The chupacabra is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas, with the first sightings reported in Puerto Rico. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats, with the literal translation of the name meaning 'goat sucker'.
Physical descriptions of the creature vary. It is purportedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail. They can be green in colour and the best depiction of this creature would be the Sleestak in Land of the Lost movie starring Will Ferral. Though these creatures have one thick spine on the top of the head, they are of a similar colouring and shape to the initial views of eyewitnesses.
The most common description of the chupacabra is that of a reptile-like creature, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. This form is approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a fashion similar to that of a kangaroo. 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 to leave behind a sulfuric stench. When it screeches, some reports assert that its eyes glow an unusual red which gives the witnesses nausea.
Another description of chupacabras, although not as common, describes a strange breed of wild dog. 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) usually through three holes in the shape of an upside-down triangle or through one or two holes.
Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1995 in Puerto Rico, and have since been reported as far north as Maine, and as far south as Chile, and even being spotted outside the Americas in countries like Russia and the Philippines, but many of the reports have been disregarded as uncorroborated or lacking evidence. Sightings in northern Mexico and the southern United States have been verified as canids afflicted by mange(Canidae). Biologists and wildlife management officials view the chupacabra as a contemporary legend.
The first reported attacks occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico. In this attack, eight sheep were discovered dead, each with three puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood.A few months later, in August, an eyewitness reported seeing the creature in the Puerto Rican town of Canóvanas, when as many as 150 farm animals and pets were reportedly killed. 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 was reported to have had its body bled dry through a series of small circular incisions.
Recently reports appeared of chupakabra-like attacks in the Moscow region of Russia with dozens of birds and animals found bloodless, with strange incisions. At least twice the mysterious kangaroo-like creature ('with a crocodile head') attacked humans, causing no serious damage. According to Chernobrov, the two extraordinary things about chupakabras' ways are that the thing leaves a 'vanishing' line of footprints, looking as if it takes off as a bird, and also it tends occasionally to assort its victim's bodies 'aesthetically', often by colour and size, or build pyramids with killed bodies.
Michelle O'Donnell of Turner, Maine, described an 'evil looking' rodent-like animal with fangs that had been found dead alongside a road. The animal was apparently struck by a car, and was unidentifiable.
