Chupacabra

The chupacabra takes its name from Spanish words meaning “goat-sucker.” Reports describe an animal blamed for killing livestock and supposedly draining their blood. Accounts associated with Puerto Rico in 1995 featured a strange upright creature with spines along its back. Later reports often described a hairless, dog-like animal.

The modern legend emerged in Puerto Rico in 1995 and spread through news coverage and retelling. Its changing appearance is part of that history: the spiny creature and the hairless quadruped belong to different strands of the reports. Examined animals presented as chupacabras have included familiar species such as dogs, coyotes, and raccoons, sometimes affected by mange. The alleged blood-draining predator has not been established as a distinct species.

A chupacabra story can build uncertainty around what has entered a familiar place. Livestock die, neighbors offer conflicting descriptions, and an indistinct shape appears beyond a fence. The legend’s changing appearance allows rumor itself to become part of the suspense.

• Benjamin Radford, “Farmer in Chile Finds ‘Chupacabra’; Science Suggests Otherwise,” Skeptical Inquirer, November/December 2015, page 13.