Enough About the Chupacabras Already!
by Magdalena del Amo-Freixedo

Magdalena del Amo-Freixedo shares a common characteristic with Indiana Jones: "adventure" is their middle name. From the rain forests of Puerto Rico to the foothills of the Pyrenees, Ms. del Amo-Freixedo, International UFO editor for Spain's prestigious ENIGMAS magazine, stops at nothing in her quest for answers to paranormal mysteries. INEXPLICATA is pleased to showcase her work in these pages.

Publication in February of this year [1997] of a considerable article in this magazine [ENIGMAS] on the activities of the Chupacabras opened a motherlode of reports in a variety of media, including some newspapers having nationwide circulation.

Without going much further, this past September 16th, Diario 16 published a news item that read this: "Portugal. A number of animals have been slain by a chupacabras. Some twenty sheep were attached and 9 of them were slaughtered by a mysterious chupacabras in the village of Touloes in la Beira Baja, a region bordering Spain. All of the animals appeared with a single puncture mark on the right side of their throats, with their capillaries sectioned, and completely drained of blood..."

We found Fernando Soares Espinheiro in his farm at Monte Fidalgo, not far from the village of Touloes. He very kindly retold the story of what had happened to his flock and even showed us some photographs in which the strange wounds are visible. Some of the sheep had been eaten by predators, but the strange puncture marks on the neck were clearly evident. The animals were partially or totally exsanguinated. Those which survived despite their wounds had lost considerable amounts of blood and were very weak; they were kept isolated in an open paddock and no longer went out to the pastures.

We asked Espinheiro about the cause of these killings, and these were his words on the matter: "I don't know what it could be, but I don't think it was a wolf, as the biologist Sarmento explained. In the first place, there are no wolves in this part of the country. There have never been wolves. In fact, sheep sleep in the field without shepherds or watchdogs. On the other hand, I understand this is not how wolves operate. Wolves tear at the flesh and eat it. Whatever this thing is, it only sucks blood. It leaves the meat intact."

We had originally thought about skipping this cases since it had already received considerable coverage in a number of media outlets, including this magazine. However, certain items of information expressed in a nationwide specialized publication, as well as some conclusions considered definitive, contrasted diametrically with our own data on the subject and our conclusions. This leads us to discuss the subject without any wish to engage in polemics.

In the first place, we are making reference to the words of the employees at Monte Fidalgo. In hard-to-understand Portuguese, which is an arduous task despite one's knowledge of it, the workers never referred to a wolf as the cause of the deaths. "This is nothing I'd ever seen before. This thing's a critter that wasn't around these parts before...The critter makes a hole in their necks and sucks their blood through it. It leaves the meat alone. When the vet came and opened the animal where the hole was, the meat looked like hamburger...this is one strange critter." These were the words of Domingo Nogueira. Another employee added that the holes appeared to have been made by a kind of hole puncher.

Domingo Afonso Cayado, another of the affected cattle owners, found two of his sheep dead. Many hours had already elapsed and the kind of wound could not be seen: vultures, which are abundant in this part of the country, left little more than skin and bones, Domingo's farm is separated from Monte Fidalgo by an unpaved road. His dead animals appeared close to Espinheiro's farm. Domingo's opinion on the facts was much more conservative, having held the rank of corporal in the Guardia Civil for many years. His military background keeps him from considering any explanation which escape ordinary logic. "This is not a wolf zone. However, that doesn't mean that a hungry one can't turn up now and then. Furthermore, what else could it be? It can't be a chupacabras because there have never been chupacabras in this part of the world, nor any of those weird animals you find in the Americas." His thought process caused us to smile and we could not help but tell him: "There aren't any over there either, at least not officially." I am making this digression to clarify that contrary to what certain media outlets reported, Chupacabras activity in the Caribbean and in other Latin American locations is ongoing. However, there is complete and utter censorship on the subject in Mexico. The subject was silenced within twenty-four hours and no further reports were issued.

A few days ago we received a letter from Ing. Marco A. Reynoso of the Fundación Cosmos in Monterrey, Mexico, which contained the following comments: "...the Chupacabras presents a latent danger to human beings. The result of autopsies performed by the Fundación's doctors show that the perforations in the thorax become progressively deeper until they strike the heart, destroying it along with other vital organs such as the liver and the lungs. Blood, and even some organs, on occasion, are completely extracted through puncture holes ranging from 1 to 1.5 centimeters...in 70% of the cases, there have been UFO sightings that very same night or on previous nights, but we have still been unable to find a direct relationship between both phenomena."

Censorship in Puerto Rico does not operate to such extremes. In spite of this, some television channels were threatened with the loss of their broadcasting licenses due to "alarming the population unnecessarily." The results of blood and genetic analyses made on a Chupacabras hair sample is alarming. The report reads: "The results of the analysis lead us to infer that given the inability to match the sample's characteristics with those of any known organism, the organism from which it emanated could be the product of highly sophisticated genetic manipulation, an organism that is alien to our environment, or perhaps an animal species hitherto unknown to mankind. Other preliminary analyses of subclassifications and genetic material are inconclusive, but the results obtained to date indicate that the sample studied originates from an organism unknown to modern science."

A Portuguese television channel presented a report comparing the incidents with those that had transpired in America. The possibility that the Chupacabras had crossed the Atlantic Ocean versus the handiwork of some conventional animal alarmed cattlemen in this and other parts of Portugal. Due to this, following the lead of other countries that had experienced similar problems, the Chamber of Agriculture wished to establish that the sheep deaths had been caused by a wolf. The Chamber's representative, Alvaro Lopes, said so publicly over the local Gazeta do Interior newspaper while criticizing the yellow journalism of the report issued by television. In spite of this, we know that Lopes was mystified by the wounds on the dead cattle and professed not knowing what manner of animal could have inflicted them. This comment was made to a person who for obvious reasons must remain anonymous. Sarmento, on the other hand, stated that a wolf was to blame, but not an ordinary wolf -- rather, one having extraordinary intelligence and experience. What is most intriguing of these deaths are the puncture marks found on the throat. Some people offer ridiculous solutions in their urge to unravel the mystery. On September 10th, the local Povo da Beira newspaper published the following news item: "Toothless Wolf Kills Nine Sheep--Mystery Unraveled in la Raia. In Toloues, Indanha-a-Nova, people were frightened by the mysterious deaths of sheep with puncture marks on their throats...veterinarians were at first puzzled because it transpired in the region in which sheep were afflicted with minuscule wounds still large enough to cause their deaths. In the end, the mysterious slayer of 28 wolves, allegedly the Chupacabras, was nothing more than an aging wolf that came down from the hills in search of food. The results of the study undertaken by biologists and veterinarians led to the conclusion that the culprit was an elderly wolf with a single fang." Such a conclusion strikes us a irresponsible, particularly with the knowledge of how the Chupacabras has behaved in other countries. The Puerto Rican Chupacabras, for instance, produces a sort of elongated proboscis from its mouth -- a rigid tongue -- with which it makes the incisions. This detail was of double interest to us. Besides, a few days earlier, Madrid's El Mundo had also published a news item with similar details: "One hundred sheep turn up dead in Vizcaya with puncture marks on their necks. Cattlemen believe that the culprit is a psychopath accompanied by an animal having a single fang."

We decided to pay the location a visit, making our first stop at Valle de Las Encartaciones in the county of Balmaseda. In all honesty, given the delicate sociopolitical situation that exists in said community, our hopes of finding something worthwhile were slim. However, we must highlight the kindness with which we were welcomed as well as the quality of the information we were given. We were allowed to inspect police files, see the affidavits with the copies of dead animal photographs, and we were also given the phone numbers and addresses of the affected parties.

With regard to the wounds on the dead animals, policeman Fernando Gardiazábal, who had been in charge of handling the complaints filed by the affected parties, told us that the wounds did not appear to have been caused by a wolf or wolves. The detail of the pointed instrument as the cause of the wounds again emerges, as we can see by one person's testimony. "Several animals had some bones and vertebrae shattered by some prodding tool that was stuck into their necks." José Luis Ribacoba also lost some sheep recently, telling us with a certain degree of astonishment: "The wounds, aside from being very strange, keep the animals from healing from them. I don't know what's the matter. Years ago, a wolf would show up and start killing. It would even tear off a few kilos of flesh from a heifer or a horse's hindquarters. Upon finding these animals, they were usually very weak, but we'd cut the skin, heal them with a medication called permanganate and a concoction made of wolfsbane, and the wound would heal immediately in spite of its severity and the animal would continue living as happy as anything. However, these modern wounds are much smaller and won't heal."

As to our question of what, in his opinion, was the cause of these deaths, he replied: "I don't know. It's very strange, of course, something we'd never seen before, but I have no idea what it is...and the Ertzaintza [Basque police force--Ed.] still hasn't told me anything. They say that they're investigating, but I'm not sure if they're just saying so to put us at ease or if they're really doing something."

Ricardo Fernández, another resident of Balmaseda, has been left practically sheepless. Thirty of his animals have turned up dead of the same mysterious circumstances in a single night near the Angostura region. He believes the culprit is a feral dog with a killer instinct. "People abandon their dogs when they go on vacation and the dogs take to the wilderness, becoming feral."

Manuel Trasviña and Felix Diego have also seen their flocks decrease over the past months.

The regions of Espaldaseca, Urbaliza, Ilso, Angostura, Antuñano and Tromosamos are a few of the scenarios in which the strange sheep deaths occurred. Farther south, the sylvan peace of the Urbasa mountain ranges was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a mysterious killer beast. José Vedayo, a cattleman from Olazagutía, found one his foals dead: the animal presented wounds both on the throat and on its shanks. We decided to visit this mountainous area, which we had only seen in films.

A local cattleman told us that there had never been any wolves in the area. "Sheep have always slept in the open and nothing has ever happened." Ana María Ormazábal and her sons Roberto and Juan María Olazarán were of the same opinion. However, they are certain that wolves are involved, not because they are native to the region but because someone released them there. "The area in which they operate is clearly defined. Someone must've released the wolves there because if they'd come from somewhere else there would be a trace, which isn't the case here. Someone must've released them here." What is most curious is that these wolves slay their victims, drink their blood and leave their meat intact. Roberto claims having seen in the darkness two impressive sets of eyes not far from the flock. For this reason, he has no doubt that wolves are involved, but what if another "impossible" creature were the culprit? Whatever it is, this entity has caused a great effect upon the region. "The animals," Ana María told us, "don't act like they did before. They come home at nightfall because they're afraid. Before, they would sleep in the wilderness and range very far away. They're also giving less milk than before."

Juan María managed to get permission to form a posse and exterminate any wolves that come into the area. A tough job, since they are forbidden to use shotguns. They can only arm themselves with clubs.

Miranda de Arga and Falces are two other locations in which dead animals have been found. Jose Luis Izu's herd suffered 27 losses in three separate occasions during 1994. We spoke to him and he gave us the details: "Sheep would turn up dead with one or two wounds on their necks. It did suck blood out of some but only killed the others by biting their throats. It's an animal with a killer instinct." In spite of not having experienced any wolf attacks before he is certain that a wolf was responsible for his losses. We asked him to justify his certainty and asked him if a wild dog or other creature could be involved. These were his words: "The animal that killed the sheep was very smart, much more so than any wild dog. It attacked only when it knew there was no one around, when the cattlemen had gone away. It was also very elusive. If we noticed it was there and went after it, it would flee without us even being able to see it...had it been a dog we would have caught it without any problem, as we had in the past." He replied the following when asked if he had seen the wolf or "thing" that killed his animals: "Once at around 8:30 at night I noticed the sheep were scared. I went and called them and they scattered to the sides. There was some kind of black shape in the middle which I couldn't see very well due to the nightfall. At first I thought it was a black sheep that had been left behind. I called it and went toward it--whatever it was ran off at top speed, jumping over the crags in a way that no dog would be able to do."

This is a highly interesting detail. In both Puerto Rico and Mexico, many witnesses claimed having seen "a shape", a "shadowy form," or "an image" during the attacks -- something that was both seen and not seen, and vanished at high speed. When José Luis told us his case, we found it familiar. Although he hadn't seen anything, he figured it was a wolf. After all, what else could it have been? "We think the people from Forestry Services released a pair of wolves equipped with microchips to control them. They probably released them to see if they could live without attacking the flocks, and if that was successful, they would release more of them. The fact is that after the attacks, a number of helicopters which must have belonged to the Guardia Civil flew over the Peralta mountain range. They were almost surely controlling them and took them away."

While all of this is happening today, it isn't the first time that cattlemen in this region have faced a similar problem. In 1986, the herds of Aragon's Cinco Villas area endured the attacks of a dangerous assailant. The Diario de Navarra reported: "The strange animal attacking sheep in Navarra's Ribera Alta is apparently very large, agile and runs at high speed. No one has been able to identify it, which is the reason why speculation as to its nature is ongoing."

As in other cases we have looked into, there are ready-made opinions. Some believe that wolves are involved; others insist upon feral dogs. Some witnesses claim that a large cat is involved. The manager of Grupo Lanar, Enrique Malo, stated that it is "a smart, quick animal that does not attack humans". It was also speculated that the cause of the animal deaths could be a pair of pumas with their cubs. The rumor was based upon the discovery of some very large prints, some of them the size of a human hand, next to the smaller ones. According to declarations made by Grupo Lanar's manager on the behavior patterns of these animals, "the puma is an animal who smells things five kilometers away. It doesn't attack cattle when humans are near. It normally enters and exits the way it came with extraordinary speed, managing to clear fences two meters tall in a single jump."

Something that calls the attention of local residents is the wide sphere of operation of the creature. It leads them to believe that the father is possibly in one area and the mother and her cubs in another. Nor can they explain the provenance of these pumas. However, popular imagination is so fertile that an explanation to the mystery was soon found. According to some, the animals were escapees from a circus which had visited the town of Fraga. Others believe the culprit to be "the German", a very strange man who trains hunting dogs at his farm in Carbonera. Someone claims having seen puma cubs there during a fire on this property. However, when interrogated by the Guardia Civil on the matter, "the German" refused having owned any such animals. Some friends of ours visited "the German" in recent days and found him to be a very normal person and not in the least bit weird.

The problem was solved shortly after: neither feral dogs nor "the German"'s pumas were involved. An enormous 52 kilogram wolf was shot to death by elements of the Guardia Civil participating in a posse organized by the locals of Biota. The "terrible beast" was displayed in the town square. The news item in Diario de Navarra is a gem and reminds us of those children's stories in which the Big Bad Wolf plays the heavy: "Once in the town square, it was hung by its rear legs. Its outstretched body made it seem larger. A puddle of blood could be seen gathering beneath its head on the ground. It aroused the curiosity of all the townspeople and many others came from all around Cinco Villas to witness the display."

Quite correctly, Biota's veterinarian, Fernando Labena, wondered if that particular wolf could have been the cause of all the carnage in the area in spite of its size and weight. "It's a large wolf, but my personal opinion is that it is not the only cause of the problem." In fact, it wasn't. The problem continues unabated without anyone knowing who is behind these killings. Popular rumor and fantasy get the better of people, who are always looking for an known enemy to fight. However, when talking to them face-to-face, they are aware that something else may be at play here. "Something's been dumped here that wasn't around before," said an experienced farmer. Many of them now speak in terms of "that critter" when retelling their hapless stories.

In summarizing the characteristics of this elusive predator, we could say the following:

-- It acts at night when farm animals are alone.

-- It kills for sport, leaving flesh intact and only sucking blood.

-- It is very agile and fast. No one has seen it clearly. It can run and jump at high speeds.

-- It has a wide radius of operations. It may strike at locations distant from each other in a single night.

-- It leaves one or two holes in the animal's neck.

-- Tissue surrounding the puncture (under the skin) appears to have been ground.

-- Wounds seem to have been inflicted by a punching tool or awl.

-- Dead animals are completely or partially exsanguinated.

-- Wounded animals heal with difficulty and many of them die.

-- They have been heard to make strange growls.

-- It is speculated that the animal has only one tooth.

In spite of all the bears, the wolves, the feral dogs and a menagerie of other predators as a cause of the deaths, there is always an unexplained angle, which is the one that interests us. This part remains in the unexplained file today as it did yesterday. To conclude that the strange deaths are the work of humans who conduct secret experiments in tropical jungles and in the Iberian mountains seems a paltry explanation to us. To believe that this is the definitive solution shows a certain lack of panoramic vision and of the ability to fit certain pieces of the puzzle which can only be put into their places by moving backward in time and analyzing similar events which took place in distant ages. The cattle farmers of today, just like those of an earlier age, are exposed to having the "evil beast", which is perhaps interdimensional, continue to act with impunity in the face of human impotence.