Chupacabra Possibly Shot By Carter Pope, Texas Teenager (VIDEO)

A Texas teen claims he shot and killed a chupacabra -- a mythical creature believed to prey on livestock by sucking the blood out of the animals.

According to KSDK, 13-year-old Carter Pope spotted a strange animal walking across a field and ran to get his dad who was also amazed by what he saw. Carter then grabbed his gun and fired three shots, killing the animal.

"It just walked across and started shaking, slowly moving across. No hair on it at all, the back legs were shriveled up, and I honestly think it was a chupacabra," Pope told KSDK.

The chupacabra is a mythical creature that some have dubbed the "Bigfoot of Latin culture," but some wildlife biologists believe it is a sick coyote or other wild animal, rather than the vampire-like monster it's rumored to be, reports KCTV.

Carter and his father collected hair and skin samples from the animal, and will get them tested to see if they have a real-life chupacabra on their hands.

Stories and sightings of the animal have been around for years. Earlier this month, retired wildlife biologist Jack Crabtree and his wife spotted a similar hairless creature wandering by a creek at the back of their house in Lake Jackson, Texas. They took photos and sent them to their local newspaper, jokingly calling it a chupacabra.

Another potential spotting was foiled when testing showed that an animal shot in Nelson County, Kentucky was nothing more than a hairless raccoon.

Whether the animals spotted are raccoons, coyotes, or chupacabras, is it really necessary to shoot the rare creatures?

Quick Poll

Did Carter Pope Kill A Real Chupacabra?

Yes, that is clearly a Chupacabra!

No, that's probably a coyote.

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Comments

[paradroit]

11:19 PM on 08/11/2011

I'm a bleeding heart liberal and I think you people are being ridiculous. Go to Africa and save the wildebeests from those mean lions. The kid shot an overpopulated pest animal that had mange or some other disease. The Chupacabra is a myth, and a stupid one at that. Hey kid, nice shot.

[paradroit]

11:45 PM on 08/11/2011

Perfectly cool to gang up on a 13 year old kid and call him a stupid redneck though.

[christine rahl]

01:04 PM on 08/11/2011

Is that the mentality in Texas to shoot something if your unsure what it is........morons!!!!

[Dillardism]

11:45 AM on 08/11/2011

I hope he had is Chupacabra hunting license

[Dillardism]

11:45 AM on 08/11/2011

Oh, look a rare animal! Hold on, let me get my gun. Brilliant

[JtownesquireAgain]

09:18 AM on 08/11/2011

Texas: Scene: Possible rare, mythical creature spotted.......all residents take aim and begin shooting. End Scene.

[Aluic Mistyleaf]

10:11 PM on 08/09/2011

There are many, many variables to be considered. Perhaps clone gone wrong? or a genetic experiment, or simply a mutation or skin disease. There are alot of things in this world that might suprise you aswell. Always keep an open mind. And the kid done the right thing. If it has a genetic abnormality it doesnt need to spread it into population.Also, a dna sample would solve the mystery. Woner why it hasnt been released. As time passes discoveries are made everyday. Dontrget the man with oles drilled in his head that washed up on the beaches of florida close to the CDC Headquarters along with an unidentifiable animal.

[Bianca Patzelt]

05:48 AM on 07/24/2011

If you see something scary, shoot it and later pose with the dead body showing off your gun. Yeah. Way to go, way to go.

[Chris Mahnke]

09:14 AM on 08/10/2011

I guess you could have invited it over for dinner and polity asked it for a dna sample.

[Gavin]

11:52 PM on 07/23/2011

FYI, John James Audubon was able to create such accurate paintings of many of the birds he illustrated because he had shot them and was using actual specimens for his models. When scientists find a new species, they kill a specimen to keep as a "type" specimen.

[eyelashviper]

01:12 PM on 07/23/2011

Having grown up in many rural areas of the Deep South, the attitude of "shoot it" is all too commonplace, and results in the unnecessary deaths of snakes, hawks, migrating birds, fox, raccoons, armadillos, and numerous other creatures that live in the wild.
The concept of "ecology" never enters the minds of these folks, and the big smile on the face of the 13 yer old is just sad.

[jenkait]

09:48 AM on 07/24/2011

Interesting, but sad. You're right, the proud look of the kid...a lost cause trying to explain the value of life.

My perspective (west coast, Canadian): if a bunch of people found a new animal, and someone just KILLED IT... It would've been like, "What did you do that for?!" No actually... I can't even imagine it happening here, really...

[Diana Emily Perez]

09:49 PM on 08/09/2011

Oh Give me a break.I highly doubt every single person in Canada thinks like that.

[jenkait]

01:44 AM on 07/22/2011

They were "amazed at what they saw" and so they got out a gun and shot it?! That was horrifying to read.

[Tao21Zen]

10:19 AM on 07/22/2011

Better than "they were 'amazed at what they saw' and so they ran up and tried to give it a hug."

[Issaquah79]

10:30 PM on 07/23/2011

Or you can just live and let live. What a concept!

[jenkait]

09:51 AM on 07/24/2011

Why not a happy medium...just take some pictures...geez!

[cagevice]

01:20 AM on 07/22/2011

LISTEN, YOU IGNORANT PEOPLE STEREOTYPING TEXANS:

I have lived in Texas ALL OF MY LIFE.
I have NEVER owned a firearm.
I have NEVER even ever SHOT a firearm.
I HATE the idea of people casually using them and do not like the idea of the supposed "SPORT" of hunting and I am not the only Texan that feels this way.

Rarely, if ever, are guns objects that make life better, and I have a hard time understanding how one could get joy from shooting a gun, especially to kill another creature. Why don't these same people take creatures on with their bare hands if they're such badasses?

I don't want to hear crap about self-defense. People that own guns for supposed protection have many times still been victims, in spite of having a gun, actually, some have been casualties BECAUSE that "protection" was available and was used against them.

WE ARE NOT MONOLITHIC IN OUR THINKING JUST BECAUSE WE LIVE IN THE SAME STATE.

Oh yeah, no one fires guns in CALIFORNIA, MICHIGAN, ILLINOIS, WYOMING, ARIZONA..., huh?

Should I go down the rest of the 49 states other than Texas that have daily news stories involving people firing guns?

Someone here said "Texas. Enough said."

No, fool. There's plenty more to say.

[jenkait]

01:51 AM on 07/22/2011

"Why don't these same people take creatures on with their bare hands if they're such badasses?"

THANK YOU... f&f'd.

[Diana Emily Perez]

09:51 PM on 08/09/2011

Where on this entire forum and article did anyone call themselves a badass?

[Tao21Zen]

10:16 AM on 07/22/2011

"I don't want to hear crap about self-defen­se. People that own guns for supposed protection have many times still been victims, in spite of having a gun, actually, some have been casualties BECAUSE that "protectio­n" was available and was used against them."

And there are countless stories of where people having a firearm HAS been successful at defending their life and/or the life of their loved ones. There is even a thread here on HuffPo devoted to the Congressman whose grandson used a shotgun to scare off an armed attacker victimizing the Congressman and his granddaughter.

While simply having a firearm is not a guarantee one would be successful in defending life, in many circumstances, it certainly does increases one's odds. Especially in cases when its a physically weaker individual being attacked by a much stronger individual, or group of individuals.

[p8q2b8ng]

11:55 PM on 07/21/2011

The back and front legs, body, tail, ears, face are very dog-like. The only strange thing about it is that it's hairless, which can come from quite a few different diseases.

this isn't the first time a hairless coyote has been mistaken for chupacabra. The picture below is a comparison between "chupacabra" and a hairless coyote.

http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Odd/December%202010/coyotecmange2.jpg

[quillsinister]

09:47 PM on 07/21/2011

Was the child exsanguinated in the night by a beast that left no trace?

No? Well, then it wasn't a Chupacabra.

:-)

[Tao21Zen]

10:22 AM on 07/22/2011

If we are talking tax dollars, I feel like I am "exsanguina­ted.. by a beast that left no trace" every pay day.

[HHUA]

01:43 PM on 07/22/2011

Really? Then you must be only two years old because tax rates have been LOWERED on the middle class under Obama and are the LOWEST they've been since the 1950's (that goes for billionaires too)!!!

Or maybe you would prefer to live under Reagan's taxes?

[quillsinister]

11:57 AM on 07/23/2011

No you don't. It's all in your head.

[NebraskaTown]

07:57 PM on 07/21/2011

I'd hate to see what would happen if a friendly and benign alien landed in front of this kid.

[Zenjil]

11:38 PM on 07/25/2011

Even though I completely agree with your sentiment, what comes to mind is their defense of: It's not a currently cataloged species so now we have proof of the chupacabra.

[Max Shaw]

05:14 PM on 07/21/2011

Nah. Probably an ugly dog with alopecia.

[Zenjil]

11:39 PM on 07/25/2011

Somewhere you just made a cryptozoologist cry.