CHUPACABRA

TODAY'S WEATHER: The Great Lakes are frozen over... kinda wondering what will be next, lol
TODAY'S EMOTIONAL BAROMETER: Just chillin' ;)
TODAY'S PLAYLIST: U2's INVISIBLE   (It's amazing how this band can transport you both forward and back at the same time. It makes me feel so safe, somehow...)

TODAY'S MYSTICAL CREATURE: The Chupacabra (special thanks to Peng Blue for her Paint Joy rendering below)

The chupacabra, or goat sucker as it is called in many cultures, has always been a special fascination of mine. (I have actually been known to whip my car around on a four lane highway just to check a roadside carcass for possible chupe identification purposes. It was unfortunately a really decomposing, leatherized deer. Sadly. My little Godniece was equally disappointed. Her mother still likes to trot the story out in group settings to point out (uselessly) my eccentricities.)  Perhaps this is due in part to so many remains of them being found, so there are a lot of stories to tell. this marvelous story was posted online by a news outlet in Southern Texas, just 4 hours ago... "my grandson shot it at 240 feet... and my grandkids said, "Oh that's a chupacabra.." Or perhaps it is simply that I have a certain affinity for doggies. I do not know.

Axl Blue was also quite indulgent of me in this search. Once, driving in the middle of the night, we nearly hit something that looked like a cross between an armadillo (which we do not have in the Great Lakes) and a round little rock found in Midwestern farmland (which we have an abundance of) known as a "ground biscuit." When I shouted out, "What the heck was that!" He calmly replied that it was probably a chupacabra egg. Its presence in the road demonstrated it was vibrating and rolling as the little chupie was trying to hatch. Furthermore, we should leave it alone so it could hatch naturally and help replenish the species. Of course this only made me want to set up some flares so that no oncoming traffic would hit it and disturb the process. But again, Axl was cool headed and reminded me that the flares could emit unnatural light that would also disturb the process, possibly ruining the animal. "Besides," he assured me, "chupacabra eggs are quite sturdy. Everyone knows this." I had to agree. After all, Axl was amazing with animals. If anyone could have tamed a chupacabra pup, it would have been him.

THE MYTHOLOGY: Chupacabra, is a Spanish word meaning "goat sucker." This wild dog, perhaps similar to, but majorly more vicious and insidious than a coyote, traipses about under cover of night, slaughtering grazing animals for their blood. Basically, it's a Vamp Dog. Also, when it screeches, it eyes glow red and the sound makes you puke. It's THAT horrible/awesome. (kinda puts the "brown note" to shame, doesn't it...)

 Stories of this beast have circulated in the Southwestern U.S. , Mexico, and China since the first sighting in the mid 1990's in Puerto Rico. But in Puerto Rico, the chupe was described as looking more bipedal and having spikes on its back... incidentally a certain little film called SPECIES was released in Puerto Rico in 1995. There was also a possible rhesus monkey colony that was being used for "blood" experiments, running loose on the island... whatever that means... There are also Grunches in "N'awlins," Louisiana, Peuchen in Chile, and Sigbin in the Philippines. The latter is more like a snake with wings. But then, chupacabras are supposedly mostly hairless and scaley, like a dog/ reptile cross.

THE SCIENTIST TALK: It's probably mange. Sarcopte Scabiei. Yep, dog scabies. You should wear gloves if you're going to touch it. Also, sick animals with mange would probably be very weak and unable to hunt forest prey, so they jump big old lazy cows instead.
Allegedly, this mange affects racoons and squirrels too... no word on whether or not they attempt to suck goats. Bunnicula? Are you out there?

JOLLY FUN SHORT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ARTICLE TO READ


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So what do we think? This topic is now open for discussion in the comments.