Ares
21st July 2011, 06:40 AM
A TEENAGER claims to have shot and killed the legendary blood-sucking beast known as El Chupacabra.
Blamed for unexplained livestock deaths across America and Mexico, the animal was believed to be a Bigfoot-style myth.
But now Carter Pope, 13, of the sleepy Texas town of La Salle, claims to have finished off the nightmare creature once and for all.
The youngster spotted it prowling in an open field near his home.
He said: "It just walked across and started shaking, slowly moving across.
"There was no hair at all on it. Its back legs were shrivelled up. I mean, I honestly think it's a Chupacabra."
The gruesome creature was shot three times, according to Pope.
His father Will thought the story seemed dubious, but was shocked when he saw what his son had killed.
The dad told US news stations: "I thought, 'I'm dreaming or this kid is crazy, but probably a little bit of both'.
"I know it looks like nothing I have ever personally seen before."
Tales of the beast first surfaced in Puerto Rico in March 1995, when dead, blood-drained goats began showing up. El Chupacabra translates as "goat sucker".
That August, a newspaper printed a witness description of a creature four to five feet tall, walking on its hind legs with spikes down its back, long, thin arms and an alien-like oblong head with red or black eyes.
That depiction became associated with El Chupacabra, and reports of similar creatures began popping up throughout the Caribbean, in Latin America, Mexico and Florida.
The frenzy had died down slightly by 2000, but picked up again in 2004 when something began attacking livestock in Texas.
A farmer shot one of the offenders, and later more alleged El Chupacabra carcasses turned up.
They looked nothing like the Puerto Rico original, though, and DNA tests later revealed that they were actually coyotes with a severe case of mange.
A hairless, snarly-looking four-legged creature is now the popular depiction in Texas — similar to the beast shot by Carter Pope.
Skin samples have been taken from the creature for testing.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3707555/Mythical-beast-shot-dead-by-teenager.html#ixzz1SkNH7bhV
Blamed for unexplained livestock deaths across America and Mexico, the animal was believed to be a Bigfoot-style myth.
But now Carter Pope, 13, of the sleepy Texas town of La Salle, claims to have finished off the nightmare creature once and for all.
The youngster spotted it prowling in an open field near his home.
He said: "It just walked across and started shaking, slowly moving across.
"There was no hair at all on it. Its back legs were shrivelled up. I mean, I honestly think it's a Chupacabra."
The gruesome creature was shot three times, according to Pope.
His father Will thought the story seemed dubious, but was shocked when he saw what his son had killed.
The dad told US news stations: "I thought, 'I'm dreaming or this kid is crazy, but probably a little bit of both'.
"I know it looks like nothing I have ever personally seen before."
Tales of the beast first surfaced in Puerto Rico in March 1995, when dead, blood-drained goats began showing up. El Chupacabra translates as "goat sucker".
That August, a newspaper printed a witness description of a creature four to five feet tall, walking on its hind legs with spikes down its back, long, thin arms and an alien-like oblong head with red or black eyes.
That depiction became associated with El Chupacabra, and reports of similar creatures began popping up throughout the Caribbean, in Latin America, Mexico and Florida.
The frenzy had died down slightly by 2000, but picked up again in 2004 when something began attacking livestock in Texas.
A farmer shot one of the offenders, and later more alleged El Chupacabra carcasses turned up.
They looked nothing like the Puerto Rico original, though, and DNA tests later revealed that they were actually coyotes with a severe case of mange.
A hairless, snarly-looking four-legged creature is now the popular depiction in Texas — similar to the beast shot by Carter Pope.
Skin samples have been taken from the creature for testing.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3707555/Mythical-beast-shot-dead-by-teenager.html#ixzz1SkNH7bhV