Vet Explains Chupacabra Like Animal

SIMPSON COUNTY, MS (Mississippi News Now) - The mysterious animal killed in Simpson county is creating quite a stir. The property owner who discovered it, suspected it was a Chupacabra, an undocumented animal with origins in Mexico. Truitt Barnard says, "Strangest animal I've ever seen. I've been hunting 50 years."

The animal closely resembles the mysterious Chupacabra, hairless, long snout, and hind legs, but what is it really? We asked Jackson vet Troy Majure about this unusual four legged thing.

Majure eliminated the possibility it was a Chupacabra, "All the cases I know that have been followed up where DNA tests have been done where reliable autopsy or postmortem exams have been done it would be in most cases a type of canine whether it's a fox coyote dog."

Majure even says it could be a mixture of both, like a hybrid. Majure says, "It looks like it's pretty emaciated as well when I say emaciated it looks like it could use a good meal."

One distinguishing feature was the lack of hair on the animal, but that too could just mean it was sick, not a genetic trait. "Chronic mange will actually cause blue in color and give the appearance that you see with the so called Chupacabra," says Majure.

For now the real Chupacabra is just a myth, but Truitt Barnard's discovery is a rare, strange find, and one that's creating a lot of buzz.

Also on WLBT.com:

The man who killed the Chupacabra