In 1995, a woman in Puerto Rico had just watched the horror film Species and was convinced that it detailed real, alien occurrences in her country. She described a large, reptilian, kangaroo-like creature with red eyes and linked it to reports of local chickens and goats being attacked.
More livestock attacks were reported, gradually spreading northward across the United States. A few sightings were even reported as far away as China. As the reports changed locations, the description of the responsible creature changed, too, from something that walked on two legs to four, from reptilian to dog-like.
All of these reports would be called “chupacabra”.
“Chupacabra” comes from the Spanish words chupar, “to suck”, and cabra, “goat”, roughly translating to “goat-sucker”. It was said to consume only the blood of the animals it killed, leaving the carcasses mangled but otherwise intact.
When hunters began providing bodies for study, claiming that these were an alien species dropped off on our planet, scientists took a look.
Autopsies revealed that the “bloodless” bodies of killed livestock were not, in fact, bloodless. The bodies of the “chupacabras” were, in turn, identified as coyotes and coyote/dog hybrids with severe mange, which is a result of the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. It has been suggested that, due to the extremely debilitating nature of mange, the infected coyote hybrids likely went after livestock and then got caught up in a frenzy, attempting to secure as much food as possible. This is made easier for the predators as the animals targeted are often small and kept in pens so they’re unable to get away safely.
Kevin Keel, a wildlife disease specialist, thinks the evidence is clear when looking at the supposed corpses of chupacabras, saying “It still looks like a coyote, just a really sorry excuse for a coyote…I wouldn’t think it’s a chupacabra if I saw it in the woods, but then I’ve been looking at coyotes and foxes with mange for a while. A layperson, however, might be confused as to its identity.”
Humans and other primates have long been living with and alongside mange, but canines are not as resilient to the mites. Those who are suffering from them can lose all their hair, have their skin become rough and wrinkly, and have trouble functioning, let alone hunting. There are no known preventative measures for mange, and it can be a life-threatening infestation for canines.
For many, this appears to be an open-and-shut case of disease becoming twisted up alongside hysteria. For others, such as Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, it is important to refer back to the original sightings. “In 1995 chupacabras was understood to be a bipedal creature that was three feet tall and covered in short gray hair, with spikes out of its back,“ Coleman said. “Because of the whole confusion—with most of the media reporting chupacabras now as dogs or coyotes with mange—you really don‘t even hear any good reports from Puerto Rico or Brazil anymore like you did in the early days. Those reports have disappeared and the reports of canids with mange have increased.” And the difference in descriptions as the reports ranged north? Perhaps merely something as simple as mistranslations and misunderstandings.
However, Coleman doesn’t automatically assume chupacabras are the animal they are described as being. “If you look at the date when the movie Species opened in Puerto Rico, you will see that it overlaps with the first explosion of reports there,“ he said. “Then compare the images of (actor) Natasha Henstridge’s creature character, Sil, and you will see the unmistakable spikes out the back that match those of the first images of the chupacabras in 1995.“
There were also, he states, rhesus monkeys being used for blood experiments in Puerto Rico at the time, and rhesus monkeys are able to walk on two feet. Those monkeys, he speculates, could have gotten loose and fueled the reports.
Sources
Lewis, Robert. “Chupacabra | Legend & Facts | Britannica.” Britannica, 1 Dec. 2025, www.britannica.com/topic/chupacabra.
Than, Ker. “Chupacabra Legend and Scientific Explanation.” National Geographic, 29 Oct. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/101028-chupacabra-evolution-halloween-science-monsters-chupacabras-picture.
Tomeček, John M., et al. “The Chupacabra, a Legendary Creature in Parts.” Texas Natural Resources Server, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Aug. 2017, texnat.tamu.edu/files/2021/10/Diseases-Chupacabra-2017.pdf.