Philip Oliviera, a landscaper in Rockdale, Texas, trapped a creature he reportedly believes is the carcass of a chupacabra on his property in late May, according to The Huffington Post.
Oliviera has reportedly kept the carcass in a fridge so that it can be analyzed, and will soon have tests run on the animal’s DNA, but wildlife experts aren’t holding their breath regarding the recent discovery.
“It’s a coyote with mange,” Jonah Evans, a mammalogist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, told the Austin American-Statesmen.
“Most TPWD biologists have seen hundreds of similar photos, and there is no doubt about what it is.”
For those who don’t know, a chupacabra is a mythical blood-sucking beast, usually known to attack goats.
Phyllis Canion, a nutritionist from Cuero who has a similar-looking creature preserved in her home, has seen the photos of Oliviera’s animal and has reportedly stated that it’s more likely to be raccoon with mange.
“When you look at a raccoon without hair, it looks very different,” Canion told The Huffington Post.
However, Oliviera has stood by his claim that the carcass is a chupacabra.
“It’s too big for a coyote,” Oliviera stated, according to the publication My Sanantonio.
The Texas man reportedly stated that the carcass had skin textured like an elephant’s hide, paws like raccoon and large hind legs.
“Having studied biology and spent a lot of time camping and hunting and fishing and being out in the wilderness, I’ve seen what I thought was everything — around here, anyway,” stated Oliviera.
“But this thing is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
