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Mystery of the 'Chupacabra' May Be Solved
rhettb writes "The mystery of the legendary chupacabra, a beast said to drain the blood of domestic animals at night, has been solved, according to a University of Michigan scientist. Biologist Barry O'Connor says that most chupacabra sightings are probably linked to coyotes with mange, a disease caused by the same species of mite that triggers scabies in humans. Severe cases of mange cause hair loss and thickening of skin in wild dogs and can lead to bacterial skin infections that produce a foul odor characteristic of the 'chupacabra.' Wombats and squirrels are also susceptible to mange, suggesting that chupacabra are found in trees and Down Under."
Perhaps they should investigate how it's related to the Australian Drop Bear.
(The Koala's distant carnivorous cousin who drops out of trees onto unsuspecting passers by)
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I doubt it. Wombats live in holes. Sometimes at dusk you can catch them in the open and at those times they are pretty slow moving. Not the kind of animal which could drain the blood out of anything which moves at more than a metre a minute. A dingo on the other hand...
But this Chupacabra seems to be a US only myth. Let me tell you about this hoopsnake I saw just the other day. A real nasty bugger. One metre in diameter and 3.14 metres in length he was. I reckon he broke the new speed limit on Lygon street...
http://michaelsmith.id.au
What about El Chupanibre?
bomb the us up set someone
that the street vendor in Mexico who sold me a Chupacabra burrito was lying? What did I eat?
Well, you are right regarding bigfoot and ghosts
That Big Foot, flying saucers, and ghosts aren't real either? I'm so disappointed!
Couldn't they have spent all this effort on trying to explain Snookie from 'Jersey Shore' instead? I'm confident we'd all be better off if they proved she didn't exist.
"Coyote with mange"?
I thought there might be some connection to Amy Winehouse.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Well it makes a lot more sense when you realize the high desert is actually covered in swampland.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Around 50 comments and still no mention of this great X-files episode (season 4, IIRC)... I guess Slashdot ain't what it used to be.
it was a distraction manufactured by the government to draw attention away from the issue at hand.
Kinda like the past 9 years in the US...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Why don't they just call it The Warthog?
Didn't you see the new South Park? Snookie is the chupacabra.
Snookie has something alright but I doubt its as curable as scabies.