Etymology
The name translates to 'goat sucker' in Spanish, originated from the creature's earliest attacks, where goats and other livestock are found with puncture wounds on their necks and most of their blood drained.
Places
Originated in Puerto Rico in the township of Canóvanas, numerous sightings locate him in the United States, Central America (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala) and South America (Brazil, Chile). The species would dwell underneath the soil in cave-like structures whose origins and makeup are currently unknown. Other pretends that they come from the future or a 5th dimension.
Description
There are several variations of what people believe the Chupacabra to look like. The current theory is that it is a bipedal creature around four to five feet tall described as a sort of a cross between a 'Grey' alien humanoid, mainly because the shape of its head and eyes, and what most witnesses describe as the body of a bipedal, erect dinosaur.
It has two small arms with a three-fingered clawed hand, two strong hind almost reptilian legs, again with three claws and spinal quills down its back, which it uses to fly. This appears to enable it to run quickly and leap over trees. Its head is oval in shape and has an elongated jaw.
Two red or black beady eyes have been reported, together with small holes in the nostril area, a small slit-like mouth with fang-type teeth protruding upwards and downwards from the jaw.
It appears to have strong course hair all over its body; and whilst most observers claim the hair is black, it has the remarkable ability to change colors at will, almost like a chameleon. In the dark, it will change to black or a deep brown color; in a sunlit area surrounded by vegetation, it changes to green, green-grey, light brown or beige.
Some believes it to be a half-man, half-beast vampire, while still others say it is similar to a panther with red eyes and the tongue of a snake.
Another version is that it hops like a kangaroo and smells like sulfur.
Origin
The Alien Theory
One speculation of the Chupacabras' origin is that it is either an offshoot or an abandoned pet of other intelligent beings that came to Earth a long time ago.
Luminous oval and pyramidal shaped UFOs have been seen in the vicinity where animals have been mutilated and found to be without blood. These have been reported in the towns of Cabo Rojo, Canovanas, Ponce and Naranjito. In Barrio Hato, the Rojas family observed a UFO. A horse and several goats were found mutilated shortly after the observation.
Disinformation and debunking campaigns appeared organized through UFO groups stating "Chupacabras" belong to a voracious reptilian race of creatures, alien in origin, who have started "devouring the populace.
The Experiment Theory
The Chupacabras is also believed to be the result of secret government experiments in genetics. Some pretend that the lethal 'orange agent' and other dioxine-based chemical agents as well as gamma radiation tests have been tested in several places by the US Government on the island's population and territory for decades.Knowing that thanks to genetic manipulations, incredible new breeds of animals and plants, it is quite possible that the "Chupacabras" could have been developed by humans.
The Vampire Theory
The Chupacabra was once believed to be El Vampire de Moco, another legendary mauler of animals of Puerto Rico which turned out to be crocodiles illegally released onto the island.
The Other Dimension/Time Theory
The Chupacabras, or aliens that we are seeing would be humans of the future.... our own children.... traveling through time in order to prevent the chemical crisis that caused them to evolve into "chupacabras. Our future-humans arrive at critical times in order to either warn us or attempt to prevent the progress of the technology that will go awry and cause physical mutations.
The Wild Animals Theory
Throughout the killings, the authorities have claimed the deaths are due to attacks from groups of stray dogs, baboons or exotic animals illegally introduced in the island's territory. The director of Puerto Rico's Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services Division, Hector Garcia, has stated that, "it could be dogs, that the small puncture wounds observed in the victims necks are similar to those inflicted by the fangs of canines." He also stated that no other unusual features have been observed in the dead animals examined by his division, and this included no loss of blood. Veterinarian Angel Luis Santana, of the private Gardenville Clinic, in San Juan, said, "it could be a human being who belongs to a religious sect, even another animal. It could also be someone who wants to make fun out of the Puerto Rican people. Loren Coleman agrees and is comfortable with the wild dog explanation. "Dog packs tend to do that, go on frenzied attacks, eat a little, then leave the rest."
Evidence
The corpses of chupacabra's victims have been found with many small but regular pattern circular holes about 1/4" - 1/2" in diameter arranged in pairs of triangular fashion. These particular openings have been located in the neck, chest, belly, and anal areas, and appear to have been made with a surgeon’s scalpel. There are also reports of certain organs missing from the victims, yet no visible means of extraction was found on the bodies. Reproductive, sexual organs, anus, eyes and other soft tissue have sometimes been removed.
The wounds may be similar in appearance to bites inflicted by dogs or baboons due to them being round and small, but the similarity ends there. These wounds penetrate through the right jawbone, muscle and tissue, and straight into the brain, more specifically directly to the cerebellum, puncturing it and causing instant death to the animal. This reveals a type of euthanasia technique, for this method prevents the attacked animal from suffering.
When the wounds appear on the sides and belly of the victim, the penetration usually cuts through the stomach, down to the liver, apparently removing sections of the organ and absorbing liquid from it. The wall of the wound seems also to have been cauterized apparently to prevent excessive blood loss and no natural inflammatory processes have been observed in the dead animals tissues. Moreover there are no trauma, abrasions, scratches, bites or pressure observed by the examiners on the opposite side of the wound. In most cases the victims lack rigor mortis and remain flexible, days after their death. Incredibly in some incidents, the blood, which remained in the body, would not clot or coagulate for days following death.
Sightings
El Chupacabras was preceded by a Puerto Rican monster known as the Moca Vampire, which had been reported in conjunction with a rash of UFO sightings in 1975. A number of farmers discovered animals massacred after strange lights appeared in the sky. Investigators examining the slain animals, which included ducks, goats, geese and cows, noted with astonishment that they had been completely drained of blood with almost surgical precision. The Moca Vampire was apparently never sighted firsthand, but it was generally admitted that illegally-imported crocodiles were responsible for the killings.
In March 1995, the Puerto Rican towns of Orocovis and Morovis began to be plagued by some force that was mysteriously murdering their animals. The carcasses of goats, chickens and other small farm animals were reported to be thoroughly exsanguinated, with the blood often said to have been drained out through a single neat puncture wound.
Sightings and slain livestock continued to be reported in various parts of Puerto Rico throughout the fall of 1995. The Goatsucker allegedly killed 11 goats in the town of San German, and on one occasion a group of townspeople said they chased the creature away as it was attempting to kill three roosters. In Guanica, 44-year-old Osvaldo Claudio Rosado claimed to have been grabbed from behind by a gorilla. Puerto Rico has no gorillas. After fighting off the creature, Rosado needed treatment for scratches and cuts around his torso. In Canovanas, seemingly an epicenter of Chupacabras activity with more than 150 animal slayings reported in 1995. Several witnesses have seen it in broad daylight. One such occasion was witnessed by Madeline Tolentino and her neighbours in the Campo Rico community (municipality of Canovanas). They all observed it walking down a street at 3.00 pm in the afternoon. As they approached it, the creature ran away, 'at a fantastic speed' and escaped. Mayor Jose "Chemo" Soto raised an army of volunteers and personally hunted every week for Chupa during nearly a year, armed with rifles and a caged goat. He failed to catch it but was, however, re-elected.
Since then, the Chupacabras has been blamed in the deaths of over 2000 animals ranging from other livestock to household pets. Puerto Rico is no longer the exclusive playground of the creature. Through the Spanish-speaking media, the story traveled through Mexico and the United States, leading to sightings of the beast in several cities including Miami, New York, San Antonio, Cambridge, and San Francisco. 69 chickens, goats and ducks were found dead on a Florida lawn, again with their blood drained. Michigan and Oregon suffered subsequent attacks. A rash of bloodsuckings in Mexico created a minor media sensation by late 1996. In October of 1999, Brazil's Corriero Braziliense newspaper reported nine goats and three sheep dead with single wounds on the neck. Other Brazilian eyewitnesses claimed to have seen an animal that fly or leap with powerful, monkey-like hind legs, attacking animals and humans both. In April of 2000, farmers in Calamain, a mining town in the heart of Chile's harsh northern desert, awoke to find their goats and sheep dead in their pens. An unidentified predator had mutilated the animals' necks and sucked their blood. Calama officials quickly called in the National Guard. Hundreds of armed soldiers undertook a massive search of the area, hunting the Chupacabra. Night patrols, however, found nothing; neither the beast, nor the puma skeptics believed was the real killer. By late June, an official Chilean government statement had blamed the attacks on wild dogs.