Ancient tales of monsters and strange creatures have been a part of folklore for centuries and even thousands of years. They have been handed down through generations and still capture our imagination and leave us in awe and, quite a few times, in disbelief.

The reason, of course, is due to the fact that there is no hard scientific proof that might convince us. But there must have been a time in the past when these tales started due to some reason, whether it was logical or not, and then became a part of folklore and legend. And this is the reason that we will look into the mystery of the ‘Chupacabra’. It is a relatively recent mystery as compared to the monsters or ‘cryptoids’ of yesteryears. The word chupacabra literally means 'goat sucker' in Spanish. And has become quite an intriguing creature in many parts of the world. The interesting thing about it is that it actually sucks the blood of animals and the first reports of its victims were goats.

It has a most unique description according to reports from people who claim to have sighted the chupacabra. It is supposed to be heavy and the size of a small bear with red glowing eyes, fangs and ridges or spines running along the back to the tail. It has also been said to jump like a kangaroo and has shorter legs in front with sharp claws. It is said to drink the blood of animals by puncturing holes into their flesh and draining them of the entire blood in their bodies. A kind of an animal-cum vampire, if one might add. It was first reported in 1995 in Puerto Rico, then later on in Chile and now sightings have been reported outside South America and also in Russia and the Philippines.

In the first instance, eight sheep were found dead with three puncture holes in the chest and their bodies had been drained of blood. Then in the same year, 1985, in Puerto Rico, a woman named Madelyne Tolentino claimed to have seen the culprit after it had killed 150 animals, as well as pets, on farms. Soon more killings of animals were reported in the same manner. The creature was given the name of Vampire de Moca, meaning the Vampire of Moca by the people after the killings in their town of Moca.

The chupacabra and its menace of killing animals by draining their blood spread to the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina, Columbia, Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Peru, Mexico and the United States. In San Antonio, Texas, a rancher killed a creature in July 2004. The beast was killing his farm animals. The animal killed was a coyote with a disease called 'sarcopotic mange'. A common belief among biologists is that the creatures thought to be chupacabras are coyotes with either parasites or the same disease.

Then later in April 2006, Russia's MosNews stated that since 2005 a beast had been sighted that sucked the blood of animals.

To date 32 turkeys had been drained of their blood in one night. Also a neighbouring village lost 30 sheep in the same macabre manner. People who saw it described the animal with the same description as the chupacabra. A creature found dead on the road in Turner, Maine, was described as "a rodent-like animal with fangs which had been run over by a car and the body crushed. Pictures of the crushed animal did not look like any wolf or dog. Then later in August 2008, a County Deputy in Texas took the picture of a strange animal, which was the size of a coyote but had a large snout and was hairless with front legs shorter than the back ones. Some samples of DNA taken from some other alleged chupacabras showed a strange hybrid of wolf and coyote. But a common description of the beast also states that it is reptile like with leathery or greenish-grey scaly skin and the quills running down its back seem sharp. It is three to four feet tall when it stands on its hind legs and hopped 20 feet according to one report. And people who have seen it say that that they have never seen any animal like it.

While many people believe that the chupacabra is no ordinary animal with a disease or even a coyote/wolf hybrid, this feared creature continues to be in the news in many areas where it kills and drains the blood of other animals. So, what is the chupacabra anyway? And why does it puncture holes in its victims and what is its fascination with blood rather than just eating them like other predators? Is it a beast of ancient times come out of its habitat due to the loss of forestation or an exaggeration of an ordinary beast among many others that are elusive enough not to be caught?