the Chupacabras. Officials have blamed these attacks on not only dogs, but, unbelievably, baboons and apes! Other reports claim these attacks are the work of a satanic cult. Some believe this discrediting to be the work of a conspiracy designed to keep the chupacabra out the eye of the serious media. These
conspiracists believe that the Chupacabra are the work of genetic scientists, a project gone wildly awry, but let loose upon
unsuspecting peoples in order to see how it reacts. Other theories for the origin of the Chupacabra include UFO's (aliens
brought the Chupacabra as "pets"), or even a natural mutation. (3)
Chupacabramania
Whatever the origins of the Chupacabra, it has taken hold of the collective conscious of Hispanic peoples everywhere. This is most likely due to the upbringing of Hispanics, who often believe in the strange and supernatural much more readily than other peoples. An entire cottage industry has sprung up around this phenomenon, dubbed Chupacabramania. Songs have been written. T-shirts and other merchandising are for sale. Hispanic talk shows can't get enough about the mysterious reatures. Chupacabra jokes are the talk of the town in Mexico City. One person has even likened the Chupacabra to the cultural mascot status of a leprechaun for Hispanics. (6) (7) (8)
The Chupacabra has even spawned a festival in the Texas border town of Zapata. Goat roping, a Chupacabra chili cook-off, and a blood drive are festival highlights. This festival is the brainchild of Kate McVey, who publishes the town's weekly newspaper. McVey wanted to poke fun at the phenomenon, and this seemed to her the best way to do it. Plans for expanding the festival in future years included using extra-terrestrial and UFO themes. (9)
But Chupacabramania downplays the seriousness of the farmers' plight. "This is a serious matter, one which we have never dealt with before but which is very real," said Enoc Leon Ramierez, a 48 year-old goatherder from Zapotal. People like
Ramierez are the victims of this Chupacabramania, which may shove the seriousness of the situation out of the spotlight.
Fantasy, or Dark Reality?
Are the Chupacabra real? The evidence seems to stack in favor of reality. The sheer number of people, credible, sensible people who only have embarrassment and ridicule to gain from reporting these sightings; the dead livestock; and the lack of other explanation for these deaths can only lead us to one conclusion. There's an Elvis Presley record entitled "10 Million
Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong"; this can be said of the Chupacabra as well, for thousands of dead farm animals cannot lie, either. But until the seriousness of the situation can be fully comprehended; until the average person believes in a creature called "goat sucker", the skepticism will remain. What will it take? The mauling of a housewife? The death of a child at the hands of
these vicious creatures? Whatever the case, until the Chupacabra is treated with the respect it deserves, it will remain a fad. But this fad has fangs.
Works Cited:
(1) - Armstrong, Tito. (1996). What is it? [Online]. (2) - Martin, Jorge. (1996). UFO's, the government, and the conspiracy [Online]. (3) - Adams, David. (1996, March 21). The Weird tale of the Goatsucker. St.Petersburg Times [Online], (4 pp.). (4) - Author Unknown. (1996). Goat Sucking Devil Honkey [Online]. (5) - Althaus, Dudley. (1996, May 12). "Goat Sucker" spreading fear across Mexico. Houston Chronicle [Online], (3 pp.). (6) - Valdes, Alisa. (1996, Apr. 12). Chupacabra Joins Bigfoot, Nessie in Monster Lore. Boston Globe [Online], (6 pp.) (7) - Fenton, Ana. (No date). Chupacabras Song [Online]. (8) - Raymond, Steve. (No date). Chupacabras [Online]. (9) - Author Unknown. (1996, Aug. 9). Town turns chupacabra, or goatsucker myth, into benefit. [Online]. This page is the hard work and dedication of Brett Glisson (HTY). Find out more about Mr. Glisson and his Chupacabra-hunting cats on his home page, coming soon to a server near you.
by Brett Glisson
2. The Creature
3. Sightings and Encounters
4. The Official Line
5. Chupacabramania
6. Fantasy, or Dark Reality?
7. Works Cited
Available: http://www.princeton.edu/~accion/chupa2.html
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Available: http://www.princeton.edu/~accion/chupa19.html
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Available: http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/page1/96/05/13/mexico.html
Available: http://www.latinolink.com/news/0412chup.html
Available: http://www.princeton.edu/~accion/chupa18.html
Available: http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/0596May/Phenom/chupa.html
Available: http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/metropolitan/96/08/10/chupacabra.html