Alleged chupacabra found in Runaway Bay
A Runaway Bay man found what might possibly be the legendary chupacabra. Tony Potter found the creature last week at hole 14 of the Runaway Bay golf course. The brown, earth-colored creature is hairless with oversized canines and elongated padded feet with inch-long toes tapered with sharp, curved claws. The creature also had long hind legs.
Photos by Joe Duty
“This is a weird little critter,” Potter said. “This is not a coyote. This is not a dog.” He considered that it might be a hairless raccoon, but it bears little resemblance. Potter pointed out that despite the lack of hair the animal does not have any lesions indicative of mange to explain the hair loss. He showed the animal to several people in town and took it to a veterinarian in Bridgeport, but no one was able to identify the species. Chupacabra is Spanish for goat sucker. The creature is known for sucking the blood from livestock. There have been several findings of the unknown creature throughout Texas during the past few years. The Runaway Bay specimen appears to be a juvenile male.
Maybe it is a Mexican Hairless Dog aka “Xoloitzcuintle or Xolo”
This animal is a mexican hairless dog (xoloitzcuintle). They roam all of Old Mexico and come across the border in quest for more food. I teach seminars on this breed with the American Kennel Club. There are about 500 domesticated dogs in the US. The reason they might not seem like a dog is their quest for food and rough terrain in life has made them appear to be so unlike a dog. The hare foot and teeth on this female is very typical for this breed
still, whatever it is ….it’s an ugly critter
Looks like a bald possum to me…..(They are ugly with hair, too!)
It doesn’t look like a raccoon, it actually looks like a raccoon dog. They aren’t supposed to be in North America, but interestingly enough, they are nocturnal and are rarely spotted during the day. It’s habits definitely fit the description of the stories, and they strongly resemble the photos of the animals that have been found. Raccoon dogs only eat small prey, but many creatures seem far more intimidating at night, particularly those we are unfamiliar with. A hairless raccoon dog in North America? I suppose stranger things have happened.
You can see pics of them at
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/raccdog-03.html