Fact vs. Fiction: El Chupacabra
In Spanish, El Chupacabra translates directly to “the goat sucker”. This little monster definitely lives up to his name, as he’s been feeding off of precious livestock from family farms in Puerto Rico and Mexico since 1995, when he was first discovered. In this article, we’ll learn a little more about El Chupacabra and talk about what’s real and what’s not.
1.) Fiction
El Chupacabra is a reptilian type of creatureFact
While one of the first sightings of this little monster definitely described a larger breed of reptile with enormous red eyeballs with spikes running along its back, this has been seriously debunked. Probably more than coincidentally, right before the first sighting of El Chupacabra was reported, the movie Species hit theaters everywhere, and the description given to authorities resembled the fictional main monster in the film. While there was some type of creature killing off the livestock in the area, it certainly was no sort of reptilian creature. There have been no reported carcasses ever produce that match this description.2.)
Fiction: El Chupacabra only attacks goats and no other types of livestock.Fact
While El Chupacabra predominantly seems to prefer goats, it has been known to attack all types of livestock. Cows, chickens, sheep, birds, horses, and even family dogs and cats have fallen victim to having the blood sucked out of it by El Chupacabra.3.) Fiction
El Chupacabra is one of Satan’s pets who got lost and is trying to find his way back into hell.Fact
If you had something that was literally sucking the blood out of the livestock you used to earn a living, you would probably think that you had fallen victim to some evil, supernatural occurrence, right? Well, you would be wrong. While this is long standing belief in terms of El Chupacabra, there is no type of scientific evidence supported to suggest that this destructive animal came from anywhere besides earth. It does not leave any type of satanic markings or has given any other type of sign that it holds any sort of affiliation with the devil. However, it is understandable where that notion may have come from as blood sucking is a rather macabre way to eat.4.) Fiction
The monster is able to suck the blood out of its’ animal victims by putting them in a hypnotic type of stateFact
It seems a little far-fetched, but we really have no evidence to debunk this. Many different types of animals have evolutionary traits (think about the black widow spider) that enable them to capture their prey more quick and efficiently. This could very well be something that the El Chupacabra does in order to sustain itself.5.) Fiction
El Chupacabra is an alien type of dog.Fact
This second half of this statement may be one of the most plausible yet. While many people do believe that this is an alien creature, in more recent times, many creatures found matching the description of the specimens turned over to investigators match that of a coyote or a wolf that has contracted mange. Mange is a disease that most creatures in the dog family—such as wolves and coyotes-- are born with if not treated quickly and properly. If the animal is born into the wild and proper veterinary care cannot be provided, by the time the animal reaches the age of about two or three, it will take over the skin, resulting in the animal to intensely itch itself. After months of extensive itching, all of the hair will fall off, revealing a gray/navy blue colored scalp like skin underneath. While these animals that have mange don’t act rabid, wolves and coyotes are not only carnivorous (meaning that they eat other animals), but they are strictly nocturnal. Therefore, it’s no surprise that a hungry coyote with mange would attack one’s cows at night—it’s just doing what it does best. Mexico and Puerto Rico have areas that are higher saturated with wolves and coyotes, further calming the hearts of those who live in fear of El Chupacabra that this creature is not actually the pet of the devil or an alien.Conclusively, the legend of El Chupacabra has barely been around for twenty years, but its effects in Mexico and Puerto Rico are substantial. It’s similar to how Virginians in the United States view the Mothman, or how the Scottish view the Loch Ness Monster. As terrifying as it may appear, some animals just take darker routes to sustaining life than others—we just have to accept that fact.