The Chupacabra,
Also called el Chupacabras (pronunciation: /t?upa'kab?as/, from the Spanish words chupar, meaning "to suck", and cabra, meaning "goat"; literally "goat sucker") is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas.
It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico (where these sightings were first reported),Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities.[1]
The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1990 in Puerto Rico, and have since been reported as far north as Maine, and as far south as Chile. It is supposedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail. Biologists and wildlife management officials view the Chupacabra as a contemporary legend.[2]
The first reported attacks occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico.[3] In this attack, eight sheep were discovered dead, each with three puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood.[3] In 1975, similar killings in the small town of Moca, were attributed to El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca).[4] Initially it was suspected that the killings were committed by a Satanic cult; later more killings were reported around the island, and many farms reported loss of animal life. Each of the animals had their bodies bled dry through a series of small circular incisions.
Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term "chupacabras" soon after the first incidents were reported in the press.[5] Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as: the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Brazil, the United States, and Mexico.[3]
The most common description of Chupacabra is a reptile-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back.[17] This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo.[18] In at least one sighting, the creature was reported to hop 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. It is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sulfuric stench.[18] When it screeches, some reports assert that the chupacabra's eyes glow an unusual red which gives the witnesses nausea.
Another description of Chupacabra, although not as common, describes a strange breed of wild dog.[18] This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. It is claimed that this breed might be an example of a dog-like reptile. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabra is said to drain all of the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole or two holes.[19]