Fantasy Castle Gifts
Fantasy gifts from posters & figurines to tapestries & waterfalls.


Bringing Myths and Legends to Life...

Lady Gryphon's Mythical Realm Presents

 

 

 

Subscribe
Mythical Realm Blog
Myth, Fantasy, History and Sci-Fi News
Chupacabra Road Kill
Carcass adds to chupacabra lore in Texas
June 04, 2008
The South Texas hunt for el chupacabra continues.

The dread of south-of-the-border goatherds -- chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish -- became an Internet-fueled topic last summer when three hairless doglike creatures became road kill south of Cuero in DeWitt County.

Another met a similar fate May 8, this time north of Cuero. The man who claimed it turned it over to Phylis Canion, whose ranch south of Cuero is near where the original three were killed.

Canion, a nutritionist and owner of a retail sportswear shop, has become known around the world as the "Chupacabra Lady," after selling thousands of T-shirts to commemorate last summer's findings.

"The guy called me," she said, "and he said 'I got one, you want it?' So he brings it in, and I'm saying, 'Whoa, dude, this one looks like mine!'

"Now we're talking."

The South Texas version of the chupacabra mystery might have ended late last year when DNA tests requested by Canion stated that the creature was Canis latrans, or a common coyote. A few skeptics have added that sarcoptic mange probably caused the animals' hairlessness.

Perhaps, Canion said, there is no supernatural component to the legend of the fanged monster with fiery red eyes, big claws, and distinct ridge along its spine.

Maybe, she added, there's a scientific explanation for the mythical creature, which would make it a cryptid -- an animal whose existence has been reported but not confirmed.

"I never disputed that it did not have some sort of coyote in it," Canion said of the tests conducted at Texas State University at San Marcos. "What I disputed was the tests were not involved or detailed enough to tell me what else could have been in it.

"Or why it had no hair."

Another round of tests was ordered, this time at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, which specializes in animal forensic science.

The UC Davis lab stated that the animal was a cross between coyote and Mexican wolf.

Wolves, Canion said, sometimes have blue eyes, as did her "chupe." Peepers like that, she asserted, can reflect red in the glare of goatherds' lantern or flashlight.

Canion, a nutritionist, said the animal's diet may provide an explanation for its proclivity to suck blood. She said she lost dozens of chickens that were sucked dry of their blood.

She suggested that the animals might crave blood because of a vitamin deficiency that is being passed to their offspring.

The DNA tests did not explain why the creature had no fur except for some wisps of hair along its back. Those strands, however, could explain the back ridge in the chupacabra legend, she said.

Perhaps, Canion added, the animal carries a baldness gene.

"Could this thing be genetically hairless and it got passed on?" she asked. A pathology expert at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, however, had another explanation.

"Sarcoptic mange -- that's exactly what it is," Dr. Danny B. Pence said, referring to an infestation of tiny burrowing mites in the skin.

Canion said she wants UC Davis to test the carcass she received May 8.

"I don't know," Canion said, "maybe now we've finally found the chupacabra."

Resource Star-Telegram.com
Posted in categories:
[Mythical Creatures]
Comments
Added by jaayjaay on October 13, 2008
i doubt you found a chupacabra because if you did then you would be eaten. lol.
Added by lucy on October 10, 2008
where i am from there is this guy that says that he hunts the chupacabras.
Added by scott on October 07, 2008
I BELEVE
Added by Itchy on October 05, 2008
Late night, long drive home. saw somthing looking like a small yetie with some horns? Didnt want to question whatever it was any further, that kinda stuff gives me bad dreams... Hope this helps
Added by Zack on September 24, 2008
My friend thoought that chupacabra was Chubaca like in starwars and when we were camping he sed he saw it
Added by Daron on September 18, 2008
my friend Parker told me he saw the chopacabra in atlanta,goerga my home town.
Added by Patricia on September 02, 2008
Found the Chupacabra!!! I knew it was real!! ............ hee :)
Add a Comment
Name:
Comment:
Mythical Creatures
ArchivesCategories

Web MythicalRealm.com

 
Fantasy Shopping: Fantasy Castle Gifts & Collectibles.
 

Mythical Realm Site Map

Original artists hold/own all copyrights to the images. I intend no threat to any copyrights -- Painting Artists: if you would like copyright info added or you would like the image removed, please feel free to . Lady Gryphon's Mythical Realm.

© Copyright MythicalRealm.com 1998-2008. All Rights Reserved.