Chupacabra

The chupacabra, meaning "goat-sucker" in Spanish, is a creature in modern folklore and urban legend. Reports describe a monstrous animal said to attack livestock and drink the blood of goats and other animals. Descriptions vary widely, ranging from a strange, hairless, reptile-like creature with spines to a diseased canine or fox-like animal.

Origins: The term and the first widely publicized reports emerged in Puerto Rico in the mid-1990s, then proliferated across the Americas with numerous sightings from Mexico to the United States and beyond. The lack of physical evidence has led researchers to describe the phenomenon as a folkloric motif rather than a proven species.

Typical attack descriptions include puncture wounds to the animal's chest or neck and rapid blood loss, sometimes with the carcass found drained of blood or left with little other damage. Some accounts note unusual lesions or reportedly missing tissue; others indicate that injuries varied.

Scientific and folkloric interpretations: No specimen has been credibly documented; experts attribute sightings to misidentified animals, such as coyotes, dogs, or foxes with mange, or to hoaxes and suggestible reporting. Cultural factors and media coverage have helped establish the chupacabra as a modern myth rather than a verifiable species.

In popular culture, the chupacabra has appeared in horror fiction, documentaries, and video games, contributing to a global mythos around cryptids. The label has also been used more broadly to describe various animal attacks and sensational reports.