Saw a couple of articles from Texas that there had been some
unusual critters shot recently down that way. The articles
tried to id them as possible chupacapras. Which is supposed
to be some sort of mythic dog-like vampire from Mexico.

The interesting part was that there were a bunch of pictures
with the articles. The pictures looked like scrawny coyotes
with the mange to me, but I don't claim to be a coyote expert.

What say the Texans?

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=EBC8FC7B-ED5D-46A5-8DA4-3C6F6C31975E

Chuck

Looks like a dingo <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />!

There used to be some Chupacabras in the mountains of southern Arizona, somewhat north east of Nogales, up in the mountains of the old Chiracahua Apache stronghold. Through my binocular I've seen several, late in the evening, when two of my hunting buddies and I were down there quail hunting in the Patagonia/Sonoita area. Also saw several when we were doing a bit of amateur gold prospecting in those mountains. Frightful creatures they are, too! Always glad we had our guns with us!

Then, even though we were there often, we no longer saw any more Chupacabras. An ancient Apache elder with whom we'd become friends, said the reason we no longer were seeing any Chupacaabras was because the local werewolves had eaten them all.

More's the pity!

L.W.

So what is the minimum reccomended cartridge for shooting of trophy sized goat suckers? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

...or else maybe it was that moldy coffee ya finally quit drinking...

Idaho Shooter, I don't know just what the proper caliber and bullet weight would be for a real trophy Chupacabra, but when we were Mearns quail huntng, using #8s in my Rem. 1100, I ALWAYS had three 12 Ga. Breneke Rifled Slugs easily at hand.

When we were panning for gold, my old Marlin 336 .30-30 was always leaning close to my position, and my S&W 57 .41 Magnum with my stout handloads was ever on my hip. Even so, we kept one person as a lookout at all times, and yet, I felt somewhat undergunned!!

Those Chupacabras look mighty malevloent and fierce, and have teeth the size and color of over ripe bananas!

L.W.

Birdeatcher, we didn't drink no stinkin' moldy coffee! When we were with our old friend, the Apache elder, Many Lost Winters, we drank nothing but the finest firewater, I assure you!

L.W.

"In firewater veritas" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'll have to check with our local elder, Luke Warmwater...

LMAO

Them be some scary critters!!

Half dead already mangy coyote or coydog. I saw some around here last year that could match the pictures WOAI had.

This years crop seems to be better. Coyotes got hair!

The true Chupa walks upright any way. Sort of a slouching gait.

BTW there is going to be a Texas Bigfoot Conference in Jasper in October I think. May have a sub-chapter chupacabra meeting too. I don't know.


BCR

Do you use a "wood stake" thrower on them? Maybe garlic coated wood bullets. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ive seen a ton of them this year, its just coyotes with bad cases of the mange. We have a terrible problem with it. It started in the North Panhandle, and is slowley working it way south. I killed 12 coyotes out of the Helicopter about a month ago, and 4 of them looked just like the above photo, only 3 of them looked normal, and the rest were on their way to looking like the above. Ive heard some of the old ranchers say that the reason that they are black, or blue looking in the summer, is the same reason that if you skin a coyote in early fall, before they are prime, the inside of the pelt looks "blue".

Toby Joe

Nope, best is to use jalapeno peppers covered with Monterey jack and salsa out of a slingshot.

Get's em every time.


BCR

I'm with TobeyJoe on this one as early hides are always "blue' before they prime up and I too have seen some scary mange cases with the yodel dogs...Some are pretty gross. Called up and took a coydog back in the 70's that was one scary looking sucker not much different than the one with teeth in the photo but running with a family group of coyotes.

Quote: Then, even though we were there often, we no longer saw any more Chupacabras. An ancient Apache elder with whom we'd become friends, said the reason we no longer were seeing any Chupacaabras was because the local werewolves had eaten them all. ~~ Leanwolf
----------------------------

I'd like to hear more about those werewolves ... were they much of a problem or just an occasional nuisance?

I understand that the Bigfoots eat them and that is why the two species are never found in the same range.

Shoulda known that we would do a full circle and
end up back with bigfoots ( ?Bigfeet?) somehow. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the info on coyotes!

Chuck

Still lots of open questions though.

For example <ahem>:

- How does Boggy know so much about Chupacabras?

- What is the stopping power of a .41 magnum silver
bullet on a werewolf? Is solid or hollowpoint better <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

(Actually did have a friend, in the 1970s, who cast and
loaded up a silver bullet. We being poor college students
at the time, with firearms habits, I don't think that he could
have afforded to actually have fired it though.)

Chuck

Chuck You have not been in the Trinity River bottoms have you?

Have you been in the Jewett-- Marquez area lately?

You pick the right phase of the moon and you and see, hear and smell them. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />


BCR

Don't know that this occurred to many folks............but it strikes me, that with good strategic use of Hollywierd special effects technology, good sound systems, an attendant media frenzy, and.......most unfortunately (though practically speaking,a key element)....taxidermied Juan, and Juanita Doe cadavers...(I'm sure the Morgues in any major center would have 'em ).........................................

One could very effectively control the Southern line....and it wouldn't cost much, either.

Exploiting a deeply embedded cultural heebie-jeebie like this would be a hoot.

Now ,if I had a suit.......1 ea. Chupacabra,....2 things I would spec.

Air conditioned, or liquid cooled.

Kevlar, than more Kevlar.

Don't think the human rights groups are going to get to big a kick out of my idea.

Work safe, and if one of these things gets up under yer porch,,,Raid "House and Garden" will drive 'em away.Magnum loads are just to hard on the flowerbeds. GTC

Speaking of circles, does this bring us back to firewater, and the production thereof?

I dunno, maybe them chupas are attracted to alchohol (and mouldy coffee).

Birdwatcher

I'd like to add that I'm not making fun of Leanwolf -- he wrote a great post and my curiosity is aroused! I'll also mention that I've known some pretty credible people who have spoken of strange things. I'm always interested...

No RACIST innuendo expressed,or implied, by my last post.
It is very hot, and this Pacifico Cervesa,well, it wakes up the dark side of an inherently off the wall sense of humor.

Mothballs are effective,at keeping these things away from yer chicken coop, and other outbuildings.If you're a lab rat,in Kalifornia,you can't play with mothballs......hazardous there.

GTC

None taken, and it wouldn't work anyway, the narcotrafficantes and coyotes would slit them pinche pseudo-cabras's throats, and leave 'em hanging as a warning.

Birdwatcher

Boggy,

I haven't been down Texas way for 10 years. Last time I was
in Texas was a business trip in August 1995 to Dallas. I was
told that it had been 100 degrees or hotter each day for the
previous 6 weeks straight and no rain.

The day that I arrived, a tropical storm settled itself over Dallas
and poured rain for the entire 4 day business trip. Besides
torrential downpours, the temperature stayed well below
the normal "eggs-frying-on-the-sidewalk" range.

When colleagues asked what I thought of Texas, my honest
reply was that it was too cold and wet for me.

I do plan to head down that way in a couple of years though.

Chuck

Dallas you say. Well, Chuck, you was close to prime Chupa country and didn't know it. Next time you get to Big D get some of the natives to guide you to south Dallas. Down around fair park. You will see sights that will make your hair curl. Chupas roam the streets especially at dusk. Probably see a few specimins of the southern race of Bigfoot. Known as Skunk Ape down here.

BCR

The creature in the photos is not a chupacabra. They do indeed have wings and can fly short distances, much like a roadrunner. I've never bagged one, but I can say from experience that four loads of of #7-1/2 from a 12 gauge in quick succession won't do a thing to stop one. They do make a weird noise when you sting 'em, though. They make a sound almost like a bigfoot trying to imitate a turkey call.

Riverrider:

In the world of Cryptozoology you can have your selection and take your pick of a "Chupacbara" whichever strikes your fancy.
___________________________________________________


Supposed semblance
Chupacabras are said to prominently appear in three specific forms. The first and most common: a lizard-like being, appearing to have leathery/scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back. It stands approximately 3-4 feet high, and stands/hops in a similar fashion as a kangaroo (in at least one sighting, the creature hopped 20 feet). This variety is said to have a dog or panther-like nose and face, a forked tongue protruding from it, large fangs, and is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as to leave a sulfuric stench behind.

The second variety also stands/hops as a kangaroo, and it has coarse fur with greyish facial hair. The head is similar to a dog's, and its mouth has large teeth.

The third form is simply that of a strange breed of wild dog that is mostly hairless, has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, teeth, and claws, but is otherwise a typical canine. This animal is said to be the result of interbreeding between several populations of wild dogs, though enthusiasts claim that it might be an example of an extinct dog-like reptile. The account during the year 2000 in Nicaragua of a Chupacabra corpse being found supports the conclusion that it is simply a strange breed of wild dog. The alleged corpse of the animal was found in Tolapa, Nicaragua, and forensically analyzed at UNAN-Leon. Pathologists at the University found that it was just a dog; albeit a little unusual looking one. It should be noted that there are very striking morphological differences between different breeds of dogs (which wild dogs are generally descended from) that easily account for the strange characteristics of such an animal.

Witnesses claim some chupacabras are covered with black hair, have red eyes, a bulbous head, and bat-like wings. Sometimes they crawl on all fours, and other times they stand erect (like prairie dogs do). They are very quick, can climb well, and usually run away when seen. Some say their eyes have the ability to hypnotize and paralyze their prey�the prey animal is mentally stunned. This allows the chupacabra to suck the animal's blood at its leisure. The effect is similar to a snake or spider that stuns its prey with venom. The chupacabra sucks all the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) through a single hole or two holes, unlike other predators that tear the corpse apart.

[edit]
Naming convention
The creature is known as both "Chupacabras" and "Chupacabra" throughout the Americas, with the former probably being the original word, and the latter a regularization of it. The name can be preceded by the masculine definite article ("El Chupacabras"), which means roughly "the Goat-sucker" in Spanish. A good way to illustrate the way the word is formed in Spanish is with a sentence like the following:

El Chupacabras chupa cabras.
"The Goat-sucker sucks goats."
It is a common mistake among people who don't speak Spanish very well to think that "Chupacabras" is necessarily plural. In Spanish, compound words such as this very often include a plural term, even when the resulting word is singular. Examples from the Spanish language include "correcaminos" ("road-runner"), "lavapi�s" ("feet washing") (a ceremony of the Catholic Church), "paraca�das" (parachute, literally "stops-falls"), "lavamanos" (bathroom sink, literally "washes-hands"), "abrelatas" (can-opener, "opens-cans"), "sacapuntas" (pencil sharpener, lit. "sharpens-tips"), and many, many others.

Bill Tibbe

I guess all of us DUMB AZZ MEXICANS are all a little smarter now, thanks for the input WETIBBE, or should we just call you WETBACK. Thanks NOT <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

In many American Indian cultures the owl was a harbinger of dread and doom, an omen of death to the Navahos for example, and the legendary "Cannibal Owl" of the north woods roamed the fringes of Iroquois imagination.

The term "chupacabra" (goat sucker) predates the arrival of the Spanish in the New World, and, in Latin form (Caprimulgiformes) is still used to refer to a whole Order of insect-eating nocturnal birds, the whippoorwills and the like. The name "goatsucker" stemmed from a belief these birds sucked milk from teats of milking goats at night.

This belief stemming from the fact that nightjars (what Europeans call their own whippoorwill-equivalents) will frequently land on the ground in open area, jumping up to catch flying insects with their cavernous mouths.

Livestock stirs up insects, ergo nightjars landing amid goat flocks and appearing to jump up around their underbellies. Thus the Old World legend of the nocturnal "goat sucker" was born, not especially evil or predatory, merely a drinker of milk. Nocturnal birds are regarded favorably in the Old World, compare the 'wise old owl" of European folklore to the "Cannibal Owl" of the Iroquois.

Bring the term "goat sucker" to Mexico applied to a nocturnal bird, combine that with a pre-existing dread of nocturnal birds in general and presto, the generically evil, polymorphic "goatsucker" is born. A Hispanic buddy of mine ran outside one night with a shotgun to chase away what he thought was a chupacabra, based on the descrition it was almost certainly an owl (had he been a bird watcher, he would have known).

Birdwatcher

Durn your hide Birdy, don't take the mystery and terror out of old Chupy with logic. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and facts <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

That's plain mean of you. I bet you are so mean you'd push little ducks off in the water.


BCR

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I prefer to dwell on the connection 'tween Elvis and 'Ol Chupy.

Birdwatcher

BW--don't miss article in today's NYT about the ivory billed wood pecker controversy. Had no idea it was such a viciously debated issue amongst the birding esablishment. Wonder if they'll ask Judge Roberts his view? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Steve, I have been following the story, and am wating for the publication to come out. Cornell has a pretty strong case I think. OTOH I'm hoping that the rebuttal case against the sighting, when formally made, is a strong one.

Opponents of preserving the bird will doubtless jump on the "see, not even all of the experts agree" angle whatever the merits of the rebuttal case. It would be a shame if they were able to make that argument over a weak rebuttal.

Birdwatcher

Doggone it, let's not let this thread go astray -- it's Chupacapras (sp?) and werewolves that a man ought to be armed and ready for -- not some woodpecker!!! It takes a lot to make me angry, but I surely wish some of you guys would get serious about this! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

What you worried about, tham thar thangs ain't gonna stand up to a .41 Mag.!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, can it hurt to KNOW, T? Huh?

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Drive on down to Boggy's, I'll bet he will find ya something to shoot with them pistolas, maybe even a bigfoot. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Me, I'll take along my two Ruger Single Six .32H&R Magnums laoded with silver bullets. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Heck, I better get me some silver and start casting for my.41s -- you sound like you know what you're talking about

It does make one kind of wonder what else Boggy has
lurking down at Boggy Ceek. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

chuck_tree, you have read my mind!!! And I think T is in on it. OOooo, when I get suspicious... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />


<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Shhhhhhhh! Moma don't know I raided her Grandma's service for 24, it in now a service for 8! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

I, too, am hoping no-one will notice -- they were so handy -- so ..... AVAILABLE!

I told you guys about a year ago, I saw a movie about 35 years ago about the Legand of Boggy Creek. Think about it.

Dang I wish I could spell

I remember that movie. It sucked. About 1973 or 74, I think it came out.

Okay Boggy, I'll admit defeat here -- tell me what you want for a hunt. But first off, are either of these things edible?

Sorry for the delay 41 I been out herding cats. Our local chupies are of the northern race and not as violent or as strong flyers as those in northern Mexico.
Goats down there have access to chili pequins growing wild and eateing the makes the milk stronger and so chupacabra's meaner. I don't think you would need silver bullets, wheel weights ought to be ok. You could try them and if they don't work then you could holler and tell me.

OTOH our Bigfoots are of the Southern Race and known as Skunk Apes. About like the north west type but slightly smaller and some hairer. They also have an industrial strength case of BO. Thus the name. Smell like rotten meat. They howl and chitter also seem to beat trees with dead limbs. No rythm though. Closer to the Trinity in the cane breaks on Boggy you are more likely to run into one than here in the uplands. They like swampy areas. Never seen one around my swamp, seen tracks and smelled them though. Dogs won't run them, run the other way.

Don't think they are protected or have a season. You want to try for one I might can put you close. Bring plenty of silver bullets.

BCR

No need to apologize, Boggy, it seems to me that Skeeter Skelton once admitted how demanding CAT RANCHING could be. It doesn't sound at all like a worthy investment, IMHO, but I expect (well I hope, anyway) you know what you're doing.

I've thought the whole thing over and am really, really inclined to use just plain old linotype for the bullets. PM me if you believe that to be foolish. On the other hand, if someone were to follow my thoughts on this and you know that to be about the worst possible mistake, I suppose you had better make mention of what the best approach is right here. Don't worry even for a moment about me feeling like a stupid dope, okay?

I think I might compromise and use Winchester Silvertips just to cover the bases! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />