The chupacabra is described as a blood-sucking killer of livestock, especially goats and sheep. Recent reports of it seem to have originated in Puerto Rico, where in March 1995 eight sheep were discovered dead. Each had three puncture wounds in its chest cavity and there was little or no blood left in the body.

In August of 1995, Madelyne Tolentino saw the creature in the Puerto Rican town of Canóvanas, where over a hundred animals had been killed in a similar manner. In the time since, more farms have reported losing livestock to the blood-sucking predator.

Over time, reports have been made in thirteen other countries, from as far north as Maine in the U.S. to as far south as Chile and the descriptions of it vary considerably. It is often described as a heavy animal about the size of a small bear, with a row of spikes running almost the entire length of its backbone.

In Elmendorf, Texas, rancher Devin McAnally shot and killed a mysterious looking creature that was attacking his livestock in July, 2004. The creature became known as the Elmendorf Beast and was later proven to be of the canine family, though never specifically identified. The creature weighed only twenty pounds, was severely undernourished, had a severe overbite and no hair. A month later, two other carcasses were found and determined to be those of undernourished coyotes, suffering from severe mange.

In March, 2005, Russia became a hunting ground for an animal that preyed on livestock in the same manner as described in previous reports from around the world. Over thirty turkeys and the same number of sheep had been killed and their blood drained in a rural area of central Russia. The local government started an unsuccessful effort to find the beast.

In August, 2006, Michelle O’Donnell found a rodent-like animal with fangs. It was lying dead beside the road, apparently struck by a car near Turner, Maine. Photos were taken of the animal, but it remained unidentified. It appeared to have been a member of the canine family, though unlike any known fox or wolf in the area. For years, there had been reports from Maine of a mysterious animal attacking and killing dogs.

In May, 2007, there were reports from the region of Boyaca in Columbia that over 300 sheep had been killed in the same manner as described in previous reports.

In Cuero, Texas in August of 2007, Phylis Canion and her neighbors found three carcasses of very strange looking animals outside her property. She had lost almost 30 chickens to some unknown predator over the previous months and she could see how this could have been the culprit. She photographed the animals’ remains and put the head of one in her freezer. Texas state mammologist, John Young received copies of the pictures and guessed that the animals in the photos were grey foxes that were suffering from a severe case of mange, leaving them hairless. In November, researchers at the Texas State University at San Marcos, Texas conducted DNA testing on the samples from the carcasses. Their determination was that the animals were coyotes, though they had grayish-blue skin, almost no hair and large fangs. The animals were quickly associated with the legend of the chupacabra, though their appearance could have been easily accredited to genetic mutation, which occurs in nature. However, the appearance of three such animals in one location, at the same time, seemed to add a more convincing twist to the legend of the chupacabra.

On August 8, 2008, while on duty, Deputy Brandon Riedel of the DeWitt County, Texas Sheriff’s Office caught an unusual animal on his dash-mounted video camera. It appeared to be the size of a coyote and was hairless with a long snout. It had short front legs and long back legs, a description that seemed to contradict some of the previous descriptions that gave the animal long front legs. After careful review, Sheriff Jode Zavesky believed that it was the same species of coyote described by the Texas State University researchers involved in the Phylis Canion case. To see Deputy Riedel's video on Youtube, click here.

In September of 2009, CNN showed video containing views of an unidentified animal that many believed to be a chupacabra. A Texas taxidermy instructor had the body. A former student of taxidermy was having problems with some unknown animal raiding his barn, so he set out poison in hopes of stopping the animal. The animal consumed the poison and died. The taxidermist believed it to have been a genetically mutated coyote.

CONCLUSION: Based on the number of reports seen already, there will be more in the future. Is it really a vampire-like monster as some say or is it a mutant? The ones found in Texas have so far tested out to be unusual members of the canine family. Some guesses are that it was a badly undernourished Mexican hairless dog, called the Xolo. Others have it as a coyote or wolf. At any rate, it appears to be a form of canine, at least of the ones documented. It may even be a new breed of canine.

Other descriptions of the chupacabra depict it as a reptile-like creature and some like a small bear. When superstitions are added the descriptions become more and more muddled. In either case, it's clear that two or more animals are being described. But, as it now stands, the chupacabra that is mostly publicly shown is probably a canine, as stated by researchers at Texas State University.

For the History Channel's report on unexplained creatures, including the chupacabra, click here.