Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Many compare it to spotting a UFO, or seeing Bigfoot in the woods. Now, a mysterious and mythical animal may have made its way to Kansas.

The creature was first seen running toward cattle in Sedgwick County.

Those who found it described it as having feet like a raccoon, a tail like a rat, a head like a coyote, and moved like a kangaroo.

According to Michelle Dusseau, not knowing what it was worried her and her fiance.

"We have farm animals, so I thought of them and didn't want them to get sick or hurt, so it was better to shoot him," said Dusseau.

What exactly is 'it'?

"We didn't know what it was, and we've never heard of a Chupacabra, until a friend of his called and told us to go to that website and type in that name, and we assumed maybe that's what it was because it's identical to it," said Dusseau.

Known as a mythical creature, the Chupacabra, also called the Goat Sucker, has been only a legend, until recent sightings and folklore flooding the internet, had some second-guessing the creature's existence.

"This animal looked just like the one that was photographed in January of '09," said Dusseau as she looked at photos on the computer.

Mike Mitchener with Kansas Wildlife Game and Parks said even though the pictures are the same, thinking any animal is a Chupacabra is like believing in Sasquatch or Bigfoot.

"In Kansas at least, they typically end up being coyotes with a real bad case of mange. They can look really, really strange. If a coyote has a really bad case of mange, they lose all their hair on their body, and they can become real crusty and infected in their skin and really don't resemble a coyote at all," said Mitchener.

Dr. Rick Cox, a veterinarian in Conway Springs, examined the animal. He said it's a raccoon without hair.

Dusseau said she would rather believe in the unknown.

"I think it's a Chupacabra. I really do," said Dusseau.