Hello and welcome to my new series called Fact or Fiction. In this series of articles I will present a creature or "monster" that has made the news as long as stirred up confusion on whether or not it is true. To start of the series, I chose to research a popular Latin American creature, El Chupacabra, (roughly translated in English to 'goat sucker'.) El Chupacabra is said to have killed many farm animals in the most bizarre way possible: by sucking the animals' blood dry.
There are many speculations as to what this creature is, and from the few claims at spotting El Chupacabra, it is said to be about three or four feet tall, have spikes running down its spinal cord, have two sharp fangs, bulging red eyes, and a thirst for blood. Many people who believe in this creature think that it is a cross of a dog and a vampire. Others believe it is some horrifying alien crossbreed. Some even believe the beast has black wings that are capable of flying, which connects it to an ancient bird. Either way, there are lots of different ideas on what this monster is and what its physical appearance is.
One of the most popular sketches of El Chupacabra is this old illustration.
From the picture, this creature looks very unrealistic and far-fetched. I do admit, it looks sort of funny and if this was the only visual out there of what El Chupacabra looks like, I probably would easily think that the creature is a fake. There are, however, some more realistic illustrations and even some photographs of what could be El Chupacabra.
In this photograph, taken at a ranch in Texas, El Chupacabra looks like a hideous and hairless dog with huge fangs. There are no spikes on its back like early Chupacabra analysts have claimed there would be, but this animal-like creature is quite different from any other dog breed I've seen.
During the mid 1990's, there was a lot of commotion going on in Latin American countries such as Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Chile, and Mexico. El Chupacabra has also been seen in the United States, around places like Florida and Texas. These sightings all have the same story behind them. The farms or homes that have been affected by what they say is El Chupacabra at his (or her) worst, is when they suck the blood out of the owners' animals, leave the animals' carcasses in the lawn without a single drop of blood in the grass or dirt, make screeching noises, have blood-red eyes that cause nausea, and have an impossible running speed.
Though it is still hard to believe that such a creature exists, there are many people out there that do believe Chupacabras exist. The last piece of hard evidence that believers talk about is Chupacabra footprints left behind. Scientists have taken plaster casts of these footprints that have been left behind on Chupacabra attacks in different countries like Chile and Nicaragua.
Now that you have seen what El Chupacabra looks like, and know what it eats, where it has been seen, and how it could escape, do you think you could be able to find one if you tried? Even if you could, would you want to? There are many reasons as to why this beast could be real, yet there are many of reasons it could be false also. Though a Chupacabra has never been caught, there is still time to find one and uncover the mystery about the beast.
Through everything that has been learned, I leave you with one question: Do you believe in El Chupacabra?
Author's Note: Sources: http://www.skepdic.com/chupa.html
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/lost-tapes/chupacabra/history/
