Posted on 04/02/2014 9:23:39 PM PDT by Rebelbase
RATCLIFFE, Texas — Deep in the back woods of South Texas, you never know what might be lurking around the corner, or in your tree.
“He saw this strange animal up here eating corn,” Jackie Stock said.
In Ratcliffe, a small town in DeWitt County, residents are certain they've found the mythical, despicable chupacabra, and this time, it's alive.
Ratcliffe Resident Jackie Stock said her husband caught the creature Sunday night.
“He called me to come and look, and I said ‘Bubba that looks like a baby chupacabra,’” Stock said.
With its hairless back, large claws, countless teeth and ferocious growl, many would say this animal fits the bill.
“I hunted coons for 20 years with dogs and I ain’t ever seen anything that looks like that right there,” Ratcliffe resident Arlen Parma said.
Parma said one of the biggest signs it's not a raccoon is its growl.
“A coon doesn’t make that noise, or a possum. What makes that noise? I guess a chupacabra does,” Parma said.
Most people in DeWitt County are convinced this is the elusive chupacabra, but what do wildlife experts have to say?
“The animal in the cage as best I can tell from the view is some sort of a small canine,” Brent Ortego, Wildlife Diversity Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, said.
Ortego said a canine can include a coyote, dog, or even a fox. He said the animal most likely has mange which has caused it to lose its hair. But as for a chupacabra, he thinks otherwise.
“It's never been proven to be a unique species. It was always something out there that allegedly was said to cause harm to people or livestock,” Ortego said.
Chupacabra or not, right now this little guy is staying at the Stock household, living off a diet of cat food and corn, at least until someone can find out what it really is.
“We were just trying to figure out what it is because we've never seen anything like it before,” Stock said.
Looks like a common grey fox with mange—which would make it a canine.
Yeah, I think you guys on this thread are right—raccoon with mange.
Coon.... Chupcobblers eat faces off cattle not corn
Yep.
Every onekeeps saying something with mange, hairless. That thing aint hairless, and it does not have mange.
It’s a coon with mange
Sorry pal,that’s a big ass not a big foot.
There’s something vaguely canine about it but it doesn’t move like any variety of canine I’ve ever seen, and it’s really not built like one either. Reminds me of some peculiar marsupial creature from Australia or New Zealand. It sits on it’s haunches and uses it’s front legs for arms like a kangaroo in a few of the stills. Didn’t see the claws, wonder if it climbs trees?
That’s what I was thinking. I’ve never heard of wild dogs going for corn, either.
It behaves more like a coon.
Some vet has got to take an interest.
I don’t consider Lufkin to be in SE TX, like the report states.
That is one creepy looking bear.
Not a raccoon. It looks exactly like much larger examples of so called Chupas. The ears are wrong. Spock wasn’t half Vulcan. We’ll just ignore the difference in his ears.
The tail is wrong. Most examples of Chupas have an extremely long tail.
It’s a juvenile so called Chupa.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=3140318%2C90
Bald raccoon has PINK skin. Bald raccoons are still FAT. Bald raccoons don’t have Chupa’s long back legs.
Picture 11 appears to be some kind of beer can. The creature in the trap is a mangy old racoon that lost all it’s hair. As for the creature with white hair in frame 12, I will have to call Art Bell for that one.
“There is a DeWitt County in Texas. But there is no Ratcliffe in DeWitt County — or anywhere else in Texas.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratcliff,_Texas
I’m pretty sure the chupacabra isn’t supposed to eat corn.
Ah, yes. There are actually TWO Ratcliffs (no “e”) in Texas. But neither are in DeWitt County. One is in Houston County — the location of this story — and the other in Starr County.
That is NOT a dog, though: I agree. My guess is that it’s a mangy raccoon.
it’s a hairless raccoon....my brother and I raised raccoons for 10 years in Texas back in the day......
My sister who is totally not a dog person, got two Doxies.
Flipped me out.
Naturally, they’re running amok.
So far, they have not bothered her kids.
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