Oct. 21, 2024

Terrifying & True | The Chupacabra in the United States

Terrifying & True | The Chupacabra in the United States
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Terrifying & True

The Chupacabra is one of the most notorious cryptids in modern history, known for its terrifying livestock attacks. Trace its origins and explore the scientific, supernatural, and cryptozoological explanations behind the legend.

Is Bigfoot real? Dive into Ohio’s eerie encounters with the Grassman, a legendary cryptid said to roam the state’s forests.

We are telling that story tonight, on Terrifying & True

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🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

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In nineteen ninety five, an unsuspecting town in Puerto Rico

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finds a large swath of pets, livestock, and other animals dead.

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But what's even more strange is the reports that they've

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been completely drained of blood. While this cryptid is newer

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than Bigfoot or the Lockness Monster, it is captured imaginations

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the world over.

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What you were about to beat, you, burn you, Based

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on witness accounts, testimonies, and public record, this is terrifying

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and treat.

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The Chupacabra is something that I've always been really interested in,

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not just because it's a crypto that really came into

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consciousness of the public in nineteen ninety five, which is

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much later than those were more familiar with, like the

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Luckness Monster, Sasquatch, even the Grassman, things like that. But

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what always fascinated me even more was how the chupacabra

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seemed to be able to cross the ocean into Mexico

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and into the United States of America and its mainland.

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So tonight we're going to take a very special, very

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deep down into the history of the chupacabra in the

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United States of America, which, if you're like me, is

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awfully close to home. We're telling that story after this.

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Most cryptids have been in the public consciousness for countless generations,

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some starting out as cautionary tales to prevent children from

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wandering off at night, or warnings to dissuade hungry citizens

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from turning to cannibalism when food is scarce. Many of

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these legends appear to have no logical starting point or explanation,

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just sightings dating back as far as documentation has existed.

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Vampiric creatures like ab Chanchu, the Bolivian shape shifter, the

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Democratic Republic of Congo's half human half lobster, the Mamba mutu,

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or the Mannananagol with its bat like wings from the

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Philippines have storied histories. The cryptid presented for discussion today,

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the Chupakarra, is not one of these beasts of ancient folklore.

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While some claim that stories of the creature have been

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part of latinumyera culture for as long as that culture

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has existed, there is no evidence to support that. In fact,

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we can point to specific dates and locations where the

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first sightings occurred and the legend began. It wasn't in

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some mysterious place in the reaches of the far gone past.

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It was in a very real town less than fifty

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years ago. The chupacabra grew up in the Internet era.

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Encounters and images of the beast have been spread widely

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on news sites, message boards, and eventually social media, and

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there have certainly been a lot of sightings. The creature

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has appeared everywhere, from late night deserted roadsides to mid

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day romps through the golf courses of suburbia. Countless new

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images of the enigma are snapped by cell phones every year,

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prompting a frenzy of discussion over what remains unknown in

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our everyday environment. What can we glean about the chupacapra

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from all this evidence? What has been done to understand

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the creature and its place in our ecosystem? The answers

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may give you faith in humanity or make you question everything.

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In nineteen seventy five, the town of Mocha in Puerto

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Rico was rocked by a series of strange livestock deaths.

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In February fifteen, cows, two geese, three goats, and a

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pig were killed in a way that worried the town.

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All were found dead with strange perforations on their hides

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and had been drained completely of blood. Newspapers called the

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mysterious attacker El vampiro de Mocha, which translates to the

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Mocha vampire. This was only the first of many attacks

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attributed to El Vampiro Mocha. In March, farmer Cecilio Hernandez

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awoke to find thirty four of his chickens had been

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killed during the night. At this point, at least ninety

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animals had been slain. These attacks seemed to defy explanation,

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and Mocha was left in a state of panic. Some

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believed they were dealing with a monster, possibly a large

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vampire bat, or a strange and unknown bird. Resident Maria

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Assevedo claimed to have seen the bird of unknown origin

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pecking at her windows and wrapping at the metal roof

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of her home. It then issued a chilling cry and

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flew off into the night. At the time, the prevailing theory, however,

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was that it was the work of a Satanic cult.

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This fits perfectly with the general moral panic around Satanism

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and Satanic cults that was endemic to the United States

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at that time. The idea that an unknown animal may

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be responsible for these strange, untimely deaths slowly faded from

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public memory as the attacks tapered off. It wasn't until

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nineteen ninety five, twenty years later, when eight sheep were

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killed in a similar mysterious fashion, that this fear resurfaced.

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They had again been completely drained of blood, each with

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three puncture wounds on their chests. The term chupacabra, which

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translates literally to goat sucker, was coined relatively early on

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by Silvero Perez, a radio DJ in San Juan, while

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discussing the attacks on air. It was a perfectly fitting

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name for the beast and one that would stand the

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test of time. He may have been inspired for the

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name by the small species of bird called chotocabra, which

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is commonly known as the night jar in English. Chotocabra

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also translates to goat sucker, just using the antiquated form

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of the verb to suck cho tar instead of the

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now common chupar. Night jars were known to suck on

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goat's teats for milk, not their blood, but the name

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works either way. Later that year, a reported one hundred

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and fifty farm animals and pets were killed in the

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town of Canavanas eyewitness Madeline Tolentino believed she had seen

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the creature responsible one afternoon. It paused briefly on the

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sidewalk outside of her home, and she was able to

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get a good look at it. She described it as

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three to four feet tall, a grayish green reptile like

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creature with large black eyes but no visible nose or ears.

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It stood upright, had three fingered hands and feet with claws,

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spines running down its back, and it hopped like a kangaroo. Quote.

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I told my mother I saw the devil, Madeleine told

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the Washington Post. At least fifteen other residents of the

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town claimed to have seen the monster as well. Missael Negron,

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a local college student, described his encounter with the animal

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that killed and disemboweled his family's goat to the Washington Post. Quote,

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I was looking off the balcony one night and I

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saw it step out of a bright light in the backyard.

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He said.

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It was about three or four feet tall, with skin

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like that of a dinosaur. It had bright red eyes

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the size of hen's eggs, long fangs, and multi colored

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spikes down on its head and back. Kenovanas was in

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the middle of a crisis. The mayor's office was flooded

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with phone calls from concerned citizens. Quote, we're looking for it.

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Canavanas's mayor, Jose Soto, who was up for re election,

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explained to the Austin American Statesman, quote, I haven't seen

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it yet, but I know people who saw it. It

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attacks so fast, everything from horses to sheep. It sucks

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out the blood completely. Mayor Soto even organized and participated

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in a weekly hunt for the beast in the foothills

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of the Caribbean National Forest near town. The first search

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had over two hundred volunteers readying their firearms to take

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down the creature. They even attempted to lure it out

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with a caged goat. Quote. Whatever it is, it's highly intelligent.

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Today it is attacking animals. Tomorrow it may attack people,

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Sodo warned. No evidence of the monster was ever found

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during these hunts, but Jose Sodo did manage to win

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his campaign for reelection. In total, approximately two hundred sightings

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of the chupacara were reported in Puerto Rico in just

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nineteen ninety five alone. Talk shows in fringe media covered

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it extensively. Puerto Rico's premier uithologist, Jorge Martin, wrote several

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articles about the events in his magazine Evidencia Ovini. He

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feared that the cryptid was extraterrestrial in origin and had

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been drawn specifically to Puerto Rico by the Aricibo Observatory,

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which housed the largest radio radar telescope in the world

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at the time. Jorge also described an increase in UFO

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site in Puerto Rico during this period. This included one

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that hovered over the antenna for the Radio Proser radio

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station in Barraquitas. Eyewitnesses said it was shaped like a

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disc with a row of black windows in the center

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and shone brightly in the darkness. At the moment of

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its appearance, the equipment in the station began to act erratically.

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This included the powering on of some devices that were

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no longer used and weren't even plugged in. Some of

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the sightings even corresponded with chupacabra attacks in the towns

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of Canavanas, Cabo, Rojo, Narrijito and Ponse. A family in

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Barrio Hato observed a UFO shortly before a number of

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goats and a horse were found mutilated Jorge also spoke

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with a veterinarian, Carlos Soto, who determined that the bites

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on the slaughter animals were very deep and penetrated the brain,

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causing instant death. He postulated that this method of killing

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done in a way that the animal would suffer the least,

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meant that the attacker had great intelligence and could not

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be the work of a simple wild animal. Many other

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theories about the chupacabra's existence circulated during this time. This

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included everything from the attacks being caused by wild local animals,

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to the work of an escaped, genetically engineered mutant from

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a research facility, or even an alien pet left on earth. Accidentally,

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news of the chupacabra did not stay contained to Puerto Rico,

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and it wasn't long before similar animal deaths and sightings

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of the creature reached the mainland. Whether they were legitimate

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discoveries of a blood sucking predator expanding its range or

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panicked mistaken identity of common animals, areas of the southern

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United States and many countries in South and Central America

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were now in the fray. Sightings have persisted and expanded

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to this very day. In the United States. Spanish speaking

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communities who often consumed Puerto Rican news sources or had

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family or friends on the island were the first to

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report sightings. The Puerto Rican tabloid El Vosserro covered the

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creature extensively, and the Miami based talk show Christina devoted

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an entire episode to the monster, with guests including Mayor

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Soto and eufologist Torge Martin. Both of these media outlets

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are often credited with stoking the panic that ensued. Quote.

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I used to laugh every time someone mentioned the chewpacabras,

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but after doing the show and listening to many serious,

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credible people, I have to tell you, I don't think

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it's a normal animal at all, the host of Christina,

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Christina Sarreligue, explained to the Boston Globe. Florida, specifically Miami

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Dade County, was one of the first states to experience

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the chaos of chupacabra sightings. What happened in Miami during

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the following year is now referred to as the nineteen

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ninety six Chupacabra hysteria. In early nineteen ninety six, sixty

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nine animals, including chickens, geese, goats, and ducks owned by

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two neighboring properties in Sweetwater were slaughtered in a similar

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fashion to those in Puerto Rico. While authorities were confident

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that a large dog had been the cause, that community

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was in a very real state of panic as other

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sightings poured in from the surrounding area. In an attempt

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to quell the fear, the Metro Dade Police Department employed

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Alan Herron, a University of Miami professor of pathology, to

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perform a televised necropsy on a goat that had been

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killed in a chupacabra attack. He was able to prove

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that the animal had been killed by a dog and

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was not, in fact drained of blood. The public, however,

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was not swayed by this, and different media outlets were

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adding more fire to the flames. Local pop radio station

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Y one hundred point seven even ran a contest offering

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one thousand dollars to anyone who could get a picture

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of the cryptid quote they were just totally not listening.

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Ron McGill, zoologist and assistant curator at the Metro Dade

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Zoo who had been involved in the Sweetwater case, to

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old the Saint Petersburg Times it's mushroomed way out of proportion.

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I'm sitting here literally in shock. While the chupacabra was

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terrorizing Miami, strange things were also happening in Texas. In

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the Rio Grande Valley, Sylvia Ibarra found her six year

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old goat dead in her yard with puncture wounds on

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its neck. While a neck cropsy determined that the goat's

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demise was very likely caused by an infection from the

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puncture wounds, which looked to be the result of a

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dog bite. Fear of this monster had already been stoked

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across the valley. I'm scared, said Sylvia's mother. I have

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a lot of grandchildren around here. We've always had a

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lot of animals, and we never had this happen before.

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When asked about the chupacabra, Sylvia said, I think it's

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watching over us. It might happen again. We never know

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when it's going to come back. Later that year, reports

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of chupacabra attacks on livestock and humans flooded Poway, California,

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a small town near the Mexican border. Witnesses reported a

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gargoyle like creature with bat wings, large claws, and fangs.

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It was said to be nocturnal and very aggressive. The

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media went out of their way to cover the story,

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but Powe City officials appeared to completely discount the reported attacks.

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While the intense panic and press surrounding the chupacabra dissipated

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after nineteen ninety six, the reports didn't stop, and the

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locations in which they were reported expanded. A resident of Palan, California,

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who preferred to remain anonymous, relayed their encounters to beyond

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the Boundary's UFO Research organization. They had started to get

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concerned when the coyotes and rabbits they were used to

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seeing so frequently around their property virtually disappeared. One day

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after this realization, they were startled by an eruption of

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panicked squealing from their pig outside. Not seeing anything, after

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taking a quick look out the window, they grabbed a sword,

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which they typically used for a hobby in doing reenactments,

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and went out to take a better look. As they

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caught sight of the pig, it was clear something very

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odd was occurring. A dark, gray, bipedal creature was trying

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to attack it. When the thing realized it had company,

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it stopped what it was doing and looked at them

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with its giant black almond shaped eyes, had large claws

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and porcupine like quills covering its back. It then, without

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much effort, tore apart the chain link fence surrounding the

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pig pen. At this point, the witness's dogs bolted from

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the house and charged the creature. It ran, leaping the

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three foot fence around the property and disappearing into the vegetation.

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The dogs appeared to be too scared to chase it

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any further. This wasn't the only time this witness saw

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the cryptid around their property. One night, after they had

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given the pig some leftover beer from a party, it

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appeared again. It approached the pen ready to attack, but

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then suddenly took off without hurting the animal. They theorized

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that it was deterred by the smell of alcohol, and

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started giving the pig beer nightly to protect it. This

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appeared to work. The unknown animal also seemed to be

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afraid to cross salt lines. The witness put down rock

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salt one winter to melt some ice that had accumulated,

257
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and later found tracks of the creature around the property,

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but only outside of the salted areas. After this, they

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00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:25.279
began to use rock salt to create a barrier around

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their property. The creature would come and stand outside the perimeter,

261
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but never crossed onto the property again. In nineteen ninety nine,

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Chris Pico was camping on his friend Ray's property in Texas.

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He'd been aware that Ray had been acting strange all evening.

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Ray eventually told his friends about the eerie discovery he'd

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made just slightly up the road. One evening, Ray stopped

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at the side of that very road to relieve himself

267
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on his way home. Off to his right, he noticed

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a dead deer. Then he experienced a disconcerting sensation like

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he was being drawn to the deer. He felt like

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00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:25.000
he needed to take a look. When he reached it,

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he realized it was not roadkill like he'd been expecting. No,

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it had been killed by a predator, he thought, as

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he discovered the three puncture wounds in its neck. But strangely,

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there was no blood or signs of a struggle, almost

275
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as if the deer had been killed effortlessly and in

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an instant. Chris and the others in the group didn't

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take their friend's story very seriously. It wasn't until later

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that night, when another member of the group shook Chris awake,

279
00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:07.680
claiming he'd heard something that they started to change their minds.

280
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At first, Chris assumed his friend was just trying to

281
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scare him and tried to go back to sleep, but

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they were suddenly hit with the intense odor of rotting flesh.

283
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The friends decided to leave the tent to investigate the

284
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night air outside was impossibly silent, bereft of the cricket

285
00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:36.759
chirps and croaking frogs that they were used to. The

286
00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:41.279
air hung dead still as they scanned the area for

287
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the source of the smell. A sudden screech rang through

288
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the camp. Then from behind a rock emerged a small, tailless,

289
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light green monkey like creature. It stared at them with

290
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its large eyes and bared its sharp teeth, but then,

291
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instead of attacking, simply ran off. Ray tried to search

292
00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:13.720
for it, but it had completely vanished. Shocked by what

293
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they had seen, the group decided to sleep inside, not

294
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even sticking around long enough to clean up their campsite.

295
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When they returned to the area to collect their belongings

296
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the next morning, the site was in a state of disarray.

297
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Their items had been scattered around, and the tent had

298
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been totally shredded. The experience was enough to prevent Chris

299
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and his friends from ever camping in the area again.

300
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One state where chupacabra sightings have never been common is Louisiana.

301
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This is likely because another bloodsucking, livestock murdering cryptid has

302
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taken up residence in their bayous, a creature known as

303
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the Grunch. The Grunch, also known as the Grunch road Monster,

304
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.799
is a three to four foot tall goat like creature

305
00:24:13.880 --> 00:24:20.359
with glowing eyes and gray, scaly reptilian skin. Like the chupacabra,

306
00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:23.480
it is said to have spines or quills on its

307
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back and drains the blood of the animals it attacks.

308
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But this monster doesn't just kill livestock. It also attacks people.

309
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As the story goes, the Grunch will often leave an

310
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injured animal, usually a goat, on the side of the

311
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road and wait. When the eventual concerned passerby would stop

312
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to help the animal, the Grunch would attack, kidnapping, killing,

313
00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:00.920
and then drinking the blood of the unfortunate Good Samaritan.

314
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The legend of the Grunch appears to date back to

315
00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:09.480
at least the eighteen hundreds and has multiple origin stories.

316
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One of the most common tells of a group of

317
00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:18.000
individuals with dwarfism and albinism who at the time were

318
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shunned from society in Louisiana. Unable to interact and live

319
00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:26.200
with the rest of the city of New Orleans, they

320
00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.720
were forced to live at the end of an isolated,

321
00:25:28.920 --> 00:25:33.680
unpaved road at the edge of town called Grunch Road.

322
00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:39.839
Over generations of seclusion, the small group became inbred and

323
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eventually horribly disfigured and hostile. They had also developed a

324
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taste for blood. The group began to hunt anyone and

325
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anything that had the misfortune of stepping foot on Grunch Road.

326
00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:04.039
Another tale ties the creatures to the famous Voodoo high

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00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:08.599
priestess of New Orleans, Marie Leveaux. It was said that

328
00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:12.759
when she castrated the so called devil Baby, who was

329
00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.200
likely just a child with a genetic skin disorder to

330
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prevent it from ever reproducing, the baby's testicles became a

331
00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:27.400
male and female grunch They then attacked Leveaux, almost killing her,

332
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and fled along with the Devil Baby. All that being said,

333
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:38.880
the aforementioned Grunch Road does not currently exist within the

334
00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:42.759
city limits of New Orleans. Some believe it was just

335
00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:47.240
renamed and can still be found in the Little Woods

336
00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:54.440
neighborhood only now as Gannon Road. Regardless of its location.

337
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Unlike the chupacabra, there are very few eye witness accounts

338
00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:06.000
of sightings of this creature. However, after Hurricane Katrina ravaged

339
00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.519
that area in two thousand and five, there was an

340
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:15.480
uptick in sightings. This was especially true in Harvey, Louisiana,

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00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:20.359
where residents said they saw the grunch chasing cats and

342
00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:26.319
knocking over trash cans. Sanitation workers in Harvey reported that

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00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:31.000
their trucks had been chased by the creature. One woman

344
00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:37.400
even said she saw it eating her neighbour's dog. Many

345
00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:41.680
have theorized that the reason for these sightings was that

346
00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:46.279
the creature had been displaced from its natural habitat temporarily

347
00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:51.759
due to the flooding. It is also equally as possible, though,

348
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:56.319
that injured animals, which may also have been displaced from

349
00:27:56.359 --> 00:28:03.839
their natural homes, were being misidentified. Strangely, besides second hand

350
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.720
tales of these accounts, no pictures or news stories of

351
00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:14.279
the encounters exist from that time. Considering the abundance of

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00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:20.680
highly public chupacabra sightings, This makes the grunch's existence seem suspect.

353
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It's also possible, given the creature's penchant for kidnapping and killing,

354
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that most people who encounter a grunch do not live

355
00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:39.400
to tell the tale. In the early two thousands, the

356
00:28:39.519 --> 00:28:45.160
chupacabra went through something of a makeover. Witnesses no longer

357
00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:51.160
reported seeing a gray alien reptile creature with a spiny back,

358
00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:56.839
but something more akin to a hairless canine with a

359
00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:04.920
very pronounced spine, with large teeth and claws. Its modus operendi, however,

360
00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:13.200
remained the same, killing livestock and sucking them dry of blood.

361
00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:18.440
In two thousand and six, a strange creature was hit

362
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:22.079
by a car while chasing a cat across Route four

363
00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:27.200
in Turner, Maine. Local residents were puzzled by its appearance.

364
00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:33.160
It didn't look like any animal they were familiar with. Quote.

365
00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.440
It was charcoal gray, weighed between forty and fifty pounds

366
00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:43.200
and had a bushy tail, a short snout, short ears,

367
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:49.039
and curled fangs hanging over its lips, recounted Mike O'Donnell

368
00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:53.920
of Turner, Maine to The Sun Journal of Lewistown. Quote,

369
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this is something I've never seen before. It's an evil

370
00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:05.799
looking thing. Michelle O'Donnell, who was married to Mike, took

371
00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:09.200
a few pictures of the dead animal and claimed to

372
00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:12.880
have seen it in her backyard a week prior. Quote,

373
00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:18.519
it was evil, evil looking, and it had a horrible stench.

374
00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.480
I will never forget. We locked eyes for a few

375
00:30:22.599 --> 00:30:26.920
seconds and then it took off. I've lived in Maine

376
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:30.519
my whole life, and I've never seen anything like it,

377
00:30:31.359 --> 00:30:37.279
she explained. Michelle believed it was a hybrid mutant of something.

378
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:43.680
Since nineteen ninety one, predating the first wave of publicized

379
00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:50.000
chupacabra sightings, the communities within Androscoggin County, Maine, have been

380
00:30:50.200 --> 00:30:55.720
terrorized by an unknown animal, with many reporting strange cries

381
00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:02.240
and mysterious eyeshine emanating from the surrounding woods. The creature

382
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:05.119
had also been blamed for the death of a Rottweiler

383
00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:10.559
and the mauling of a Doberman pincher. Quote. We've been

384
00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:15.039
hearing stories about this thing for years, about this thing

385
00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:20.559
that's been attacking, shredding and eating other animals. This is

386
00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:24.720
something that's not supposed to be out there, said Mike O'Donnell.

387
00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:35.880
Many wondered if what they'd found on the road side

388
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:40.880
was that very monster, and if it could be a chupacabra.

389
00:31:42.039 --> 00:31:46.960
That's no dog, said local Kenny Buck. He claimed his

390
00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:50.440
cat was what the unknown creature was chasing when it

391
00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:55.279
was struck. The cat was also found dead along Route four.

392
00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:02.200
Local animal control and wildlife officials, however, seemed markedly unfazed.

393
00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:06.759
The O'Donnells contacted the main game warden, but were told

394
00:32:06.839 --> 00:32:09.640
it was probably a coyote and that they should do

395
00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:13.279
their own research online because the game warden would not

396
00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:17.640
come out to inspect it. Michele did attempt to conduct

397
00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:20.640
her own research, but she was not able to find

398
00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:24.400
an animal that resembled what they had found anywhere on

399
00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:29.200
the internet. Quote it certainly doesn't look like a chow

400
00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:32.799
or any kind of domesticated dog that I've seen, said

401
00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:37.799
cryptozoologist Lauren Coleman after looking at the photos. It may

402
00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:41.599
be a hybrid between a dog and a wolf. When

403
00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:46.079
several days later, reporter Mark Laflam arrived to investigate for

404
00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:49.480
an article in The Sun Journal, the creature had decayed

405
00:32:49.599 --> 00:32:53.440
beyond recognition by the time I got there. It was

406
00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:58.799
a soupy mess. He recounted. However, the Sun Journal, desperate

407
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.880
to get to the bottom of just what this monster was,

408
00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:07.119
sent its paw to a laboratory for DNA analysis, which,

409
00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:12.119
in this case confirmed that it was just a misunderstood dog,

410
00:33:12.920 --> 00:33:18.160
not a monster. This, of course, doesn't explain what had

411
00:33:18.200 --> 00:33:23.480
been terrorizing Adroscoggin County for fifteen years, so it's possible

412
00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:29.039
the creature really causing the issues is still out there. Maine,

413
00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:32.440
of course, isn't a place that's typically thought of when

414
00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:36.319
it comes to the Chupakara, but sightings have been less

415
00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:40.319
contained to the southern portion of the United States than

416
00:33:40.359 --> 00:33:44.319
one might think. One morning in the summer of two

417
00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:49.000
thousand eight, Michigan, der Cora saw something she'd never seen

418
00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:53.519
before on North Holly Road. It was four forty one

419
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:56.440
a m. And she was driving home to Holly, Michigan,

420
00:33:56.839 --> 00:33:59.920
after dropping off a coworker from an art center in David.

421
00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:05.480
She was driving attentively and was wide awake. She also

422
00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:07.839
had her high beams on to make it easier to

423
00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:11.199
spot any deer that might be wandering into the road.

424
00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:16.239
In the pre dawn hours. It was silent, just Cora

425
00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:22.000
and her car alone on the road as she approached

426
00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:26.400
Grange Hall Road, she spotted something large digging through a

427
00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:30.239
trash can on the right side of the street. She

428
00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:34.280
slowed down to get a better look. What is it

429
00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:39.159
was her very first thought on approach, she explained to

430
00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:43.400
the National UFO Reporting Center. It was much bigger than

431
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:45.840
the average sort of animal she was used to seeing

432
00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:50.519
going through trash. Cora began to mentally go through every

433
00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:53.599
animal she could think of to find one that made

434
00:34:53.719 --> 00:34:57.559
sense with what she was seeing. It had rounded ears

435
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:02.039
like a mouse and a long rat like tail, but

436
00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:06.320
it was far too big to be either. Its body

437
00:35:06.440 --> 00:35:10.719
reminded her of a kangaroo, but it was gray, not brown,

438
00:35:11.280 --> 00:35:14.039
and it had a head similar to that of a canine,

439
00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:19.440
but more pointed and triangular at the end. It stood

440
00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:24.800
upright and was about three feet tall. Perhaps most unsettling

441
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:28.199
was that, instead of pause, the creature appeared to hold

442
00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:34.840
the trash with slender, almost human hands. I don't know

443
00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:39.239
what I'm looking at, she thought, can't be a chupacabra?

444
00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:44.679
Could it in Michigan? Then it turned to look at

445
00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:50.639
her with its large, round, glowing red eyes. The creature

446
00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:54.199
looked a little surprised that it had been seen almost

447
00:35:54.239 --> 00:35:57.960
as if it didn't know it could be seen. They

448
00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:01.719
stared at each other for three to four seconds in silence.

449
00:36:02.719 --> 00:36:05.480
The animal then dropped the trash it had been holding,

450
00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:09.199
got on all fours, and hopped off towards the woods

451
00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:15.199
like a rabbit. Ending their encounter. This wasn't her only

452
00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:20.639
sighting of this supposed chupacabra. Cora saw it again several

453
00:36:20.760 --> 00:36:24.480
days later while traveling home from a friend's house around

454
00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:28.440
four a m. She was driving on Interstate seventy five

455
00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:31.920
near the Holly, Michigan exit, when she saw it hopping

456
00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.239
in the ditch along the highway. This time, she wasn't

457
00:36:36.280 --> 00:36:38.920
able to slow down or get a good look at

458
00:36:38.960 --> 00:36:41.960
the animal's body, but she was sure it was the

459
00:36:42.039 --> 00:36:47.079
same thing she'd seen on North Holly Road. After doing

460
00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:52.039
some research, Cora was convinced she'd seen a chupacabra. She

461
00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:56.719
contacted the National UFO Reporting Center, and the organization then

462
00:36:56.840 --> 00:37:01.360
filed a report with the Holly Police Department. The police, however,

463
00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:06.800
seemed not to take the sighting seriously. Another encounter with

464
00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:10.320
the cryptid took place in Oklahoma in the summer of

465
00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:14.920
twenty eighteen. Mike and Lisa Curtis of Deer Creek were

466
00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:18.039
alarmed to see that their turkey and chickens had been

467
00:37:18.199 --> 00:37:22.400
killed in their backyard. They checked their game camera, which

468
00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:27.199
revealed a large dog like animal roaming their yard and

469
00:37:27.400 --> 00:37:31.239
then attacking four of their chickens and eating their turkey.

470
00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:37.320
Larina quote. When we saw this animal, we were we

471
00:37:37.440 --> 00:37:39.960
all didn't know what to say because it wasn't a

472
00:37:40.039 --> 00:37:43.639
coyote that I'd ever seen, Mike told Oklahoma News for

473
00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:48.360
Soon after watching the video, Mike found that there had

474
00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:50.960
been another sighting of a similar looking animal in the

475
00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:54.760
same area in two thousand and thirteen. It had been

476
00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:58.000
photographed by Craig Martin when he spotted it in a field.

477
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:01.599
There had been talk of the animal being at Chupacabra

478
00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:06.960
and that the cryptid might be expanding its range North quote.

479
00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:11.519
We watched the video, read the article, and we're like, wow,

480
00:38:12.199 --> 00:38:14.840
this thing looks just like what we have on video.

481
00:38:15.719 --> 00:38:18.840
The guy had it on picture, now we have it

482
00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:23.599
on video, said Mike. While Mike and Lisa believed what

483
00:38:23.719 --> 00:38:27.320
they had seen to be at Chupacabra, the Oklahoma Department

484
00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:31.400
of Wildlife maintained that the images and video were likely

485
00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:35.639
that of a sickly coyote, but since the animal was

486
00:38:35.719 --> 00:38:41.360
never examined, its true origin remains unknown. One of the

487
00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:47.239
most recent and perplexing sightings comes from Texas. In May

488
00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:52.039
of twoenty twenty two, staff at the Armarillo Zoo in Armarillo,

489
00:38:52.199 --> 00:38:57.239
Texas noticed a strange figure on their security camera at

490
00:38:57.360 --> 00:39:01.639
one twenty five am, standing upright on two legs in

491
00:39:01.719 --> 00:39:05.239
a recreation area separated from the zoo by a tall

492
00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:09.760
chain link fence. Was something furry and as tall as

493
00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:14.400
a person, but with the features of a coyote or

494
00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:20.000
a fox. The black and white, slightly blurry image lacked

495
00:39:20.039 --> 00:39:24.480
the definition needed to make a solid analysis, but it

496
00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:29.800
was clearly eerie. In early June, the City of Armarillo

497
00:39:30.039 --> 00:39:33.559
released the picture along with a press release asking for

498
00:39:33.639 --> 00:39:37.400
the public's help to identify it. Was it a person

499
00:39:37.559 --> 00:39:40.480
with a strange hat who likes to walk at night,

500
00:39:41.159 --> 00:39:46.239
A large coyote on its hind legs, a chupacabra. It

501
00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:51.119
is a mystery for Armarillo to help solve, the city

502
00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:54.960
said in their statement. They made sure to clarify that

503
00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:58.960
while this was weird, the creature didn't get into the

504
00:39:59.079 --> 00:40:03.760
zoo hard from any animals or commit any crimes. They

505
00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:08.880
were simply interested in finding out what it was. Quote

506
00:40:09.519 --> 00:40:16.119
for now, the strange visitor is a UAO unidentified Armarillo object. However,

507
00:40:16.599 --> 00:40:20.920
perhaps Armarillo has a better explanation. In the spirit of fun,

508
00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:24.599
if not curiosity, the City of Armarillo is letting the

509
00:40:24.639 --> 00:40:29.320
public offer ideas on the identity of the UAO. They said.

510
00:40:30.440 --> 00:40:34.239
The public had plenty of ideas. Some even believed it

511
00:40:34.400 --> 00:40:37.519
was some sort of marketing hoax to encourage tourism in

512
00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:42.400
the city. Seattle based wireless camera company Wise when as

513
00:40:42.440 --> 00:40:45.800
far as to offer to donate eighty cameras to help

514
00:40:45.880 --> 00:40:49.719
in the search. But even with the entire city involved,

515
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:57.679
the creature was never identified or seen again at first glance.

516
00:40:57.920 --> 00:41:01.440
One of the most perplexing things that these and many

517
00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:05.199
other chupacabra sightings have in common is the lack of

518
00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:09.519
urgency expressed by the police and the wildlife departments at

519
00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:14.280
the time they occurred. While the response to the unidentified

520
00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:18.639
Armarillo Object does seem to buck this trend, the city's

521
00:41:18.639 --> 00:41:22.559
statement to the public conveyed a sense of playfulness that

522
00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:28.360
indicated that there was little fear behind the sighting. The question, then,

523
00:41:28.440 --> 00:41:32.719
should be what could possibly cause the authorities to shrug

524
00:41:32.800 --> 00:41:37.840
off all these abnormal cases of a potentially dangerous monster.

525
00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:43.519
There are really only two answers. Either we are standing

526
00:41:43.639 --> 00:41:47.119
at the precipice of a massive conspiracy to cover up

527
00:41:47.320 --> 00:41:52.679
or hide the existence of a dangerous cryptid, or these

528
00:41:52.840 --> 00:41:58.239
organizations have reason not to take these eyewitness accounts seriously.

529
00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:04.159
While the former is impossible to prove or disprove, we

530
00:42:04.320 --> 00:42:16.119
do have substantial evidence to support the latter. One of

531
00:42:16.199 --> 00:42:21.119
the most publicized and dissected chupacabra cases comes from Texas.

532
00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:25.760
In two thousand and seven, Phyllis Canyon of Cuero lost

533
00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:30.239
twenty eight chickens to attacks by an unknown animal. Each

534
00:42:30.440 --> 00:42:33.760
chicken had been slashed at its throat and appeared to

535
00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:38.639
be sucked dry of blood. Shortly after these incidents, she

536
00:42:38.840 --> 00:42:41.719
discovered the carcass of a strange animal next to the

537
00:42:41.880 --> 00:42:46.840
road near her ranch. While it resembled a canine, it

538
00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:51.599
was completely bald, its blue tinted skin resembling the hide

539
00:42:51.719 --> 00:42:56.119
of an elephant more than a coyotes flesh. It also

540
00:42:56.320 --> 00:42:59.760
had two strange pouches of skin on either side of

541
00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:05.559
its tale, and shockingly blue eyes. She noted that unlike

542
00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:09.119
coyotes and wolves, it only had three toes on its

543
00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:13.760
front feet instead of four, and only four nipples instead

544
00:43:13.800 --> 00:43:18.480
of the usual eight to ten. Phyllis was convinced she'd

545
00:43:18.559 --> 00:43:25.360
found something extraordinary, possibly a chupacabra. She decided to call

546
00:43:25.440 --> 00:43:28.639
it the Blue Dog because of its skin color, and

547
00:43:28.800 --> 00:43:33.360
eventually had it taxidermy to display in her home. With

548
00:43:33.519 --> 00:43:37.400
the help of kNs five News, Phyllis was able to

549
00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:42.000
send a DNA sample to Texas State University for evaluation.

550
00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:48.159
The results were not what she was expecting. Quote the

551
00:43:48.280 --> 00:43:53.079
DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from

552
00:43:53.119 --> 00:43:59.119
the coyote or Canis latrons. Mike Forstner of the Biology

553
00:43:59.199 --> 00:44:04.239
department at Texas State explained to kNs five. Quote, this

554
00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:07.079
is probably not the answer a lot of folks thought

555
00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:11.000
might be the outcome. I myself really thought it was

556
00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:16.119
a domestic dog, but the Querro chupacabra is a Texas coyote.

557
00:44:17.159 --> 00:44:21.679
But Phyllis didn't have just one DNA test done, but

558
00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:27.320
many because she wasn't satisfied with the results. These later

559
00:44:27.519 --> 00:44:32.400
tests suggested the blue Dog was actually a Mexican wolf

560
00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:37.599
and coyote hybrid, but Phyllis maintained that the creature simply

561
00:44:37.760 --> 00:44:41.480
had too many unique features to be related to these

562
00:44:42.039 --> 00:44:46.719
very real canines. She also stipulated the reason for its

563
00:44:46.760 --> 00:44:52.920
hairlessness was that the species lived underground, despite mange being

564
00:44:53.039 --> 00:44:57.719
a much more likely cause. Quote, we had some bad

565
00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:01.840
floods and that may have forced them above ground, said Phyllis.

566
00:45:03.119 --> 00:45:06.360
Other blue dog sightings have occurred in eastern Texas and

567
00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:10.519
southern Oklahoma, but no others have been caught or studied.

568
00:45:11.679 --> 00:45:14.480
Since we know from the DNA evidence that wolves and

569
00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:19.360
coyotes were possibly breeding in the area, other similar looking

570
00:45:19.480 --> 00:45:24.239
animals existing would seem to make sense. Phillis hoped to

571
00:45:24.320 --> 00:45:27.760
catch another so she could do further DNA testing on

572
00:45:27.880 --> 00:45:31.400
the species, but it seems likely that if she did,

573
00:45:32.159 --> 00:45:36.320
the results would not yield anything that would be considered shocking.

574
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:41.320
In the late two thousands, Texas was a hotbed for

575
00:45:41.400 --> 00:45:45.519
chupacabra sightings. In two thousand and nine, just two years

576
00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:49.239
after the blue Dog, Lynn Butler, a student of the

577
00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:53.599
Blanco Taxidermy School in Blanco, brought a strange animal to

578
00:45:53.719 --> 00:45:57.719
his teacher, Jerry Ayer, to look at. The animal was

579
00:45:57.760 --> 00:46:02.320
thought to be responsible for killing his cousin's chickens. In

580
00:46:02.400 --> 00:46:05.719
an attempt to stop the attacker, His cousin had left

581
00:46:05.800 --> 00:46:09.079
poison in the barn, and upon returning the next day,

582
00:46:09.679 --> 00:46:15.360
found it dead. The hairless, gray, leathery skinned creature wasn't

583
00:46:15.480 --> 00:46:19.440
something they could identify, so Lynn hoped his teacher could

584
00:46:19.480 --> 00:46:23.280
shed some light on just what it was, But Jerry

585
00:46:23.639 --> 00:46:26.119
wasn't sure what to make out of what was in

586
00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:30.280
front of him. Quote. To be honest, I don't know

587
00:46:30.400 --> 00:46:33.719
what it is. I'd probably say it's a freak of nature,

588
00:46:33.800 --> 00:46:37.920
coyote or a hybrid breed with a genetic mutation, he

589
00:46:38.119 --> 00:46:44.000
told the La Times. Unsurprisingly, Jerry decided to taxidermy the animal,

590
00:46:44.519 --> 00:46:49.400
hoping a museum might have interest in it. Quote. It's

591
00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:53.000
definitely something I don't want to throw away. I think

592
00:46:53.079 --> 00:46:56.559
it will be an interesting mount and a tremendous conversation piece,

593
00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:02.719
he explained to KSTAT News. As he had hoped, Jerry

594
00:47:02.840 --> 00:47:05.679
was able to sell the specimen for an undisclosed amount

595
00:47:06.199 --> 00:47:09.639
to John Adolphi for his museum in Phoenix, New York.

596
00:47:10.440 --> 00:47:14.519
As a believer in creationism, Adolphe filled the Lost World

597
00:47:14.679 --> 00:47:19.000
Museum with oddities that he'd collected in an attempt to

598
00:47:19.159 --> 00:47:24.360
disprove evolution. The Blanco Texas chupacabra, as John called it,

599
00:47:24.960 --> 00:47:29.760
was displayed along with other strange creatures, including a cyclops cat.

600
00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:33.119
He hoped to show just how much there is in

601
00:47:33.199 --> 00:47:39.199
the world that science was still unable to explain. Unfortunately

602
00:47:39.320 --> 00:47:42.840
for him, science was actually able to explain the Blanco

603
00:47:42.960 --> 00:47:47.679
Texas chupacabra in two thousand seventeen, with access to a

604
00:47:47.800 --> 00:47:52.960
DNA sample. Researchers at UC Davis concluded that the animal

605
00:47:53.280 --> 00:47:57.920
was again a Mexican wolf and coyote hybrid that may

606
00:47:58.119 --> 00:48:02.320
or may not have had maine, which by now you

607
00:48:02.559 --> 00:48:06.199
may see a pattern forming, but it seems the public

608
00:48:06.760 --> 00:48:12.159
did not. One December afternoon in twenty ten, a strange

609
00:48:12.239 --> 00:48:14.920
animal emerged from the woods into the front yard of

610
00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:19.880
Mark Cothine's property in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky. It was the

611
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:23.679
size of a cat, with large ears, a long tail,

612
00:48:24.079 --> 00:48:30.079
and whiskers, but shockingly completely bald. Suffice it to say

613
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:35.440
it didn't look like anything he'd ever seen before. Quote,

614
00:48:36.119 --> 00:48:40.280
I was like every animal has hair, especially this time

615
00:48:40.360 --> 00:48:44.679
of year, he told Wave three News. What puzzled me

616
00:48:44.840 --> 00:48:48.320
is how something like that could survive through a winter

617
00:48:48.840 --> 00:48:53.519
with no hair. Worried that the animal could be dangerous,

618
00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:58.079
Mark shot and killed it. When he posted photos he'd

619
00:48:58.119 --> 00:49:01.159
taken of it on the internet and any commenters thought

620
00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:06.119
he might have found a chupacabra. Quote. Everybody is leaning

621
00:49:06.280 --> 00:49:10.920
kind of toward that it's the cheopacabra, he laughed. People

622
00:49:11.000 --> 00:49:13.639
have come up to me saying that's what the thing

623
00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:17.360
is because I pulled it up on the Internet. Wanting

624
00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:20.239
to get to the bottom of what the animal actually was,

625
00:49:21.000 --> 00:49:25.039
Mark contacted the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

626
00:49:25.599 --> 00:49:29.679
and agreed to deliver it to them for analysis. Based

627
00:49:29.719 --> 00:49:34.079
on its feet, skull, and dental formation, they were able

628
00:49:34.159 --> 00:49:39.639
to confirm that it was actually a raccoon. The raccoon

629
00:49:39.800 --> 00:49:43.079
didn't appear to have any diseases that could explain why

630
00:49:43.679 --> 00:49:48.039
it was hairless, so the biologist that examined it concluded

631
00:49:48.119 --> 00:49:54.599
that this feature was likely a genetic abnormality. Rounding out

632
00:49:54.639 --> 00:49:58.639
the disproven sightings. Is what occurred in South Carolina in

633
00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:03.559
twenty seventeen. Doug Stewart was playing a round of golf

634
00:50:03.639 --> 00:50:08.079
at Santee Cooper Country Club in Santee, South Carolina, when

635
00:50:08.119 --> 00:50:12.599
he saw a strange gray creature. He took a picture

636
00:50:13.239 --> 00:50:19.039
and immediately posted it to Facebook. Quote Okay, playing golf

637
00:50:19.119 --> 00:50:23.119
in Sante, South Carolina. Can somebody please tell me what

638
00:50:23.360 --> 00:50:28.519
the flock this is? Hashtag that ain't no dog, he

639
00:50:28.639 --> 00:50:32.960
begged his friends in his post. The picture went viral,

640
00:50:33.440 --> 00:50:39.760
and many commenters conjectured that he may have seen a chupacabra. However,

641
00:50:40.599 --> 00:50:44.239
fur bearer project manager for the South Carolina Department of

642
00:50:44.360 --> 00:50:49.280
Natural Resources, Jay but Falowski, immediately identified it as a

643
00:50:49.400 --> 00:50:54.880
canine with mange without examining it in person. He wasn't

644
00:50:54.920 --> 00:51:01.719
sure which, but possibly a coyote or fox. Quote Either way,

645
00:51:02.280 --> 00:51:15.199
it has got mange, he told ABC four. Countless chupacabra

646
00:51:15.400 --> 00:51:19.840
sightings follow this pattern. An eyewitness either takes a picture

647
00:51:20.119 --> 00:51:23.840
or kills a beast they think is the chupacabra, and

648
00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:26.679
it turns out to be an animal common in the area,

649
00:51:27.639 --> 00:51:31.280
usually a dog or coyote, that is hairless. It can

650
00:51:31.400 --> 00:51:34.960
be difficult to recognize an animal without its typical coat,

651
00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:38.239
and even more so with an animal that usually has

652
00:51:38.360 --> 00:51:43.840
such fluffy, recognizable fur, like a raccoon or even a coyote.

653
00:51:44.920 --> 00:51:49.519
While the confusion these naked animals cause is understandable. What

654
00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:53.800
is causing so many hairless wild animals to appear in

655
00:51:53.960 --> 00:51:59.519
such populated areas. While some animals, like the raccoon in

656
00:51:59.639 --> 00:52:04.679
Kentucky are simply genetic anomalies, most of the chupacabra sightings

657
00:52:04.840 --> 00:52:08.480
can and have been attributed to animals with a skin condition.

658
00:52:09.039 --> 00:52:13.559
More specifically, as we've learned with many of these sightings, mange.

659
00:52:14.400 --> 00:52:17.000
There are two types of mange that could cause the

660
00:52:17.079 --> 00:52:22.119
skin issues seen in many of these animals. Demodectic mange

661
00:52:22.599 --> 00:52:28.599
and sarcoptic mange both have very similar symptoms, and analysis

662
00:52:28.639 --> 00:52:31.639
of skin scrapings and the mites under a microscope or

663
00:52:31.760 --> 00:52:36.039
a blood test is needed to determine the type. Mange

664
00:52:36.119 --> 00:52:40.559
is very curable when treated with topical or oral medications.

665
00:52:41.880 --> 00:52:47.400
Demodectic mange, sometimes called red mange or demodex is caused

666
00:52:47.440 --> 00:52:51.320
by the demo dex mte. These parasitic mites live in

667
00:52:51.400 --> 00:52:55.360
the hair follicles of most animals. They usually don't cause

668
00:52:55.400 --> 00:52:59.119
any harm in healthy animals, but when the immune system

669
00:52:59.239 --> 00:53:03.480
is compromised, these mites can spread across the skin rapidly

670
00:53:04.320 --> 00:53:08.360
and start to cause problems. This type of mange is

671
00:53:08.519 --> 00:53:13.519
generally seen in young animals with underdeveloped immune systems, elderly

672
00:53:13.599 --> 00:53:17.159
animals with failing immune systems, and those who are sick

673
00:53:17.360 --> 00:53:22.599
or suffering from malutrition. Demodectic mites can spread from mother

674
00:53:22.760 --> 00:53:25.519
to child in the first few days of life, but

675
00:53:25.719 --> 00:53:31.280
animals with demodectic mange are not contagious. Though demodectic mange

676
00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:35.440
is the most common type seen in dogs, its sarcoptic

677
00:53:35.639 --> 00:53:40.519
mange that's usually mentioned in chupacabra cases, also known as

678
00:53:40.679 --> 00:53:46.719
canine scabies. Sarcoptic mange is caused by Sarcopdis scabii mites,

679
00:53:47.079 --> 00:53:50.199
which burrow tunnels under the animal's outer layer of skin.

680
00:53:51.239 --> 00:53:54.559
The mites use their digestive enzymes to break down and

681
00:53:54.760 --> 00:53:58.719
consume skin tissue, and then the adult female mites lay

682
00:53:58.840 --> 00:54:03.400
eggs in the tunnels they've created. This digging and an

683
00:54:03.440 --> 00:54:07.559
allergic reaction to the mite's saliva and feces cause skin

684
00:54:07.599 --> 00:54:12.239
irritation that leads to intense itching. The affected animal is

685
00:54:12.440 --> 00:54:16.199
likely to lick and scratch at infested areas, sometimes to

686
00:54:16.280 --> 00:54:21.360
the point of self mutilation. Infestations usually start in areas

687
00:54:21.679 --> 00:54:25.320
with thinner skin, such as the head or ears and

688
00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:30.320
then spread. In addition, the areas of affected skin develop

689
00:54:30.400 --> 00:54:35.000
crusty pimples and elevated lesions that then harden and thicken.

690
00:54:36.199 --> 00:54:41.079
Widespread hair loss is also associated with ongoing mange. This

691
00:54:41.360 --> 00:54:44.880
sounds strikingly similar to the description of the Texas blue

692
00:54:44.920 --> 00:54:49.320
dog's skin with its dry, cracked, elephant hide like appearance,

693
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:55.800
and biologists in that case agree. Occasionally, in mange cases,

694
00:54:56.239 --> 00:55:00.800
the animal will also develop secondary bacterial skin infection due

695
00:55:00.840 --> 00:55:05.719
to open lesions caused by scratching. These infections can produce

696
00:55:05.760 --> 00:55:09.719
a foul odour and would also explain the smell sometimes

697
00:55:09.760 --> 00:55:14.719
associated with the chupacabra. Coyotes can live for up to

698
00:55:14.840 --> 00:55:18.599
two years with mange before they either succumb to starvation

699
00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:23.360
or die of a secondary infection. The only real threat

700
00:55:23.440 --> 00:55:28.039
they pose during that time is spreading sarcoptic mange, which

701
00:55:28.119 --> 00:55:32.400
is highly contagious to other canines. It can spread through

702
00:55:32.480 --> 00:55:38.840
direct contact or contaminated environments. Sarcoptic mange can even temporarily

703
00:55:39.000 --> 00:55:44.519
infect humans, causing intense itching, though not for very long,

704
00:55:44.639 --> 00:55:49.559
as this particular version of Sarcoptis scabilli might can't complete

705
00:55:49.679 --> 00:55:54.639
its life cycle outside of canines. Animals with mange may

706
00:55:54.719 --> 00:55:58.119
be too sick to hunt as they regularly would, and

707
00:55:58.280 --> 00:56:02.039
instead go for easier pro even if it means coming

708
00:56:02.079 --> 00:56:07.400
into contact with people. Quote. Because these animals are greatly weakened,

709
00:56:07.719 --> 00:56:10.599
they're going to have a hard time hunting, so they

710
00:56:10.639 --> 00:56:14.519
may be forced into attacking livestock because it's easier than

711
00:56:14.599 --> 00:56:18.400
running down a rabbit or a deer, University of Michigan

712
00:56:18.639 --> 00:56:24.440
biologist Barry O'Connor explained to Manga bay dot com. According

713
00:56:24.559 --> 00:56:29.159
to the Wildlife Rescue Wildlife Care of Southern California, an

714
00:56:29.320 --> 00:56:32.719
organization that has been treating wild coyotes and bobcats for

715
00:56:32.880 --> 00:56:37.840
mange since twenty thirteen, coyotes with mange are active during

716
00:56:37.920 --> 00:56:43.679
the day to avoid competition. In Southern California, these dehydrated

717
00:56:43.760 --> 00:56:47.400
and hungry animals often stand on street corners or in

718
00:56:47.480 --> 00:56:50.239
the middle of the street, waiting for people to feed

719
00:56:50.360 --> 00:56:55.119
them when they can no longer hunt for themselves. Hence,

720
00:56:55.199 --> 00:56:58.679
we find ourselves with a case of mistaken identity of

721
00:56:58.800 --> 00:57:04.159
these disconcerting looks disease coyotes and other canines, But what

722
00:57:04.320 --> 00:57:08.880
of their strange vamporized victims. If you believe mange doesn't

723
00:57:08.960 --> 00:57:13.199
cause animals to suck livestock dry of blood. Well, you

724
00:57:13.239 --> 00:57:17.639
would be correct. However, to this point in time, no

725
00:57:17.920 --> 00:57:21.920
animal that has been necropsied after a chupacabra attack was

726
00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:26.320
found to have actually been drained of blood. This misconception

727
00:57:26.480 --> 00:57:29.719
from eyewitnesses could be due to the lack of blood

728
00:57:29.880 --> 00:57:33.800
found at the bite wounds. While some have argued that

729
00:57:33.880 --> 00:57:36.760
it doesn't make sense for a predator like a coyote

730
00:57:37.079 --> 00:57:40.159
to kill an animal and then not eat it, this

731
00:57:40.480 --> 00:57:45.239
is also not true. According to the Texas Natural Resources Server,

732
00:57:45.800 --> 00:57:51.440
a natural resource management database, both coyotes and dogs, attacks

733
00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:55.840
from which can appear very similar, do sometimes kill animals

734
00:57:55.960 --> 00:58:00.599
and then, either due to inexperience or injuries, end up

735
00:58:00.800 --> 00:58:05.480
not consuming them. Dogs in particular are known to cause

736
00:58:05.559 --> 00:58:09.800
severe injuries to smaller animals without killing them, and are

737
00:58:09.920 --> 00:58:15.000
unlikely to actually eat these animals. That being said, a

738
00:58:15.159 --> 00:58:19.760
large number of these attacked animals die later due to infections,

739
00:58:20.159 --> 00:58:25.639
blood loss, or shock. Whether or not you believe the

740
00:58:25.800 --> 00:58:30.320
scientific communities take on the version of the chupacabra endemic

741
00:58:30.440 --> 00:58:33.719
to the United States since the early two thousands, it

742
00:58:33.880 --> 00:58:38.039
does not seem to explain the original and early sightings

743
00:58:38.079 --> 00:58:44.320
of a reptilian, spike covered monster. Benjamin Radford, managing editor

744
00:58:44.360 --> 00:58:48.239
of The Skeptical Inquirer and author of Tracking the Chupacabra,

745
00:58:48.599 --> 00:58:52.559
The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore, believes the

746
00:58:52.639 --> 00:58:58.440
original chupacabra description is little more than fiction. After combing

747
00:58:58.519 --> 00:59:01.039
through all of the reports of chewing the bacabra sightings

748
00:59:01.079 --> 00:59:04.360
in Puerto Rico, he realized that they all described the

749
00:59:04.519 --> 00:59:08.320
monster in the same way Madeleine Tolentino had in her

750
00:59:08.400 --> 00:59:13.039
nineteen ninety five encounter. Her account, along with a sketch

751
00:59:13.079 --> 00:59:16.840
of the creature, was published in the local newspaper, as

752
00:59:16.960 --> 00:59:20.719
hers was the first documented sighting of the chupacabra. This

753
00:59:20.880 --> 00:59:24.960
striking consistency could lead one to believe that the reports

754
00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.880
were all of something very real and previously unknown, But

755
00:59:30.079 --> 00:59:36.800
Benjamin noticed something strange. Madeleine's description of a gray bipedal

756
00:59:36.920 --> 00:59:41.559
creature with spines on its back had an uncanny resemblance

757
00:59:41.679 --> 00:59:45.679
to the alien human hybrid Sill from the hit nineteen

758
00:59:45.800 --> 00:59:50.960
ninety five science fiction film Species. Benjamin even went as

759
00:59:51.079 --> 00:59:56.519
far as to interview Madeline about her experience. He asked

760
00:59:56.519 --> 00:59:59.400
her if she'd seen the film and she admitted that

761
00:59:59.519 --> 01:00:03.559
she'd seen in a few weeks before her encounter. She'd

762
01:00:03.599 --> 01:00:06.559
even told an interviewer in nineteen ninety seven that the

763
01:00:06.639 --> 01:00:12.480
resemblance between the chupacabra and SCYL was impressive. Quote. You

764
01:00:12.599 --> 01:00:16.039
can make a direct connection between the film hitting theaters,

765
01:00:16.480 --> 01:00:19.360
her seeing the creature in the film, seeing it in

766
01:00:19.440 --> 01:00:23.400
the street, making the report, and entering the public conscious,

767
01:00:24.599 --> 01:00:28.119
he said in an article for Live Science. But if

768
01:00:28.199 --> 01:00:32.639
people weren't seeing an alien like creature, what were they seeing.

769
01:00:33.960 --> 01:00:38.559
Biologist Barry O'Connor has postulated that what was originally seen

770
01:00:38.639 --> 01:00:43.039
in Puerto Rico was a monkey with mange, but there's

771
01:00:43.159 --> 01:00:48.239
far from a consensus. Interestingly enough, the Puerto Rican authorities

772
01:00:48.599 --> 01:00:52.679
had their own theories about the chupacabra, less sensational than

773
01:00:52.719 --> 01:00:56.320
those expressed by the Mayor of canavanas they appeared to

774
01:00:56.400 --> 01:01:00.480
have been discarded by the public and forgotten almost in higherly.

775
01:01:00.639 --> 01:01:06.000
Nearly thirty years later, Hector Garcia of Puerto Rico's Department

776
01:01:06.079 --> 01:01:10.320
of Agriculture Veterinary Services thought there was a good possibility

777
01:01:10.440 --> 01:01:14.880
that the animals slaughtered were victims of dog attacks. He

778
01:01:15.039 --> 01:01:18.360
said there was nothing unusual about the cases and the

779
01:01:18.519 --> 01:01:23.079
animals which his team necropsied also were not drained of

780
01:01:23.199 --> 01:01:28.280
blood as had been claimed. Without pictures or DNA evidence,

781
01:01:28.719 --> 01:01:32.320
we may never know for certain what spurred the original cases,

782
01:01:33.000 --> 01:01:35.599
but it's evident that they are not related to what

783
01:01:35.800 --> 01:01:40.480
became of the chupacabra after How did the description of

784
01:01:40.519 --> 01:01:45.800
this blood sucking monster change so radically. What is abundantly

785
01:01:45.920 --> 01:01:49.239
clear from the story of the chupacabra is that witnesses

786
01:01:49.400 --> 01:01:53.320
in general are not as good at identifying wildlife as

787
01:01:53.360 --> 01:01:57.119
they believe themselves to be. It's important to remember that

788
01:01:57.239 --> 01:02:01.800
the original wave of chupacabra sightings occurred before the omnipresence

789
01:02:02.119 --> 01:02:06.880
of social media. It's likely that, especially during the earlier

790
01:02:07.039 --> 01:02:10.840
years of the chupacabra sightings, those outside of Puerto Rico

791
01:02:11.239 --> 01:02:15.000
had little idea of the description of the creature, especially

792
01:02:15.119 --> 01:02:18.559
those who didn't speak Spanish. So the public in the

793
01:02:18.679 --> 01:02:23.760
United States mainland was aware of some monster attacking livestock

794
01:02:23.840 --> 01:02:28.000
in Puerto Rico, followed quickly by certain communities in Florida

795
01:02:28.239 --> 01:02:32.119
and Texas, but not much more than that. It was

796
01:02:32.320 --> 01:02:36.920
just known as a mysterious, unidentified creature. Because of this,

797
01:02:37.519 --> 01:02:41.280
many who saw animals that couldn't be immediately identified as

798
01:02:41.599 --> 01:02:45.000
something common to the normal landscape, began to use the

799
01:02:45.079 --> 01:02:50.079
term chupacabra to describe them. Since the animal they've seen

800
01:02:50.239 --> 01:02:54.159
also defies identification, calling it the name of something else

801
01:02:54.280 --> 01:02:57.239
they couldn't make sense of seemed like a safe bet.

802
01:02:58.400 --> 01:03:01.559
It's as if the chupacabra just became the catch all

803
01:03:01.760 --> 01:03:06.800
term for all unidentified four legged animals instead of a

804
01:03:06.880 --> 01:03:11.039
cryptid with a set of very specific traits. Add to

805
01:03:11.159 --> 01:03:14.400
this that most of the animals causing the confusion and

806
01:03:14.679 --> 01:03:18.760
livestock attacks were canines with mange. By the time photos

807
01:03:18.800 --> 01:03:23.360
were being highly shared and publicized, that chupacabra had completely

808
01:03:23.480 --> 01:03:28.559
morphed into an emaciated, hairless dog. The proof of what

809
01:03:28.800 --> 01:03:33.079
does exist based on very real evidence collected, should give

810
01:03:33.159 --> 01:03:36.559
us pause when encountering an animal that we're unfamiliar with.

811
01:03:37.440 --> 01:03:40.400
It's important to suss out what is dangerous and what

812
01:03:40.559 --> 01:03:43.719
is something that actually needs our help before we act.

813
01:03:44.519 --> 01:03:47.000
But can we say without a shadow of a doubt

814
01:03:47.400 --> 01:03:51.000
that every sighting of the chupacabra has been a misidentified

815
01:03:51.079 --> 01:03:55.599
coyote with mange or some other disfigured and suffering animal.

816
01:03:56.639 --> 01:04:01.440
Of course, not every year previously unknown species are discovered,

817
01:04:01.960 --> 01:04:06.000
so why not the chupacabra. As with any creature in

818
01:04:06.079 --> 01:04:09.400
the realm of cryptozoology, there is no real way to

819
01:04:09.519 --> 01:04:13.800
prove it does not exist as an alien, an escaped

820
01:04:13.840 --> 01:04:18.360
experiment in genetic modification, or even a very real and

821
01:04:18.519 --> 01:04:23.199
yet to be discovered animal. The chupacabra could be out there.

822
01:04:24.000 --> 01:04:27.440
It may be waiting in the vast reaches of space

823
01:04:28.280 --> 01:04:33.519
or the dark, untamed wilderness for a time when we

824
01:04:33.679 --> 01:04:38.280
all get a little too comfortable so it can attack

825
01:04:39.159 --> 01:04:44.079
once again. Terrifying and True is narrated by Enrique Kuta.

826
01:04:44.440 --> 01:04:48.440
It's executive produced by Rob Fields, Mark Shields and Boboltopia

827
01:04:48.559 --> 01:04:52.400
dot com. It's produced by Dan Wilder with original music

828
01:04:52.760 --> 01:04:55.280
by Ray Mattis. If you have a story you'd like

829
01:04:55.400 --> 01:04:57.960
us to cover, send us an email at Weekly Spooky

830
01:04:58.239 --> 01:05:00.280
at gmail dot com, and if you want us ordis

831
01:05:00.320 --> 01:05:02.760
directly for as little as one dollar a month, simply

832
01:05:02.840 --> 01:05:06.480
go to Weeklyspooky dot com and click on Patreon. Your

833
01:05:06.639 --> 01:05:10.519
support helps us keep the podcast going and growing, and

834
01:05:10.639 --> 01:05:12.559
speaking of I want to say an extra special thank

835
01:05:12.599 --> 01:05:15.519
you to our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who pay us

836
01:05:15.559 --> 01:05:17.119
a little bit more to hear their name at the

837
01:05:17.199 --> 01:05:20.119
end of the show, and they are Johnny Nicks, Jenny Green,

838
01:05:20.239 --> 01:05:23.400
Amber Hansford, Brent McCullough, Karen We met, Jack Kerr and

839
01:05:23.599 --> 01:05:26.199
Craig Cohen. Thank you all so much, and thank you

840
01:05:26.320 --> 01:05:29.079
all for listening. We'll see you right here next time

841
01:05:29.599 --> 01:05:32.239
on Terrifying and True, on Weekly Spooky