Bandera Bulletin

Although experts deny its existence, pictures speak louder than words. The controversy that surrounds the mythical chupacabra now lingers in Lakehills, after the Jackson family shot and killed what they believe could be the Latin American creature.

On May 26, Jim Jackson saw in his front yard a strange animal drinking from a water trough he keeps full for the resident deer. Not sure what it was, but noting that it appeared unhealthy and not indigenous to the area, he shot and killed the animal.

"We feared for our household pet," Sandra Jackson said. "There was a baby with her, but it ran away."

Sandra sent pictures of the hairless animal to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as well as a local veterinarian. The reigning consensus was that they had encountered a sick dog or coyote with severe mange or other skin condition.

"First of all, this isn't a chupacabra," Heather Halbritter with TPWD said in an email correspondence. "But, I am concerned about sarcoptic mange...rabies...[and] intestinal parasites."

Bandera County's Texas Extension Agent Warren Thigpen concurred with Halbritter's conclusion. Stating he does not subscribe to the chupacabra's existence, Thigpen said the only way to know for sure would be to examine the animal up close.

"This is probably just some poor abandoned dog that has lice and mange and maybe some other skin disease," Thigpen said.

Sandra said she was somewhat disappointed by the response she received, as all of the authorities with whom she made contact based their opinions on emailed images alone. Hoping for a more serious and interested approach, she remains skeptical of the coyote theory.

Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and is associated with the ancient myth of the chimera or griffin. There have been recent sightings, allegedly, in parts of the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The animal has become an urban legend infamous for attacking and drinking the blood of livestock.

The first purported sighting of the chupacabra was about 14 years ago in Puerto Rico. Since then, there have been reported encounters from as far away as Russia. According to UFO Magazine, there had been more than 2,000 reported cases of livestock mutilations in Puerto Rico within two years, supposedly courtesy of the chupacabra.

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