stories continue to emerge from Mexico and the American Southwest of a legendary creature known as the chupacabra (Spanish for goat sucker), identifying at least a few of these animals may be a more simple task.
Some researchers now believe the mysterious four-legged killer and livestock blood sucker may, in fact, be coyotes infected by tiny, eight-legged parasites, or mites.
It's easy to try and convince people that something might exist because of fears and speculation, but it's a whole lot harder to prove that something doesn't exist, said Robert Roy Britt, editor-in-chief of LiveScience.com.
After a mite has infected an animal -- in this case, a coyote -- it can produce an infection, called mange, that results in, among other things, the coyote's hair falling out and shriveled skin.
It's a wonderful explanation and I'm glad there's scientific proof for what we already knew, but it doesn't explain a lot of the reports from Puerto Rico and other places, said Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
The strange physical characteristics of these creatures have been seen on videos and photos taken of the hairless coyotelike animals in rural areas.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/a...-may-be-mitey-er-than-first-imagined/19700922
Some researchers now believe the mysterious four-legged killer and livestock blood sucker may, in fact, be coyotes infected by tiny, eight-legged parasites, or mites.
It's easy to try and convince people that something might exist because of fears and speculation, but it's a whole lot harder to prove that something doesn't exist, said Robert Roy Britt, editor-in-chief of LiveScience.com.
After a mite has infected an animal -- in this case, a coyote -- it can produce an infection, called mange, that results in, among other things, the coyote's hair falling out and shriveled skin.
It's a wonderful explanation and I'm glad there's scientific proof for what we already knew, but it doesn't explain a lot of the reports from Puerto Rico and other places, said Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
The strange physical characteristics of these creatures have been seen on videos and photos taken of the hairless coyotelike animals in rural areas.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/a...-may-be-mitey-er-than-first-imagined/19700922
