Chupacabra

Has a strange creature terrorized Mexican residents for years? This strange creature is said to kill farm animals and pets.Basic Information.The strange, and now famous, tale of the Chupacabra (goat sucker) dates back to 1975 on the island of Puerto Rico. For roughly five months, animals and pets were slaughtered by unknown killers. Most reports have the creatures being drained of blood in the early morning. In some cases strange noises (including screeching, flapping wings and hums) were heard before and after the animals were found dead. On other parts of the island, people reported seeing what they thought were strange birds.

The case of the Chupacabra didn't restart until March 31, 1991. In Palmarejo, also located on Puerto Rico, a couple heard their pet Dobermans howling and barking. A strange humming sound was heard throughout their small house. Due to pure fright, the man and woman did not step outside into the darkness until one of the dogs shrieked and the outside turned quiet. Stepping onto his patio, the man saw two creatures that were about three or four feet tall, gray with big heads, small noses and a slit-like mouth. The creatures promptly ran away. The man quickly began to search for his pets. What the man found was a horrible scene- the dog's insides were seemingly sucked out from its eye sockets. Every single organ and muscle mass was removed, as were the eyes. The body was thrown into a ravine, where it could not be located months later.

Later, police officers were said to have seen a strange creature near Orocovis, Puerto Rico. The creatures were basically the same as reported in the previous case, but the creatures had yellow eyes in this report. When the officers gave chase, the creature got away after the men became nauseated. A UFO researcher saw the same creature, but with chameleon-like abilities, on March 26 at about 6 a.m at the same location. The creature would shift colour from purple to brown to yellow before fleeing.

More tales, each growing more fantastic, were reported as time went on. Soon, the description changed drastically. Daniel Pérez reported to Jorge Martín that he had seen a strange creature. The creature floated from the sky, and was described as five feet tall with powerful hind legs, a large head with big slanted eyes and six inch fins on its back. The fins were apparently used to fly, as they vibrated while the creature was in flight. He saw the same creature the next morning, but kept the sighting to himself and his wife. Soon, other people began to report the same creature. A young man even claimed to have caught one, briefly. After holding open the mouth, he saw large fangs before the creature escaped.

Martín then compiled a general description of the creature from eye witness accounts:

"It appears to have strong coarse hair all over its body; and whilst most observers claimed that the hair is black, it has the remarkable ability to change colours at will, almost like a chameleon".

"In the dark, it will change to black or a deep brown colour - in a sunlit area surrounded by vegetation, it changes to green, green-gray, light brown or beige. The creature has two small arms with a three-fingered clawed hand and two strong hind legs, again with three claws. This appears to enable it to run quickly and leap ... over 20 feet in a single bound. According to many observations, the creature's legs look almost reptilian or goat-like. It has quill-like appendages running down from its back, with what seem to be fleshy membranes that change colour from blue to green, red to purple, etc."

Other reports have given the creatures everything from wings to slime.

Catching the Beast:

Several rumours have been created to as where the creatures have come from. The most famous is that they were created by the US Governementnearly thirty years ago.Several people have claimed to have seen them during the Vietnam War, locked in cages. Other reports place them with aliens and UFOs, but these are all just rumours.José Soto, the mayor of Canóvanas, led a search party to the jungle in the hope of catching some of the creatures. It is said that not only did they find the creatures, but with the help of US officials, caught them and took them to US facilities.

The Dying of the Legend:

For some reason, during the middle of 1996, the scare was ending. Major reports became less frequent and the killings slowed down. It is almost guaranteed, though, that we have not seen the last of the Chupacabras!