Has a mythical Chupacabra made its way from Mexico to Oklahoma? Experts say hideous creature captured in photos is just a coyote with mange
Photos of a hideous animal feeding on a deer carcass in a field have caused whispers in northern Oklahoma - a chupacabra, the mythical Mexican predator, has found its way across the border.
The chupacrabra is the stuff of nightmares - a reptilian creature with scaly skin and a forked tongue that feeds by sucking the blood out of livestock. It has a special taste for goats.
But Oklahoma biologists who looked at the photos said the speculation is nonsense - the animal in the picture is nothing more than a coyote with a bad case of mange.
What is it? This is the strange creature photographed feeding on a deer carcass in a field in northern Oklahoma
Nightmare: Chupacabras are creatures from Latin American myth - lizard-skinned animals with forked tongues that suck the blood out of livestock - especially goats
Craig Martin, who describes himself as an avid outdoorsman, told KFOR-TV that he had no idea what the creature was when he took the photos of it outside Deer Creek, Oklahoma.
Later, he looked up pictures of other 'chupacabra' sightings.
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'That’s immediately what we thought and it looks exactly the same,' he said. 'There’s not much difference at all.'
He's certain the creature isn't natural.
Reasonable explanation: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife biologists say the poor animal is just a coyote suffering from a bad case of mange
Sightings: This sketch depicts one popular variation of a chupacabra, which has been 'sighted' across Latin America and as far north as Maine
Biologists at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife begged to differ.
'What we’re dealing with here is just a coyote with a bad case of mange,' Michael Bergin told the TV station.
Mange, a skin disease caused by a mite infection, can cause animals to lose some or all their hair. Skin infections can cause crusting - further marring the unsightly animals.
Mr Martin remains unconvinced. He admits the creature might be part coyote, but he refuses to believe it's just an unfortunate, diseased member of the common canine species.
'It’s definitely not just a regular coyote. They can say what they want,' he said.
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