On Wednesday, April 17th, the Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU) posted an article on their blog about a recent chupacabra sighting in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The post details an account reported by José Pérez, a field researcher with a “wide range of unpublished experiences in Puerto Rican ufology”, regarding one Mr. Rey D. Rodríguez and his encounter with the enigmatic creature known as the “chupacabra.”
In early April Rodríguez, also known as “Chaka”, was in the process of herding cattle toward his barn when he spied something otherworldly lurking in the dark. The night was clear and illuminated by a full moon, giving him a keen view of the landscape around their pickup truck as he and his nephew drove after the cattle. They were also equipped with a high-powered LED flashlight used to identify cattle from a distance. As they neared a field known as the Medianía sector, used primarily for rounding up the livestock in a game of “gotcha”, they spied what appeared to be eyes reflecting red in the beams of their headlights across the property. Assuming what they had seen had been one of Chaka’s cows, they drove across the clearing, but found nothing.
Turning the truck around to return to the rest of the herd, they spied the glowing red eyes again as something darted through the underbrush. According to the report, Chaka yelled, “Stop right there! Look at that!”
Just beyond a small mound of dirt, they spied “a short-statured man who appeared to be crouching” with glowing eyes and quills along its head and back. Chaka demanded that his nephew give him his machete and gave chase to the creature, which fled into darkness beyond the undergrowth. Chaka and his nephew continued to pursue the creature as it ran parallel to a barbed wire fence. The chupacabra leapt over the fence and disappeared into the night.
Chaka and his nephew did not see the creature again after that. However, a week later, two mares and two calves were slaughtered by an unidentified “animal.” So far, no concrete evidence has been gathered from either the Medianía sighting or the slain livestock. The search for the illusive chupacabra continues…
**Illustration by Clee Barker