The Chupacabra Legend
Legends of bloodsucking creatures have been present in many cultures throughout history. One vampire-like creature that has been gaining a considerable amount of notoriety is the Chupacabra.
The literal translation for the Spanish word "chupacabra" is "goat sucker." This creature has been a constant conundrum to cryptozoologists (scientists who study animals that may or may not be real) in North and South America for more than 50 years. With sightings in various regions of Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States, this is one well-traveled beast. An anomaly since the early 1950s, the Chupacabra was at its height of notoriety in the 1990s -- even surpassing such longtime favorites as Nessy (the Loch Ness monster) and Bigfoot.
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In this article, we'll look at the legend of El Chupacabra and some reports of sightings and incidents.
Alleged reports of attacks and incidents perpetrated by the Chupacabra always involve livestock killings and slain domestic animals with telltale puncture wounds on their necks. A blood sucking vampire beast roaming the night.
Originally, owners of the victims thought the Chupacabra to be a half-human, half-vampire beast. The victims, most often goats and chickens, are reportedly drained of all their blood, but are otherwise left intact. There is usually no other evidence of a struggle or attack -- simply two or sometimes three puncture marks (almost large enough to accommodate a human finger) in the animal's neck. The discrepancy of puncture marks could be attributed to this:
- Some reports indicate two large protruding fangs.
- Some reports indicate three large claws on both the hands and feet.
Stories suggesting Chupacabra activity can be found in newspapers dating back to the 1950s. In fact, the first reported case in North America was in Arizona sometime around 1956. Although incidents have been reported in Arizona, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Florida, and parts of Chile, Brazil and Mexico, the majority of activity has occurred in Puerto Rico. A rash of attacks plagued various regions of Puerto Rico in 1995. In Canovanas alone, several hundred livestock fatalities were attributed to the Chupacabra.
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