Chupacabra - Solving The Mystery of Chupacabra

Solving The Mystery of Chupacabra

A new research by Benjamin Radford concluded that the description given by the original eyewitness in Puerto Rico, Madelyne Tolentino, was based on the creature Sil in the science-fiction horror film Species. The alien creature Sil is nearly identical to Tolentino’s chupacabra eyewitness account and she had seen the movie before her report: "It was a creature that looked like the chupacabra, with spines on its back and all... The resemblance to the chupacabra was really impressive," Tolentino reported. Radford revealed that Tolentino "believed that the creatures and events she saw in Species were actually happening in reality in Puerto Rico at the time," and therefore concludes that "the most important chupacabra description cannot be trusted." This, Radford believes, seriously undermines the credibility of the chupacabra as a real animal.

In addition, the reports of blood-sucking by the chupacabra were never confirmed by a necropsy, the only way to conclude that the animal was drained of blood. An analysis by a veterinarian of 300 reported victims of the chupacabra found that they had not been bled dry.

Radford divided the chupacabra reports into two categories:

• The reports from Puerto Rico and Latin America where animals where attacked and it is supposed their blood was extracted.
• The reports in the United States of mammals, mostly dogs and coyotes with mange, that people call "chupacabra" due to their unusual appearance.

In late October 2010, University of Michigan biologist Barry O'Connor concluded that all of the 'chupacabras' reports in the United States were simply coyotes infected with the parasite Sarcoptes scabiei, the symptoms of which would explain most of the features of the chupacabras: they would be left with little fur, thickened skin, and rank odour. O'Connor theorized the attacks on goats occurred "because these animals are greatly weakened, they're going to have a hard time hunting. So they may be forced into attacking livestock because it's easier than running down a rabbit or a deer."

Although several witnesses came to the conclusion that the attacks could not be the work of dogs or coyotes because they had not eaten the victim, this conclusion is incorrect. Both dogs and coyotes can kill and not consume the prey, either because they are inexperienced, due to injury or difficulty in killing the prey. The prey can survive the attack and die afterwards from internal bleeding or circulatory shock. The presence of two holes in the neck, corresponding with the canine teeth, are to be expected since this is the only way that most land carnivores have to catch their prey.