What happened
In the summer of 2007, Phylis Canion of Cuero in South Texas learned of a dead, strange-looking animal found near a neighbor's property. For years her chickens had been disappearing – about thirty in all – and she claimed to have seen three similar creatures herself. The animal was nearly hairless, with grayish skin, an elongated snout and prominent fangs. Canion photographed it and had it mounted, and the photos spread through the American media as proof of the existence of the Texas chupacabra. Specialists from Texas State University offered to run a DNA test. A year later, a DeWitt County sheriff's deputy recorded a similar hairless animal running through the streets of Cuero on his patrol car's dashboard camera.
Witnesses
Phylis Canion and her neighbors; in 2008 a similar animal was filmed by a DeWitt County sheriff's deputy.
Explanations and hypotheses
DNA analysis carried out at Texas State University showed that the animal was a coyote. A second analysis, commissioned by Canion from the University of California, Davis, reportedly indicated a coyote with an admixture of Mexican wolf genes. The lack of fur is explained by mange – a disease caused by mites that leads to hair loss, thickened skin and emaciation; weakened animals are more inclined to hunt easy prey such as poultry. Subsequent Texas “chupacabras” from 2004–2014 were explained in a similar way.
Explained The phenomenon has a widely accepted, down-to-earth explanation.
More: Wikipedia (pl) Wikipedia (en)