Chupacabra News Report - Correct link, page 1

This seems to be my mantra on this forum, but that sounds like a cougar.

Cougars are native of New Mexico, have "long furry tails," "big furry bodies," and are capable of leaping that distance--in fact, they're well-known for it. They can leap an average of 20-30 feet, twice that leaping up. It's not unheard of for a cougar to come into an urban or suburban neighborhood and begin making off with pets.

Even if it's not a cougar, it's not a chupacabra. Let's think logically here for a second:

Carcasses: The MO is not the same as what's been reported before. The carcasses were not found with the blood drained, nor were the usual punture marks present. In fact, by the sound of that story, the carcasses have not been found at all.

Counterpoint: Cougars bury what they don't eat, so that they can come back later and finish off the kill. If the animals were not consumed immediately, they're concealed somewhere. Finding them won't be easy.

Description: Taken from here: "[La Chupacabra] stands three to four feet tall, has a flexible row of spines down its back, eyes that glow red and long, sharp fangs... some even say it has wings." The animal described in the report: "Real furry kinda creature with a long furry tail."

Counterpoint: As previously mentioned, cougars are big. Big. They average about 170lbs. and roughly eight feet in length from nose to tail. The tail itself seems abnormally long for such a cat, and the head is small in comparison to the rest of the body, making it appear a little odd if seen in certain lights, like, say . . . perched on top of a garage with the sun behind it, or the sun setting, or anything like that.

Behavior: In the report, the creature supposedly reared onto its hindfeet and then leaped from one rooftop to another, leaving claw marks.

Counterpoint: Have you ever seen a cougar leap from place to place? In preparation, they bunch up, and then they push off with their hindfeet. It really looks like they're raising themselves up onto their back legs. When they land, they extend their claws to get a good grip on the surface they hit. Check out this page to see a picture-by-picture shot of a leaping cougar.

In short: the "chupacabra" aspect was just brought up as a means to make a good story. It's not a huge deal in the broad scheme of newsworthy items when people's pets disappear--people around here lose cats and dogs to coyotes and bobcats and all sorts of wildlife at least once a year. It makes it all the more interesting when the word "chupacabra" is brought into the mix.

[edit on 28-10-2005 by Wolvaurynphamir]