Dirty animal bones, a broken skull and ten pounds of manure went back with me to the museum. Searching and extracting every bone out of the smelly mess was as difficult as understanding the true nature of this critter.

Any mystery requires more and better data to help solve its untold secrets. So back to the Internet I went. The best and most recent lead was found in Coleman, Texas. According to an on-line newspaper article, a Chupacabra was sighted, shot and killed in September 2005 and its carcass was at a college lab undergoing analysis. On Sept 17, 2006, I phoned the Coleman, Texas local and eyewitness, Reggie Lagow. The soft-spoken 90 yr. old told me that this “Critter” killed 30-40 chickens in the neighborhood, was spotted by many and finally shot and killed by his neighbor. Unfortunately the carcass was NOT surrendered to any college like the papers reported. “It was killed on a Tuesday and trash day took it away 2 days later,” Lagow said.

We spent the remaining time comparing our two alleged Chupacabras. There were a few physical differences. His did not have hair but a wool-like coat, like a sheep but with low pile. It was white, although in the photograph it appears grey. Interestingly enough it had no whiskers, was about the size of a small Terrier 28 – 32 inches in length with the tail as long as the body. “I got a good look at it alive when it was in my yard as it ran off with one of my chickens in his mouth.” Again Lagow described the animal’s mysterious, unaccounted for hopping gait that each of our animals possessed. “This Critter”, Lagow exclaimed, “was unlike any kind of animal in the area.” As were we winding down our fascinating conversation the Texan unexpectedly dropped a bomb, “Did you hear about the critter they found in South Carolina last month?”

To be continued…

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