Cryptomundo is reporting that last month’s Cryptid of the Month, the Chupacabra, has apparently made an appearance in the municipality of Champotón in the Mexican state of Campeche on the Yucatan Peninsula. The creature is alleged to have attacked and killed eight hens and one turkey leaving one rooster as the sole survivor of the incident. The animals were found completely drained of blood. Aurelio Tamay, the animals owner, said that he heard a commotion coming from his patio last Sunday (3/30/2008). When he went to investigate, he claims to have seen an animal “of strange form” leaving the area. Stranger still, he reports that there were no tracks or other markings around the dead animals. Locals believe that a Chupacabra is responsible for the attack because of similarities to previous killings throughout the country attributed to the creature.

The incident has local residents on edge, fearful of more attacks. They have taken extra precautions to protect their animals, moving them inside their homes in the hopes of preventing another slaughter. Additionally, search parties have been sent into the countryside in an attempt to locate the mysterious attacker and residents are patrolling the streets at night with machetes to kill the creature before any more animals are lost.

Breaking: Campeche Chupacabras @ Cryptomundo
Cryptid of the Month: The Chupacabra @ Meets The Weird

Technorati Tags: attack, Chupacabra, Cryptozoology, reports

Depending on your location, seeing a salamander is not particularly out of the ordinary. If you are exploring the brooks and ponds of China or Japan you may come across a Salamander so large that you may mistake it for some sort of river monster. The Chinese (Andrias davidianus) and Japanese (Andrias japonicus) giant Salamanders can grow up to 6 feet in length or larger dwarfing the next largest Salamander species, the American Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), which only reaches lengths of just over 2 feet.

The Japanese variety is the smaller of the two growing to only 4 feet 9 inches. It is entirely aquatic, living is the clear cool streams of Japan. Hunting at night and having very poor eyesight, the Japanese Giant Salamander depends on special sensory nodes in its forehead to detect its prey’s movement through the water. Because it lacks any natural competition in its environment and has an extremely slow metabolism the Japanese Giant Salamander lives a very long life. One specimen in captivity in a Dutch zoo lived for 52 years.

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Technorati Tags: Cryptozoology, giant salamanders, monters, salamanders

First reported during the mid 1990’s in Puerto Rico, the Chupacabra (who’s name literally means “goat sucker” in Spanish) is said feed on the blood of livestock. In 1995 the first reported animal deaths attributed to this creature were reported when a farmer in Orocovis, Puerto Rico discovered eight of his sheep dead and completely drained of blood. This may not have been the first chupacabra attack however as similar killings occurred in the town of Moca some 40 miles to the North East in 1975. These earlier attacks were originally blamed on El Vampiro de Moca (which may or may not be the same creature that was later described as the chupacabra). Following the initial attacks in 1995, spread across Latin communities starting in South Florida and progressing across the US and into Latin America.

Most commonly described as being reptilian in appearance with green to grey skin, the chupacabra stands 3 to 4 feet tall with row of spines/quills starting on its head and continuing down its back. The creature is said to have bulging red eyes, a snake-like tongue and large fangs. Moving in much the same way as a kangaroo, some witnesses have reported that the chupacabra could leap up to 20 feet in a single hop. Quite contrary to its most common description, the chupacabra has also been described as looking like some unknown breed or wild dog. (Though because alleged chupacabra corpses that fit this description are often identified as dogs or coyotes, I believe sightings using this description are most likely actually sightings of dogs or coyotes.)

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Technorati Tags: Chupacabra, Cryptid, Cryptid of the Month, Cryptozoology