Deep in the back woods of south Texas, you never know what might be lurking around the corner or in your tree.
"And he saw this strange animal up sitting up here eating corn," said Jackie Stock
In Ratcliffe, a small town in Dewitt County, residents are certain they've found the mythical, despicable chupacabra, and this time it's alive. Stock says her husband caught the creature Sunday night.
"He called me to come and look and I said, "Bubba, that looks like a baby chupacabra,'" said Stock.
With its hairless back, large claws, countless teeth and ferocious growl, many would say the animal fits the bill.
"You know, I hunted coons 20 years with dogs, and I ain't never seen anything that look like that right there," said neighbor Arlen Parma.
Parma says one of the big signs it's not a raccoon is its growl.
"Coon don't make that noise, or a possum, what makes that noise, I guess a chupacabra does, I don't know," he said.
In Dewitt County, most people are convinced this is the elusive chupacabra, but what do wildlife experts have to say? "The animal in the cage as best I can tell from the view is some form of a small canine," said Brent Ortego, a biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Ortego says a canine can include a coyote, dog or even a fox. He says the animal most likely has mange, which has caused it to lose its hair, but as for a chupacabra, well, he said he thinks otherwise.
"It's never been proven to be a unique species, it was always something out there that allegedly was said to cause harm or threaten to cause harm to people or to livestock," he said.
Chupacabra or not, the little guy is staying at the Stock household, living off a diet of cat food and corn, at least until someone can find out what it really is.
"We were just trying to figure out what it is because we've never seen anything like that on our place before," Stock said.
