Here's the article ...

S.A. Zoo Weighs-In on Chupacabra Debate[/URL]

what do you think ?

[ February 05, 2005, 03:29 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

Beckboo, I couldn't get the video version of the story to come up, but I did read the article. If you don't mind, scroll down to my "Baltimore Critter" thread and see if the animals look similar to the one I posted the link to.

The theory of it being a cross between a coyote and dog is one that my husband originally thought regarding my encounter a few months ago. I would love to know if the one in the story was reported to have made any odd sounds.

Chupacabre, no, but I do think this may be some sort of hybrid or previously unrecognized species. Interesting!

I managed to get the video working, at one point they said that the only hair it had was along its spine, and from seeing its skin at a certain point I swear I saw little brownish coloured patches of skin. Hyenas have lots of fur along their spine and speckels too, maybe it could be the result of a coyote breeding with something who had a hyena or half hyena parent ?

I was finally able to get the video working also. The animal they pictured was very similar, but not quite what I saw. To me, the animal in this story almost resembled a small deer. This has got to be some sort of hybrid. How weird!

As for the hyena theory, it may be more possible than one would think. I've heard of all sorts of stories regarding people in rural areas keeping exotic animals then turning them loose when they get tired of them, can no longer care for them, or someone threatens to turn them in. Earlier this year, rumors were running rampant about someone who had turned a pair of African lions loose in our area.

Does anyone know where I can find a picture of the skull they where showing in that news vid link ?


EDIT: the Vid link seems to have stopped working for me, I can't get up the window anymore.


http://www.nbc10.com/news/3591072/detail.html[/URL]

A Baltimore veterinarian said he thought it was a dog with mange and an official from the Department of Natural Resources believed it was a fox.

However, e-mails from Australia, South Africa and Alaska have labeled the animal as a razorback hog, a hyena, an aardwolf, a coyote, a capybara, a Mexican hairless dog, a warthog, a wolf, or an African wild dog.

Some people say the animal is a previously thought extinct Tasmanian Wolf.

The creature -- or one similar to it -- has also allegedly been spotted in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Texas and even England.

[ August 27, 2004, 07:27 AM: Message edited by: RuFus ShinRa ]

Rufus, that is amazing. I'm going to try to see what more I can find out about this thing. I was reading this to my husband, and he was actually familiar with some of the names of the animals you mentioned.

IF it was a razorback, it would have to have been a starving one. We have plenty of wild hogs here and they are HUGE!!! I can't imagine one in this part of the country going hungry.

I'm also not buying that it was a dog or fox, at least not the one that I saw. The head was shaped differently than any dog I've ever seen, and the legs were much longer than those of a fox.

In the link on my thread about it, one man who was interviewed likened it to something out of Lord of the Rings. That's been the most accurate description I've heard so far.

I was looking at pictures of aardwolfs earlier they look like a miniture relative of the hyena but it isn't, still I reckon I might have to change my oppinions and my switch the hyena idea for an aardwolf one.

Edit: I was reading a related topic on a cryptozoology site and someone said it reminds them of a tiny Warg from LOTR :-P

[ August 27, 2004, 01:10 PM: Message edited by: RuFus ShinRa ]

Hmmmm...that is interesting. What I saw sure didn't look like a fox. The legs were so much longer than any fox I'd ever seen. Thanks for the link RuFus!

Just an update: One of these animals was shot in the county that neighbors were we live. When photos were taken of it, immediately after it was shot, part of the ear broke off and crumbled! EEEWWWWW!

They are sending tissue off for analysis, but right now, people are speculating that it could be a coyote or some type of rare canine, or even some type of really odd hybrid. There is even some speculation that the fallout from the spaceshuttle a few years back may have caused some type of odd mutations in these animals. I emailed the newspaper and told them about my encounter this summer and the odd noise the animal had made; I don't know if that is significant or not. I'm curious about what they find!

My husband and I seen something we both agree to look similiar to the alleged chupacapra. It was in 1995, at a park in Logsden, Oregon. We both know what we saw. We are both highly rational people. To this day we dont know exactly what it was we saw.

I tend to agree with RuFus on this one. It looks more like a Hyena, than it does any kind of dog I have ever seen. I grew up watching nothing but animal planet and other animal shows on tv, and what I can see is that it doesn't look, like a coyote, wolf, or any other dog type of species. Especially since it has the very long sharp canine teeth. This is only my personal opinion, so who knows it could be due to waste or chemicals like Carrie said, in this day in age with what people are doing to the planet the genes might have just mutated in some way forming this new bredd of canine. I wouldn't doubt somewhere out there someone even has one of these "dogs" as a pet. Brings new meaning to "Lassie" huh, lol!

Ok, just what is a Chupacabra; it sounds like something from the dog family, but what is the story behind it?

I did notice there's a movie by that title.

Just from what I know, the legend of the Chupacabra originated in Puerto Rico. "Chupacabra" translates to "blood sucker" and was the name given a mysterious creature thought to be responsible for cattle and animal mutilations in which organs may have been removed and very little blood was present in the corpse. People started claiming they had seen these mostly nocturnal creatures, which range widely in description from reptilian to canine like in their appearance -- but different.

As I understand it, the belief in them has been around for some time in the Hispanic and South American cultures, but was relatively slow in making its way to North America. Here in Southeast Texas, I've heard a lot of Chupacabra jokes in the last 10 years or so.

Whether what I and others saw was an actual "Chupacabra", I haven't the foggiest idea. It was different from anything I'd ever seen before, that's for sure. I had always dismissed the Chupacabra as a myth, but who knows? There are things that we just can't explain.

Hey Ghost! These may help...


TLC - Chupacabra[/URL]


El chupacabra[/URL]


Cryptozoo - Chupacabra[/URL]


Skeptic's Dictionary Chupacabra[/URL]