'chupacabra' taken at the taxidermists where it is being stuffed
Two men in Texas believe they may have discovered the body of a chupacabra – a mythical beast rumoured to suck all the blood out of its prey.
Lynn Butler, a taxidermist, says that he found the mystery creature's corpse in a chicken barn three months ago, the morning after an unseen predator was heard running amock.
While its hairless, leathery body and pointed muzzle resemble a dog with severe mange, other animal experts who have inspected the corpse have suggested it may be a chupacabra, a predator first sighted in Puerto Rico in 1995.
Although descriptions of chupacabras differ wildly – they are variously compared to rodents, lizards and even small bears – they tend to be distinguished by prominent fangs visible on Mr Butler's specimen.
The name translates from the Spanish as "goat sucker" because of reports that the beasts puncture the skins of livestock with their teeth, draining them of blood.
Suspected sightings have been reported across the Americas and even as far away as Russia, but scientists dismiss the animals as modern legends.
Jerry Ayer, a friend of Mr Butler and a fellow taxidermist, now has possession of the body and says he plans to have it properly stuffed and mounted for public display.
"To be honest, I don't know what it is. I'd probably say it's a freak-of-nature coyote, or a hybrid breed with a genetic mutation," he told the Los Angeles Times .
"It has a little fuzz around the feet. Almost like little socks of fur. And there's a little hair up the backbone. Very odd-looking," he added. "The hairlessness is sinister because you can see the bones protruding at the hips.
"People say there's a mythical beast and I have one. I'll call it chupacabra because people love it, but I don't know what it is."
Mr Ayer says that he does not want to develop a reputation as a crank, but says he has pleased that widespread interest in the find – he has been interviewed by CNN and other US networks – has increased the profile of his business, Blanco Taxidermy School.
The last cryptozoology sensation to attract international attention followed the claim by two Georgia residents to have discovered the body of Bigfoot last year. They subsequently confessed that photos produced as "proof" of their find actually showed a rubber ape costume.