Chupacabra Debunked! It's a Hairless Raccoon: Biologist

By OMAR VILLAFRANCA
Updated 9:11 PM CST, Tue, Jan 19, 2010

A biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said Tuesday morning that the alleged Runaway Bay chupacabra is a hairless raccoon, the Wise County Messenger reports.

The chupacabra (Spanish translation: goat sucker), is a "mythical" animal that preys on goats and other livestock in the dark of night. Wildlife biologist Jennifer Barrow told the paper that "the feet, skull and dental formation all matched a raccoon."

Barrow didn't speculate as to how the animal lost its hair, since it did not appear to have the mange. She said the raccoon is simply “an anomaly.”

According to a previous story in the Wise County Messenger, a local veterinarian couldn't identify the balding, funky-snouted looking beast.

A video has also surfaced of the dead animal being prodded and examined by the folks who found it (hat tip to Barry Green's blog Liberally Lean from the Land of Dairy Queen for the video).

With unexplained chupacabra sightings becoming less and less rare, folks in Runaway Bay, and elsewhere, may not be so quick to accept the biologists findings.

The four-legged creature now believed to be a raccoon was found on a golf course over the weekend.

NBCDFW's Frank Heinz contributed to this report.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/Hide-Your-Goats-Alleged-Chupacabra-Found-in-North-Texas-82001187.html
(Submitted by Corinna Downes)