"...not usually a serious health or appearance problem" for humans.
October 26, 2010 4:59 PM Subscribe
No mystery left in the world: Researchers say chupacabras are just coyotes and wild dogs with severe mange. [Warning, sad pictures of dead canidae].
Oh great. Now we need to come up with a NEW monster. Thanks, guys!
posted by small_ruminant at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by small_ruminant at 5:02 PM on October 26, 2010 [3 favorites]
Correction: Some reported chupacabra attacks are proven to be the work of coyotes and wild dogs with severe mange.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:08 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:08 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh good now I can go for a stroll knowi AAAHHHH WHAT THE HAIRLESS FUCK IT'S GOT ME KILL IT KILL IT THAT'S NO WILE E. COYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
posted by jimmythefish at 5:09 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by jimmythefish at 5:09 PM on October 26, 2010
That doesn't explain where the Puerto Rican legend came from since AFAIR there are no coyotes there.
posted by Space Coyote at 5:10 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Space Coyote at 5:10 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
Man, that's no fun. (Well, we still have Bigfoot...)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:11 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:11 PM on October 26, 2010
Don't worry, there are still plenty of mysteries.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:11 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by filthy light thief at 5:11 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
I knew all about that back at the beginning of September, because I read webcomics. (Yes, it's a comic about a mythology debunker who looks nothing like MeFi's Own Adam...)
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:13 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:13 PM on October 26, 2010
For those who are determined to believe, this doesn't change anything. Just because canids with severe mange are chupacabra-like doesn't discount the possibility that real one exist. That said, short of a real chupacabra being turned up, this "mystery" is a waste of time for scientists as we will never be able to disprove their existence.
posted by kchiou at 5:16 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by kchiou at 5:16 PM on October 26, 2010
Some friends cared for an animal which was more or less abandoned by some rather heedless friends. This dog had some kind of mange, which sort I cannot recall. I have a sensitive nose, I'll admit, but the smell was ... beyond awful. My sniffer kept informing me that something dead was moving around. The scent actually made the hair stand up on the back of my neck in a "we need to leeeeeeave, now" way.
The smell of mange might account for the smell of the chupacabra and the associated fear.
posted by adipocere at 5:17 PM on October 26, 2010
The smell of mange might account for the smell of the chupacabra and the associated fear.
posted by adipocere at 5:17 PM on October 26, 2010
That's just what the Men in Black want us to believe.
posted by oddman at 5:22 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by oddman at 5:22 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
That doesn't explain where the Puerto Rican legend came from since AFAIR there are no coyotes there.
Here you go.
posted by Tube at 5:28 PM on October 26, 2010
Here you go.
posted by Tube at 5:28 PM on October 26, 2010
Stupid scientists. Next thing you know they'll be explaining magnets and shit.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 5:36 PM on October 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by The Hamms Bear at 5:36 PM on October 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
Well that sucks goats.
posted by Artw at 5:40 PM on October 26, 2010 [8 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:40 PM on October 26, 2010 [8 favorites]
Space Coyote:That doesn't explain where the Puerto Rican legend came from since AFAIK there are no coyotes there.
SC, those are Puerto Rican bats with mange. You know, the flying chupacaras...
For real, there are all sorts of medium-sized mammals that could be the legendary Puerto Rican Chupacabra -- opossum, wild dogs, etc.
posted by vhsiv at 5:40 PM on October 26, 2010
SC, those are Puerto Rican bats with mange. You know, the flying chupacaras...
For real, there are all sorts of medium-sized mammals that could be the legendary Puerto Rican Chupacabra -- opossum, wild dogs, etc.
posted by vhsiv at 5:40 PM on October 26, 2010
I spotted a chupacabra in Yelapa, Jal Mexico that turned out to be a very pregnant dog (note: photo contains a topless woman covering her breasts with her hands. If your workplace has a problem with underboob this photo is nsfw)
posted by birdherder at 5:43 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by birdherder at 5:43 PM on October 26, 2010
Yeah, I don't think that's going to stop las madres around here from keeping their kids in line by telling them, "You better be good, mi hijo, or else the chupacabra is gonna get you."
posted by azpenguin at 5:54 PM on October 26, 2010
posted by azpenguin at 5:54 PM on October 26, 2010
[Warning, sad pictures of dead canidae].
That's the genus for Canadians, eh?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:56 PM on October 26, 2010
That's the genus for Canadians, eh?
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:56 PM on October 26, 2010
I hate it when topless women photobomb my attempts to establish proof of cryptids.
posted by jabberjaw at 6:02 PM on October 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by jabberjaw at 6:02 PM on October 26, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ah, memories. I sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of the one pictured in "severe mange" link, and its picture is hanging in the hallway of our lab. It's amazing what people will send you once you get a reputation for doing "cryptozoology" research. It pays surprisingly well though.
posted by bergeycm at 6:18 PM on October 26, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by bergeycm at 6:18 PM on October 26, 2010 [4 favorites]
> Oh, come on. Where's the logic here? Just because some "Chupacabras" are mangey coyotes, it
> doesn't follow that ALL of them are.
That's right. Some of 'em are swamp gas.
posted by jfuller at 6:31 PM on October 26, 2010
> doesn't follow that ALL of them are.
That's right. Some of 'em are swamp gas.
posted by jfuller at 6:31 PM on October 26, 2010
"I SWEAR I WAS ONLY TAKING A PHOTO BECAUSE I THOUGHT I SAW A CHUPACABRA"
To be honest I was taking the photo of the topless lady and her speedo wearing companion, and only when I got home and reviewed it did I discover that I found out I had captured the elusive chupacabra.
posted by birdherder at 6:40 PM on October 26, 2010
To be honest I was taking the photo of the topless lady and her speedo wearing companion, and only when I got home and reviewed it did I discover that I found out I had captured the elusive chupacabra.
posted by birdherder at 6:40 PM on October 26, 2010
Better music for this thread. Bonus irony points for "Chupacabra" by Super Furry Animals.
posted by snofoam at 7:03 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by snofoam at 7:03 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
That doesn't explain where the Puerto Rican legend came from since AFAIR there are no coyotes there.
Here you go.
No, no.
Here and here you go.
posted by IvoShandor at 11:04 PM on October 26, 2010
Here you go.
No, no.
Here and here you go.
posted by IvoShandor at 11:04 PM on October 26, 2010
It's like these so-called "biologists" have never heard of Occam's Razor before.
I actually had someone online say that "sometimes, when applying Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation IS the supernatural." When putting together a response, I spent a lot of time searching my keyboard for the 'chokeslam' button.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:11 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
I actually had someone online say that "sometimes, when applying Occam's Razor, the simplest explanation IS the supernatural." When putting together a response, I spent a lot of time searching my keyboard for the 'chokeslam' button.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:11 PM on October 26, 2010 [1 favorite]
[Warning, sad pictures of dead canidae].
That's the genus for Canadians, eh?
I'm gonna bring us full circle.
Canadian chupacabra music
Note: There are no chupacabras in the video, because there are no chupacabras in Canada. The Canadian chupacabra was hunted to extinction by settlers in the early 1800s.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:13 AM on October 27, 2010
That's the genus for Canadians, eh?
I'm gonna bring us full circle.
Canadian chupacabra music
Note: There are no chupacabras in the video, because there are no chupacabras in Canada. The Canadian chupacabra was hunted to extinction by settlers in the early 1800s.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:13 AM on October 27, 2010
Space Coyote:That doesn't explain where the Puerto Rican legend came from since AFAIK there are no coyotes there.
SC, those are Puerto Rican bats with mange. You know, the flying chupacaras...
For real, there are all sorts of medium-sized mammals that could be the legendary Puerto Rican Chupacabra -- opossum, wild dogs, etc.
In your FACE, Space Coyote!
posted by Edison Carter at 6:26 AM on October 27, 2010
SC, those are Puerto Rican bats with mange. You know, the flying chupacaras...
For real, there are all sorts of medium-sized mammals that could be the legendary Puerto Rican Chupacabra -- opossum, wild dogs, etc.
In your FACE, Space Coyote!
posted by Edison Carter at 6:26 AM on October 27, 2010
In my house La Chupacabra is a creature that terrorizes kids who take too long in the shower and waste water. There will be no debunking the myth or enlightening my son about recent research in my house.
posted by planetkyoto at 6:27 AM on October 27, 2010
posted by planetkyoto at 6:27 AM on October 27, 2010
the chupacabras in Puerto Rico are believed to be bats. we dont have coyotes or oppossums, btw but we do have feral dogs. the thing is that scientists have said numerous times our bats are not carnivores, but people really want to believe we have vampire bats in the island.
anyway, just remembering seeing those fuckers flock into my home once just gives me the hibbiejibbies ... ugh :P
posted by liza at 7:27 AM on October 27, 2010
anyway, just remembering seeing those fuckers flock into my home once just gives me the hibbiejibbies ... ugh :P
posted by liza at 7:27 AM on October 27, 2010
... gives me the hibbiejibbies
You've seen an actual hibbiejibbie??? Did you happen to get a photo?
posted by jabberjaw at 1:17 PM on October 27, 2010
You've seen an actual hibbiejibbie??? Did you happen to get a photo?
posted by jabberjaw at 1:17 PM on October 27, 2010
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posted by jonmc at 5:00 PM on October 26, 2010