>> male narrator: SOMETHING STRANGE IS KILLING ANIMALS ON THE RANCHES OF TEXAS. >> I WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED, BECAUSE I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS ANIMAL LOOKED. >> narrator: IT'S CALLED THE CHUPACABRA. AND WHEREVER IT'S REPORTED, IT LEAVES ITS MARK. >> THEY'RE ACTUALLY TAKING CHICKENS AND LIVESTOCK AND ACTUALLY SUCKING THE BLOOD OUT OF THEM. >> narrator: FROM PUERTO RICO TO THE U.S. MAINLAND, THE MYSTERY DEEPENS. >> THE ANIMAL WAS PROBABLY NOT A DOG, PROBABLY NOT A COYOTE. NOW WHAT? >> narrator: STRANGE PHOTOS OF AN ANIMAL THAT STALKS THE NIGHT... >> I DON'T BELIEVE I'VE EVER SEEN A SKIN CONDITION THIS SEVERE. >> narrator: AND IN ONE CASE INVADES A HOME. AN EXPEDITION IN AN AREA HOT WITH ACTIVITY... >> YOU GOT SOMETHING? >> I GOT A REFLECTION RIGHT THERE ON THE GROUND. >> YEAH, WE GOT SOME MOVEMENT HERE. >> narrator: A BATTERY OF TESTS LOOKING FOR ANSWERS, AND ONE OF THE STRANGEST CHUPACABRA FINDS OF ALL. >> THIS IS EXTREMELY UNUSUAL. >> narrator: WITNESSES AROUND THE WORLD REPORT SEEING MONSTERS. ARE THEY REAL OR IMAGINARY? SCIENCE SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS ON<i> MONSTER QUEST.</i> SOUTHERN TEXAS: HOME TO A HOST OF PREDATORS LIKE BOBCATS, SNAKES, AND COYOTES. LIVESTOCK DEATHS HERE ARE NOTHING NEW. IN 2004, RANCHERS NOTICED A RASH OF MYSTERIOUS ANIMAL KILLINGS. MULTIPLE CASES WERE REPORTED. WHILE MOST PREDATORS EAT THEIR PREY, THESE ATTACKS WERE DIFFERENT. >> THERE WAS NO BLOOD COMING OUT OF THEM IN ANY PLACE. IT WAS JUST BIZARRE. >> THEY'D WAKE UP ONE MORNING AND FIND THE CARCASS OF THEIR FOUR FAVORITE RABBITS SUCKED DRY OF BLOOD AND JUST LYING THERE ON THE GROUND. >> narrator: THIS COULD BE A SIGN OF A NEW AND DEADLY CREATURE: THE CHUPACABRA, SAID TO SUCK THE BLOOD OF FARM ANIMALS. >> I MEAN, 'CAUSE OF THE BIG TEETH ON IT, IT LOOKED DANGEROUS. >> FRONT LEGS SORT OF LOOKED LIKE A KANGAROO. >> IT HAD FANGS THAT WERE JUST UNBELIEVABLY STRANGE FOR A CANINE CREATURE. >> narrator: WITNESSES DESCRIBE A BIZARRE FOUR-LEGGED HAIRLESS CREATURE WITH BACK LEGS MUCH LONGER THAN THE FRONT LEGS, MAKING THE BEAST APPEAR TO LOOK LIKE A CROSS BETWEEN A CANINE AND A KANGAROO WITH RAZOR-SHARP FANGS. CUERO, TEXAS: IN 2007, PHYLIS CANION NOTICED A FEARSOME BEAST SKULKING AROUND HER RANCH. >> THE FIRST TIME I SAW THIS ANIMAL, IT WAS RIGHT HERE. AND I WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED, BECAUSE I HAD NEVER SEEN ANYTHING THAT LOOKED LIKE THIS ANIMAL LOOKED. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND STOOD THERE AND LOOKED AT IT, AND IT TROTTED OFF A LITTLE FURTHER, AND THEN IT JUST CONTINUED TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION. >> narrator: AT THE SAME TIME, PHYLIS NOTICED THAT SOMETHING WAS KILLING HER CHICKENS AND LEAVING THE BODIES. >> NOW, MOST OF THE PREDATORS HERE WILL ACTUALLY TAKE THE ANIMAL AND TAKE IT AWAY. SO I WAS PERPLEXED AT WHAT THIS ANIMAL WAS THAT WOULD JUST KILL IT AND LEAVE THE MEAT. THERE WAS NO BLOOD AT ALL. THE BLOOD WAS SUCKED OUT OF IT. I CONTACTED MY BROTHER BYRON, AND HE SAID, "IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU HAVE A CHUPACABRA." >> narrator: PHYLIS CANION ISN'T THE ONLY TEXAN TO SEE A CHUPACABRA. MAJOR SIGHTINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN ELMENDORF AND POLLOK, TEXAS, HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY FROM CUERO. >> THESE ARE SMALL CREATURES WITH ODD-LOOKING TEETH, FANGS THAT ARE COMING OUT. THEY'VE GOT HAIRLESS NATURE. THERE'S THIS LACK OF HAIR ON THEIR BODIES AND A BLUISH KIND OF SKIN TONE. >> narrator: JOE CONGER, A REPORTER FOR SAN ANTONIO TV STATION KENS, COVERED THE STORY. >> THEY'RE ACTUALLY TAKING CHICKENS AND LIVESTOCK AND ACTUALLY SUCKING THE BLOOD OUT OF THEM, WHICH IS WHAT KIND OF GOT RANCHERS AND FOLKS LIKE THAT THINKING, "WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD?" YOU KNOW, "WHAT ARE THESE BEASTS THAT ARE ROAMING THROUGH THE WOODS?" >> narrator: THE MOST RECENT CHUPACABRA REPORTS ARE FROM TEXAS. BUT THE FIRST ATTACKS WERE RECORDED IN PUERTO RICO IN THE MID-1990s. SINCE THEN, THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF INCIDENTS. >> THE TERM "CHUPACABRA" WAS COINED IN PUERTO RICO. IT LITERALLY MEANS "GOAT SUCKER." ACCORDING TO THE FIRST REPORTS, GOATS WERE THE FIRST ANIMALS THAT WERE KILLED, AND THOSE ANIMALS WERE DRAINED OUT OF BLOOD. >> narrator: WILDLIFE EXPERT GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ PERSONALLY INVESTIGATED SOME OF THE REPORTED CHUPACABRA ATTACKS. >> THE PEAK OF THE CHUPACABRA STORY CAME BACK IN 1995, WHERE THE LOCAL TABLOID NEWSPAPERS IN PUERTO RICO WERE REPORTING HUNDREDS OF THESE ATTACKS DURING A COURSE OF SEVERAL MONTHS. PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON. >> narrator: THE GOVERNMENT PUT CIVIL DEFENSE OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF INVESTIGATING THE ATTACKS. >> I WORK IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT UNTIL 16 YEARS. AND WE NEVER SAW THAT KIND OF THING IN MY LIFE. >> narrator: PHOTOS TAKEN DURING THE CRISIS CLEARLY SHOW FARM ANIMALS WITH DISTINCTIVE PUNCTURE WOUNDS. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SUPERVISOR HOMMY VASQUEZ SAW THE DEAD ANIMALS UP CLOSE. >> IN THE MAJORITY OF THE CASES THAT WE INVESTIGATE OF THE CHUPACABRA, THE ANIMALS WAS WITHOUT BLOOD. >> narrator: BUT THE CREATURE DESCRIBED TO VASQUEZ WAS DIFFERENT THAN THE CREATURES IN THE TEXAS SIGHTINGS. WITNESSES IN PUERTO RICO DESCRIBE THE CHUPACABRA AS A TWO-LEGGED HAIRLESS BEAST THAT STANDS ON ITS HIND LEGS LIKE A KANGAROO WITH SHARP FANGS AND HUGE, GLOWING RED EYES. IT RESEMBLES A GARGOYLE. >> narrator: EYEWITNESS MISAEL NEGRON-MELENDEZ SAW THE CREATURE FIRSTHAND. IT'S AN EXPERIENCE HE WON'T SOON FORGET. IT WAS A FALL NIGHT IN 1995. NEGRON WAS ON HIS BALCONY WHEN HE NOTICED SOMETHING STANDING BY THE FAR RAILING. >> narrator: MISAEL GOT CLOSER AND REALIZED THAT THE CREATURE ON THE EDGE OF THE BALCONY WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING HE HAD EVER SEEN. >> narrator: BUT THE CREATURE WASN'T DONE WITH HIM. >> narrator: SOON, CHUPACABRA REPORTS WERE POURING IN FROM CHILE, NICARAGUA, MEXICO, AND THE UNITED STATES. THE MOST RECENT SIGHTINGS IN THE U.S. HAVE BEEN CENTERED IN TEXAS, INCLUDING ONE IN THE TOWN OF ELMENDORF. >> OKAY, BREEDING PENS. >> narrator: RANCHER DEVIN MCANALLY KNOWS FIRSTHAND HOW DEADLY THESE ANIMALS CAN BE. HE SAYS THAT IN 2005, A CHUPACABRA BEGAN STALKING AND KILLING HIS CHICKENS. >> HERE I FOUND AS MANY AS OVER 30 THAT THE CHUPACABRAS KILLED. BUT THEY WERE JUST DEAD. >> narrator: AND LIKE THE PUERTO RICAN ATTACKS, MCANALLY WAS SHOCKED TO FIND THE ANIMALS DRAINED OF BLOOD. >> THERE WAS NO BLOOD COMING OUT OF THEM IN ANY PLACE. IT WAS JUST BIZARRE. >> narrator: THE GRUESOME DEATH OF HIS CHICKENS COINCIDED WITH THE APPEARANCE OF A STRANGE CREATURE. >> I SAW THIS CREATURE FOUR TIMES, AND EVERY TIME I RAN INSIDE TO GET THE GUN, TIME I GOT BACK, SHE WAS GONE. I'M WASTING MY TIME. SO I DECIDED THE NEXT TIME I SAW THE ANIMAL, I WOULD PUT A GUN HANDY SO THAT I WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO INSIDE AND GET IT. >> narrator: A FEW DAYS LATER, DEVIN GOT HIS CHANCE. >> WELL, I WAS CARRYING BUCKETS OF WATER. MY MIND TOTALLY WAS OBLIVIOUS TO ANYTHING ELSE, BUT THEN I SAW THE ANIMAL. IT WAS WITHIN 30 YARDS OF ME. I HAD THE GUN PROPPED UP IN THE TREE BRANCH, IN THE CROOK, SO ALL I HAD TO DO WAS TAKE IT AND JUST FIND MY RANGE. AND I KNEW THAT I WOULD NEED TO ACT THAT FAST. [gunshot] >> narrator: DEVIN KILLED THE CREATURE WITH ONE SHOT. >> I JUST POPPED OFF ONE SHOT AS FAST AS I COULD. >> narrator: WHEN DEVIN APPROACHED THE KILL, HE WAS AMAZED BY WHAT HE SAW. PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE TIME SHOW A FOUR-LEGGED ANIMAL WITH BIG TEETH AND BIZARRE SKIN. >> AFTER I SHOT IT AND I WAS APPROACHING IT CAREFULLY WITH GUN READY, IT GOT WEIRDER AND WEIRDER. IT LOOKED AS THOUGH-- "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE SKIN? WHAT'S THAT WEIRD COLOR?" THE SKIN WAS LIKE AN ELEPHANT'S. THE ANIMAL WAS PROBABLY NOT A DOG, PROBABLY NOT A COYOTE. NOW WHAT? >> narrator: DEVIN STILL HAS THE BONES OF THE CREATURE HE KILLED. CRYPTOZOOLOGIST KEN GERHARD HAS FOLLOWED THE CHUPACABRA REPORTS FOR YEARS. HE AND WILDLIFE EXPERT LEE HALES ARE ABOUT TO LAUNCH AN EXPEDITION HERE IN SOUTH TEXAS. >> WELL, THIS IS OUR TARGET AREA, LEE. >> narrator: THEIR GOAL? TO CAPTURE A LIVE CHUPACABRA. THE EVIDENCE THEY UNCOVER PLUS KEY EXISTING EVIDENCE LIKE HAIR, TEETH, AND SKIN OF THESE BEASTS WILL BE SENT TO SEVERAL LABS ACROSS THE U.S. EXPERTS WILL LOOK FOR CLUES TO JUST WHAT THIS BEAST IS. BUT GERHARD FIRST HEADS TO DEVIN MCANALLY'S RANCH TO GET AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT THE BONES OF THE CREATURE HE HOPES TO CAPTURE. HE'S BEEN STUDYING THE ANIMALS OF TEXAS FOR YEARS, AND RIGHT AWAY, HE NOTICES A STARTLING FEATURE: THE FANGS. >> THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE CANINE TOOTH ON THIS ANIMAL. HOWEVER, WE CAN SEE THAT IT SEEMS A LOT MORE PRONOUNCED THAN TYPICALLY WE WOULD SEE ON AN ANIMAL OF THIS SIZE. >> narrator: THESE LARGE CANINE TEETH ARE ONE INDICATION THAT THIS COULD BE A CREATURE UNKNOWN TO SCIENCE, BUT FURTHER ANALYSIS IS NEEDED. >> WE HAVE SOME GOOD MOLARS HERE LEFT ON THIS LOWER JAW. AND PARTICULARLY THE MOLARS ARE GOOD FOR DNA TESTING BECAUSE THEY HAVE--YOU KNOW, THEY ARE THE FIRST TEETH THAT ARE DEVELOPED. >> narrator: THIS MOLAR WILL BE SENT TO A LAB AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY FOR A COMPLETE DNA ANALYSIS. KEN LAYS OUT THE CREATURE'S BONES TO GET A BETTER IDEA OF THE BODY SHAPE. >> JUST A VERY LOOSE RECONSTRUCTION HERE JUST TO KIND OF GET SOME OF THE SCALE OF THE ANIMAL AND SEE IF WE CAN SEE ANY OTHER ANOMALIES IN SOME OF THE BONES HERE. >> narrator: ONE ANOMALY IS IMMEDIATELY APPARENT: THE SKULL ITSELF. >> THIS IS THE SAGITTAL CREST. THIS APPEARS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PRONOUNCED THAN WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE HERE. IT'S VERY HIGH. IT'S KIND OF POINTY. >> narrator: THIS COULD BE AN IMPORTANT CLUE TO THE CREATURE'S ORIGINS. KEN TAKES SOME MEASUREMENTS AND PHOTOS OF THE CREST FOR COMPARISON TO KNOWN MAMMALS. BUT KEN HAS A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE BONES. >> VERY OBVIOUSLY A CARNIVORE. AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, IT LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE A CANINE. >> narrator: A CANINE, EVEN A JAGGED-TOOTHED MONSTER LIKE THIS ONE, IS STILL A FOUR-LEGGED CREATURE. BUT THE CHUPACABRA IN PUERTO RICO WAS ALWAYS DESCRIBED AS STANDING ON TWO LEGS. HOW CAN THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE CHUPACABRA VARY SO WILDLY? >> BASICALLY, THE LEGEND OF THE CHUPACABRA SPREAD AROUND THE GLOBE IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. ONE IS THROUGH THE MEDIA. >> narrator: AUTHOR BENJAMIN RADFORD STUDIES THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN SIGHTINGS LIKE THESE. >> THERE WERE NEWS REPORTS OF THESE CHUPACABRA ATTACKS, CHUPACABRA SIGHTINGS ON TV AND THE NEWSPAPER. THAT REALLY DISSEMINATED IT. >> narrator: WHILE THE CREATURE DESCRIPTIONS VARIED, THE RESULT OF THE ATTACKS WERE THE SAME. >> THE HALLMARK OF CHUPACABRAS IS NOT ITS PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, BECAUSE PEOPLE DON'T AGREE ON WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. ITS HALLMARK IS THE DEAD ANIMALS IT LEAVES BEHIND. >> narrator: AND THAT STILL LEAVES JUST WHO, OR WHAT, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE KILLINGS. BUT PHYLIS CANION THINKS THAT SHE MAY HAVE THE ANSWER TO THE TEXAS ATTACKS. >> SO, KEN, THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE BEAST THAT WE THINK IS THE CHUPACABRA. >> narrator: THE FIRST EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE CHUPACABRA CAME IN PUERTO RICO IN THE MID-1990s. RESEARCHER MARC DAVENPORT AND FILMMAKER JOE PALERMO WERE IN PUERTO RICO FILMING A DOCUMENTARY DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE ATTACKS. >> DAY AND NIGHT OVER THE RADIO, OVER TELEVISION, IN THE NEWSPAPER, WHATEVER, THEY WERE CONSTANTLY TALKING ABOUT THIS CHUPACABRA ACTIVITY GOING ON. THIS WAS VERY SERIOUS TO THEM. >> THE ANIMAL DEATHS WERE A CONTINUING THING. THIS HAPPENED ALMOST DAILY. THEY'D WAKE UP ONE MORNING AND FIND THE CARCASS OF THEIR FOUR FAVORITE RABBITS SUCKED DRY OF BLOOD AND JUST LYING THERE ON THE GROUND. >> narrator: PALERMO AND DAVENPORT TURNED THEIR CAMERAS TO THE CHUPACABRA STORY. THEIR FOOTAGE IS NOW IMPORTANT EXISTING EVIDENCE OF THE FIRST ATTACKS. THEY CONDUCTED DOZENS OF INTERVIEWS. BUT THIS INTERVIEW WITH A LOCAL MAYOR WAS INTERRUPTED BY AN URGENT PHONE CALL. [man speaking Spanish over phone] [men speaking Spanish] A CHUPACABRA HAD JUST BEEN SPOTTED NEARBY. DAVENPORT AND PALERMO RUSHED TO THE SCENE. >> THE DESCRIPTION THAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING OF CHUPACABRAS, THEY TEND TO HAVE CLAWS... >> narrator: THE LOCATION WAS IN THE HILLS ABOVE CANOVANAS, PUERTO RICO. >> THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE WENT TO INVESTIGATE IN, IN CANOVANAS, PUERTO RICO, WE DISCOVERED THAT THE CHUPACABRA HAD BEEN COMING TO THIS PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD ALMOST EVERY NIGHT FOR FOUR MONTHS. INCREDIBLE. >> [speaking Spanish] >> EVERY NIGHT. >> EVERY NIGHT? >> EVERY NIGHT? >> LAST NIGHT TOO? >> LAST NIGHT? >> LAST NIGHT. >> narrator: IN CANOVANAS, PALERMO AND DAVENPORT MET VILLAGERS WHO THOUGHT THEY HAD FOUND A CHUPACABRA NEST. >> CAN SHE TAKE US NOW TO SHOW US THE NEST? AND TELL HER WE WILL PROTECT HER. THERE'S BARBED WIRE, SO I'M GOING TO TRY TO SEE IF I CAN FIND SOME HAIR SAMPLES ON THE BARBED WIRE. PICKED UP RIGHT HERE. I FOUND THE HAIRS BOTH IN THAT NEST-LOOKING PLACE AND IN THE TRAIL THAT KIND OF LED UP TO IT. WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS, WE'VE TAKEN SOME HAIR SAMPLES FROM THE EDGE OF THE WALL. WE HAVE TESTIMONY THAT THE CHUPACABRAS JUMPED THIS WALL INTO THIS AREA AND KILLED A RABBIT. >> narrator: MARC DAVENPORT FOUND HAIR SAMPLES FROM THE ALLEGED CHUPACABRA NEST. >> THEY DO SEEM TO BE CURLY. >> narrator: COULD THEY BE HAIR FROM A CHUPACABRA? THIS EXISTING EVIDENCE WILL BE SENT FOR TWO TESTS: DNA TESTING AND FORENSIC ANALYSIS, THE FIRST EVER ON THIS HAIR. >> HAIR IS NOT LIKE A FINGERPRINT. IT DOES NOT GIVE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS. IT'S CALLED A CLASS CHARACTERISTIC. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE CAN BY AND LARGE IDENTIFY THE SPECIES THAT A HAIR COMES FROM. >> narrator: THAT ANALYSIS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY IRVING KORNFIELD, A SPECIALIST IN FORENSIC HAIR ANALYSIS, SOMETHING HE USUALLY DOES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN POACHING INVESTIGATIONS. THE HAIR WILL BE CROSS-CHECKED AGAINST ANIMALS NATIVE TO PUERTO RICO TO ENSURE THAT IT DID NOT COME FROM A KNOWN ANIMAL. THE LIST IS RELATIVELY SHORT. >> WE DON'T HAVE ANY NATIVE LARGE MAMMALS IN PUERTO RICO. ALL OF THE LARGE MAMMALS ARE BASICALLY EXOTICS OR FERAL SPECIES LIKE THE MONGOOSE AND SEVERAL TYPES OF SPECIES OF MONKEYS. >> narrator: PUERTO RICO IS HOME TO A LARGE POPULATION OF RHESUS MONKEYS. THESE MONKEYS ARE NOT NATIVE TO PUERTO RICO. THEY WERE BROUGHT HERE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES IN THE 1930s, BUT SEVERAL DOZEN MANAGED TO ESCAPE. COULD ONE OF THESE ESCAPED PRIMATES BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANIMAL KILLINGS? OUR FORENSIC HAIR TESTS ON THE PUERTO RICAN HAIR SAMPLES COULD HELP PROVE WHETHER OR NOT THE CHUPACABRA WAS A PRIMATE. IN TEXAS, THE SKELETAL EVIDENCE IS STILL BEING ANALYZED. PHYLIS CANION BELIEVES THE CHUPACABRA IS SOME TYPE OF NEW, AGGRESSIVE CANINE, AND SHE SAYS SHE HAS THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT. IN 2007, PHYLIS' NEIGHBORS REPORTED A STRANGE ROADKILL ON THE HIGHWAY. CANION RETRIEVED THE CARCASS, THINKING IT COULD BE THE MYSTERY CREATURE THAT WAS KILLING HER CHICKENS. SHE FROZE THE HEAD TO PRESERVE THE BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE, WHICH SHOULD HELP CRYPTOZOOLOGIST KEN GERHARD'S INVESTIGATION. >> PHYLIS, I'M REALLY NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY. THIS IS UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN. VERY UNUSUAL-LOOKING ANIMAL. IT'S OBVIOUSLY A PREDATOR OR A CARNIVORE OF SOME TYPE, I WOULD SAY, BASED ON THE TEETH. >> narrator: LIKE THE CHUPACABRA SKELETON FROM ELMENDORF, TEXAS, THESE CANINE TEETH SEEM UNUSUALLY LARGE. THE SKIN ALSO SEEMS UNNATURAL. >> I CORRELATE THIS SKIN TO WHAT ELEPHANT SKIN IS LIKE. IT WAS VERY, VERY COARSE SKIN. VERY HARD TO ACTUALLY CUT THROUGH IT WITH A KNIFE. >> SEEMS LIKE THE SKIN IS COMPLETELY SMOOTH, DEVOID OF MOST OF THE HAIR. WE SEE SOME LITTLE TRACES HERE AND THERE. >> narrator: IN ALL, THREE SCIENTIFIC TESTS WILL BE CONDUCTED ON THE CUERO CREATURE BY THREE DIFFERENT SCIENTISTS. HAIRS WILL BE GIVEN TO IRVING KORNFIELD TO COMPARE TO THE PUERTO RICAN HAIR SAMPLES. SKIN WILL BE SENT TO VETERINARY PATHOLOGIST JOANNE MANSELL TO SEE IF THE CREATURE HAS A SKIN DISEASE. FINALLY, A TISSUE SAMPLE WILL BE SENT TO NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S TODD DISOTELL FOR DNA TESTING. BUT FOR GERHARD, BY FAR THE BEST EVIDENCE WOULD BE A LIVE CHUPACABRA. AND THE CANION RANCH IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO TRY TO FIND ONE. PHYLIS SAYS SHE SAW ONE OF THESE CREATURES ON HER PROPERTY EIGHT WEEKS EARLIER. LEE HALES, A WILDLIFE EXPERT FROM LOUISIANA, SPENT YEARS WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. HE HAS AGREED TO JOIN KEN IN THE HUNT ON THE RANCH. >> LEE. >> HOW YOU DOING? >> THANKS FOR MAKING IT OUT. >> OH, I WOULDN'T MISS IT. >> narrator: TOGETHER THEY WILL ATTEMPT TO DO WHAT NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE: CAPTURE EVIDENCE OF A LIVING CHUPACABRA. >> IT ISN'T OUTSIDE THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY THAT THERE'S SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT HERE. WE HAVE A LOT OF LAND TO COVER. >> narrator: TO HELP IN THEIR HUNT FOR EVIDENCE OF THE CREATURE, THEY'LL BE SETTING MOTION-SENSITIVE CAMERAS THROUGHOUT THE PROPERTY BAITED WITH BLOOD-SOAKED MEAT. AND TO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF CATCHING ONE ALIVE, THEY WILL USE A STEEL CAGE TRAP. >> GO FOR IT. PUT A LITTLE WEIGHT ON THAT. >> narrator: THE HUNT IS ON. >> narrator: AT THE CANION RANCH IN CUERO, TEXAS, CRYPTOZOOLOGIST KEN GERHARD AND WILDLIFE EXPERT LEE HALES ARE ON THE HUNT FOR EVIDENCE OF A BLOODSUCKING CHUPACABRA. THIS IS THE LOCATION OF THE MOST RECENT SIGHTING, BUT THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF ACRES TO COVER. THIS WATERING HOLE MIGHT BE A GOOD PLACE TO START. THERE'S EVIDENCE OF A LOT OF ANIMALS HERE. COULD THAT INCLUDE A CHUPACABRA? >> AND THAT'S WHERE I WANT TO PUT THE BAIT IS RIGHT DOWN THERE AT THE WATER'S EDGE. THAT'S KIND OF PERFECT RIGHT THERE. >> narrator: HALES AND GERHARD ARE PUTTING MOTION-DETECTING CAMERAS HERE. BUT TO INCREASE THE CHANCE OF GETTING THE BEAST, THEY ARE GOING TO SET OUT RAW, RANCID MEAT SOAKED IN BLOOD AS BAIT. >> COVER THIS OVER. >> narrator: THE WATER HOLE IS A SMALL PART OF THE ENTIRE PROPERTY, ALL OF WHICH IS TEEMING WITH SIGNS OF ANIMALS. ONE THEORY IS THAT THE BEAST COULD ACTUALLY BE A NORMAL ANIMAL WITH A SERIOUS DISEASE. >> MOST WILD MAMMALS WILL HIDE ILLNESS AS LONG AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN. >> narrator: SHARMAN HOPPES IS A PROFESSOR AT THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE AT TEXAS A&M. >> THAT'S THE ANIMAL THAT'S GOING TO COME IN AND MAYBE STEAL YOUR CAT OR YOUR DOG OR YOUR CHICKENS. >> narrator: ONE DISEASE THAT AFFECTS WILD ANIMALS IS CALLED MANGE. >> MANGE IS ACTUALLY A MITE. IT'S A LITTLE ORGANISM THAT GETS ON THE SKIN OF THE ANIMALS. >> narrator: IN TEXAS, IT'S KNOWN TO AFFECT COYOTES, FOXES, EVEN DOMESTIC DOGS. MANGE AFFECTS A CANINE'S APPEARANCE. >> AND IT CAUSES SEVERE ITCHING. AND THAT WILL LEAD TO THEM SCRATCHING AND LICKING AND CHEWING AT THEIR SKIN, CAUSING THE SKIN TO BECOME INFLAMED AND PIGMENTED AND THICKENED AND SEVERE HAIR LOSS. >> narrator: BUT NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH THE MANGE THEORY. >> I'VE KILLED MANGY COYOTES BEFORE. AND MOST OF THEM THAT YOU KILL, THEY'LL HAVE HAIR SOMEWHERE ON THEM, UNDER THE BELLY OR ON THE BACK OF THEM. THEY'LL HAVE HAIR. BUT THIS ONE HERE HAD NO HAIR HARDLY AT ALL ON HIM. >> narrator: IN 2005, BEN AND TYREL O'QUINN CAME FACE-TO-FACE WITH A MYSTERIOUS CANINE. IT HAPPENED AT THEIR HOME IN POLLOCK, TEXAS, OVER 200 MILES FROM THE CANION RANCH IN CUERO. AND THE CREATURE, THEY SAY, LOOKED A LOT LIKE THE ONE THAT PHYLIS CANION DISCOVERED. >> I COME HOME FROM SCHOOL ONE DAY. MY DAD AND GRANDPA CALLED ME TO COME DOWN HERE, 'CAUSE THE DOGS HAD SOMETHING BAYED UP UNDER THE HOUSE. [dog barking] >> narrator: TYREL GRABBED ROPE AND WENT UNDER THE HOUSE TO TRY AND PULL THE CREATURE OUT. HE WAS SHOCKED BY WHAT HE SAW. >> I GOT REAL CLOSE TO IT, ABOUT TWO, THREE FEET. AND IT JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, THESE REAL BIG TEETH, CANINES. AND IT WAS SMOKY GRAY-LOOKING. IT DIDN'T HAVE NO HAIR ON IT. [creature barking and whining] >> I HAD MY .22 MAGNUM WHEN HE WENT UNDER THE HOUSE IN CASE THIS CREATURE WANTED TO ATTACK HIM OR SOMETHING. I COULD KILL HIM BEFORE HE GOT TO ATTACK. >> narrator: BEN SHOT THE CREATURE DEAD. [gunshot] TYREL PULLED THE DEAD CARCASS OUT FROM UNDER THE HOUSE. PHOTOS SHOW WHAT THEY FOUND: A HAIRLESS CANINE-LIKE CREATURE WITH CRUSTY SKIN AND HUGE TEETH. <i>MONSTER QUEST</i> GAVE THIS PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE TO SHARMAN HOPPES FOR ANALYSIS. >> I DON'T BELIEVE I'VE EVER SEEN A SKIN CONDITION THIS SEVERE IN ANY OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS THAT I'VE TAKEN CARE OF IN PRACTICE AND CERTAINLY HAVE NOT SEEN IT IN A WILDLIFE CASE AT ALL. IF THIS IS MANGE, IT IS ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE CASES I'VE EVER SEEN. >> narrator: THE SKIN FROM THE CREATURE IN POLLOK APPEARS VERY SIMILAR TO THE SKIN FROM THE CUERO, TEXAS, CREATURE. <i>MONSTER QUEST</i> SENT A SKIN SAMPLE FROM THE CUERO CREATURE TO JOANNE MANSELL, A VETERINARY PATHOLOGIST AT TEXAS A&M. >> WE'RE LOOKING FOR "A," TO FIND OUT WHAT SPECIES THIS CREATURE COMES FROM; "B," TO SEE IF THERE'S INFLAMMATION; "C," TO SEE WHETHER THESE CREATURES HAD NORMAL HAIR FOLLICLES AT SOME TIME, AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO TELL WHAT THE CREATURE IS. >> narrator: MANSELL USED AN ALCOHOL SOLUTION ON SKIN SCRAPINGS WHICH SHE EXAMINED UNDER A MICROSCOPE, LOOKING FOR SIGNS OF THE MITE THAT CAUSES MANGE. HER RESULTS COULD PROVE WHETHER OR NOT THIS CREATURE SUFFERS FROM A KNOWN DISEASE OR WHETHER THE CREATURE WAS NATURALLY HAIRLESS LIKE A XOLO, OR MEXICAN HAIRLESS DOG. FORENSIC HAIR SPECIALIST IRVING KORNFIELD HAS COMPLETED HIS ANALYSIS OF THE HAIR SAMPLE FROM THE REPORTED CHUPACABRA NEST IN PUERTO RICO. SOME HAVE SPECULATED THAT THE HAIRS COULD HAVE COME FROM A RHESUS MONKEY, AN INVASIVE SPECIES NOW FOUND ON THE ISLAND. HE FIRST EXAMINED THE HAIR WITH A CONVENTIONAL MICROSCOPE TO PRODUCE PHOTOS LIKE THESE. >> WITH THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE IN THE CORE HERE, I WAS ABLE TO SAY DEFINITIVELY THAT THIS WAS NOT A HAIR FROM A RHESUS MONKEY. >> narrator: NEXT, KORNFIELD USED A HIGH-POWERED ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TO PRODUCE PHOTOS LIKE THESE. ELECTRON MICROSCOPES CAN MAGNIFY AN IMAGE A MILLION TIMES MORE THAN THE HUMAN EYE CAN SEE. >> IT'S VERY CLEAR IN THIS ELECTRON MICROGRAPH THAT YOU CAN SEE THE SAMPLE WAS COMPRESSED, AND PART OF THE STRUCTURE WAS BEING LOST. BUT THE THIRD PHOTOGRAPH THAT WE TOOK UNDER THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE REVEALED A SCALATION PATTERN. >> narrator: THESE SCALATION PATTERNS ARE USED TO DETERMINE SPECIES. >> THE OVERALL CONCLUSION IS THAT THE MORPHOLOGY OF THOSE SAMPLES IS CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF A CANID, PROBABLY A DOMESTIC DOG. >> narrator: THIS SUGGESTS SEVERAL POSSIBILITIES: THAT THIS IS NOT A HAIR FROM A CHUPACABRA BUT OF A DOG THAT SOMEHOW GOT INTO THE NEST OR THAT THE CHUPACABRA IS ITSELF A CANINE, PERHAPS SICK, OR OF A BIZARRE TYPE NOT YET DOCUMENTED, AS THE SIGHTINGS IN TEXAS SUGGEST. THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO COMPARE THESE HAIRS WITH THE HAIRS TAKEN FROM PHYLIS CANION'S TEXAS CHUPACABRA TO SEE IF THERE IS A LINK. AT THE CANION RANCH, GERHARD AND HALES HAVE BEEN BAITING THEIR TRAPS WITH MEAT. >> IT'LL STAY HERE, AND IT WON'T MOVE... >> narrator: BUT THEY ALSO HAVE ANOTHER KIND OF BAIT. >> I BROUGHT SOME COYOTE URINE. COULD BE AN ATTRACTANT, BUT THIS IS GENERALLY USED FOR HUNTING VARMINTS, PREDATORS, SPECIFICALLY COYOTES. >> ESSENTIALLY, WE'RE GOING TO ACT LIKE DOGS AND, USING THAT, START TO SPREAD IT AROUND THIS AREA. >> narrator: CANINES RELY ON SCENT WHEN HUNTING, SO THE COYOTE URINE WILL ATTRACT ANY CANINE PREDATORS IN THE AREA. THE SECOND CAMERA TRAP GOES HERE, FACING THE FENCE. SURROUNDING THE WIDE-OPEN FIELDS ARE ACRES OF DENSE WOODS, WHICH COULD BE THE PERFECT HIDING PLACE FOR THE CHUPACABRA. >> I AM SEEING A BIG INTERSECTION HERE. HERE'S A GAME TRAIL. HERE'S A GAME TRAIL. THERE'S A GAME TRAIL. >> MAKE IT MORE STABLE. >> narrator: THE THIRD CAMERA TRAP GOES HERE IN THE MIDST OF ALL THIS ANIMAL TRAFFIC. THESE GAME TRAILS LEAD TO THE AREA WHERE PHYLIS CANION KEEPS HER CHICKENS. >> WELL, THIS IS OUR TARGET AREA, LEE. THIS IS THE CHICKEN COOP WHERE PHYLIS HAS BEEN KEEPING HER CHICKENS AND THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE, EVIDENTLY, THE ANIMAL WAS TAKING CHICKENS. >> OKAY. >> narrator: PHYLIS NORMALLY USES THIS CAGE AS A CHICKEN COOP, BUT IT HAS A SECONDARY USAGE AS WELL. >> WELL, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS A TRAP WITH A STEEL DOOR... >> RIGHT. >> AND A MECHANISM HERE THAT CAN BE ACTIVATED WHEN ANYTHING STEPS ON THAT PLATE. >> OKAY. >> WHAT I'M THINKING IS, LET'S BAIT THIS TRAP AND KEEP IT IN THIS EXACT LOCATION. >> narrator: GERHARD AND HALES SET THE TRAP IN THE HOPE THEY MIGHT CATCH THE MYSTERY PREDATOR ALIVE. >> YEAH, THAT'S TRUE TOO. >> narrator: THEY USE ONE OF PHYLIS' REMAINING CHICKENS AS LIVE BAIT TO INCREASE THEIR CHANCES. >> SO WE KNOW FOR SURE THIS THING IS ATTRACTED TO CHICKENS, WHETHER IT BE THE SOUND, SCENTS, AND ALL THAT STUFF. SO I THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT THIS ONE HERE AS WELL AS OUR DEAD CHICKEN BAIT. THIS WAY, WE'RE UTILIZING ALL OF OUR FACULTIES, SENSE, SMELL. >> narrator: THE FINAL CAMERA TRAP IS SET UP HERE, OVERLOOKING THE STEEL CAGE. THE TRAPS ARE SET, AND NOW NIGHT IS APPROACHING, WHEN MOST ANIMALS COME OUT TO HUNT. WILL A CHUPACABRA BE ONE OF THEM? >> YOU GOT SOMETHING? >> I GOT A REFLECTION RIGHT THERE ON THE GROUND. >> I THOUGHT I SAW IT TOO. >> YEAH. >> narrator: KEN GERHARD AND LEE HALES ARE ON THE HUNT IN SOUTHERN TEXAS FOR A MYSTERY PREDATOR SOME ARE CALLING A CHUPACABRA. HAIR FROM THE CREATURE FOUND HERE ON THE CANION RANCH HAS NOW BEEN ANALYZED BY FORENSIC HAIR INVESTIGATOR IRVING KORNFIELD, AND IT IS PROVIDING MORE CLUES TO THE CREATURE'S IDENTITY. >> THIS HAIR SAMPLE IS FROM THE ALLEGED TEXAS CHUPACABRA, AND IT'S EXCEPTIONALLY CRISP. IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF A CANID, AND IT'S ALSO VERY, VERY SIMILAR TO THE PATTERN THAT WE SAW IN HAIRS IN PUERTO RICO. IT'S CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF A DOG. >> narrator: A DNA ANALYSIS OF THE HAIRS COULD BE MORE DEFINITIVE. SUCH A TEST IS UNDER WAY AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, CONDUCTED BY TODD DISOTELL. SO FAR, THE EVIDENCE FROM PUERTO RICO AND TEXAS SEEM TO POINT TOWARDS A CANINE, PERHAPS A KNOWN SPECIES MUTATED IN SOME WAY OR ALTOGETHER NEW. AND CANINES EXHIBIT VERY PARTICULAR HUNTING BEHAVIOR. >> IF THE CHUPACABRA IS A CANINE PREDATOR, IT'S MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE SEEN EARLY MORNING OR KIND OF LATE EVENING. THAT'S GOING TO BE WHEN IT'S MOST ACTIVELY HUNTING. >> narrator: GERHARD AND HALES WILL RAMP UP THEIR SEARCH AS THE SUN SETS. >> LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ABOUT MAYBE 15, 20 MINUTES LEFT OF DAYLIGHT. OF COURSE, DUSK IS COMING, AND THAT'S WHEN WE CAN REALLY EXPECT THE BIGGEST ACTION, RIGHT? MOST PREDATORS TEND TO MOVE AROUND--MOST ANIMALS TEND TO MOVE AROUND RIGHT AFTER THE SUN FALLS. >> SO THIS IS REALLY OUR BEST OPPORTUNITY IN THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS TO SEE SOMETHING. AND WHO KNOWS? >> narrator: THEY'VE BROUGHT ALONG SOME TECHNOLOGY TO MAXIMIZE THEIR CHANCES OF FINDING THE SUSPECTED CHUPACABRA. >> THIS IS THE FOXPRO SCORPION. IT'S AN EXTREMELY ADVANCED GAME CALLING SYSTEM. WE HAVE A REMOTE CONTROL UNIT WITH HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT ANIMAL CALLS AT OUR DISPOSAL IN THE DATABASE. AND VIA REMOTE CONTROL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ACTIVATE THE SPEAKER SYSTEM AND PLACE IT WHEREVER WE WANT. >> narrator: THE FOXPRO SCORPION HAS A RANGE OF UP TO 500 METERS. >> THIS IS A GREAT SPOT, I THINK, TO HANG THIS LITTLE SPEAKER, 'CAUSE WE GOT THE REMOTE CONTROL... >> narrator: GERHARD AND HALES WILL USE DISTRESSED RABBIT CALLS TO TRY AND ATTRACT THEIR PREY. [rabbit squealing] BACK AT TEXAS A&M, SHARMAN HOPPES IS EXAMINING THE MEASUREMENTS TAKEN BY KEN GERHARD OF THE CREATURE FROM ELMENDORF, TEXAS. GERHARD FELT THE TEETH WERE LARGER THAN WHAT IS FOUND IN A TYPICAL CANINE SKULL. >> THE CANINE TOOTH HERE DOES LOOK A LITTLE BIT MORE PRONOUNCED. THE LENGTH OF THE TOOTH IN THE ELMENDORF BEAST WOULD BE A LITTLE BIT--BASICALLY RIGHT IN BETWEEN THE DOMESTIC DOG AND THE COYOTE. >> narrator: THE ELMENDORF CANINE TOOTH IS TOO SMALL TO BE FROM A DOG AND TOO LARGE TO BE FROM A COYOTE. THE SAGITTAL CREST, THE RIDGE OF BONE RUNNING DOWN THE CENTER OF THE SKULL, IS YIELDING MORE CLUES. >> THE SAGITTAL CREST DOES APPEAR TO BE SOMEWHAT LARGER THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT IN MOST SPECIES OF CANINES. >> narrator: THE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF ALL THREE CHUPACABRAS FROM ELMENDORF, CUERO, AND POLLOK, TEXAS, DO YIELD ONE DEFINITE RESULT. >> I WOULD SAY THAT THESE ARE PROBABLY VERY SIMILAR SPECIES AND CERTAINLY A SMALL COYOTE, FOX, OR SOME TYPE OF HYBRID BETWEEN THE COYOTE AND THE DOMESTIC DOG OR A WILD DOG. >> narrator: THESE THREE BIZARRE CREATURES, FOUND IN THREE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS TEXAS, ALL SHARE SIMILAR ORIGINS. BACK IN CUERO, NIGHT HAS FALLEN. AND THE HUNT HAS BEGUN. GERHARD AND HALES ARE SET UP NEAR THE STEEL CAGE TRAP. THEY HOPE THAT THE LIVE CHICKEN WILL ATTRACT SOME HUNGRY PREDATORS AND MAYBE EVEN THEIR CHUPACABRA. >> LET'S SEE WHAT WE GET. >> LET'S TRY SOME COYOTE HOWLS. >> narrator: THE GAME CALLER IS PLACED 200 YARDS FROM THIS HIDING SPOT. HALES AND GERHARD USE NIGHT VISION TECHNOLOGY TO SEE IF ANYTHING COMES OUT OF HIDING. >> HERE I'M SEEING A LITTLE BIT DOWN THERE PAST THAT HOLE. I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH BETTER YOUR UNIT IS, LEE. >> I CAN SEE ALL THE WAY TO THE TELEPHONE POLE. >> YEAH, I CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT PAST THAT. JUST KIND OF WAITING TO SEE IF ANYTHING MOVES OR COMES OUT OR REACTS TO OUR CALL BLASTING HERE. >> narrator: AND RIGHT AWAY, THEY DO FIND SOMETHING. GERHARD AND HALES MOVE IN FOR A CLOSER LOOK. >> narrator: BUT THIS CREATURE IS A FAMILIAR ONE: A RABBIT. IT'S NOT A CHUPACABRA, BUT IT COULD BE A MEAL FOR ONE. AFTER 15 MINUTES OF CALL BLASTING, IT'S TIME TO MOVE TO THE NEXT AREA. >> ALL RIGHT. GOOD LUCK, CHICKEN. >> ALL RIGHT. >> WE'LL BE BACK. >> narrator: AS THEY APPROACH THE WATERING HOLE, GERHARD AND HALES NOTICE SOMETHING IN THE SHADOWS. THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE. >> I JUST SAW SOMETHING MOVE, I'M PRETTY SURE, RIGHT HERE AT THE FRONT END OF THIS STEEPLE. >> I'M NOT SURE WHAT I SAW, BUT JUST A MINUTE AGO WHEN WE WERE STARTING TO WALK UP ON THE POND, I SAW VERY CLEAR AND DEFINITE MOTION OF SOMETHING MOVING AND KIND OF DUCKING DOWN RIGHT HERE AT THE EDGE, A DARK FIGURE VERY LOW TO THE GROUND, KIND OF SCRAPING ALONG THE FRONT HERE. >> OKAY. >> IT WAS COMING OVER HERE TO INVESTIGATE THE NOISE, MOST LIKELY. NOW IT'S THROWING ME OFF A LITTLE. >> narrator: WHATEVER WAS OUT THERE SEEMS TO HAVE GONE BACK INTO HIDING FOR NOW. >> SO I WOULD SAY THE BEST PLAN AT THIS POINT IS TO HUNKER DOWN, LET OUR CAMERA TRAPS AND HOPEFULLY OUR STEEL CAGE TRAP DO THEIR JOB. >> RIGHT, WE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A STORM POSSIBLY ROLLING IN AFTER MIDNIGHT. SO WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST TAKE COVER AND LET ALL THESE TRAPS DO THEIR WORK. CUERO, TEXAS: THE MORNING FOLLOWING THE NIGHT EXPEDITION, KEN GERHARD AND LEE HALES ARE OFF TO CHECK THEIR TRAPS FOR EVIDENCE OF THE MYSTERY BEAST. >> HERE'S OUR CUT. >> narrator: THEIR FIRST STOP IS THE STEEL CAGE. >> THE DOOR'S DOWN. >> YEAH? >> WE GOT SOMETHING IN THERE. >> MM-HMM. >> WHAT IS THAT? >> THAT IS A--IT'S A POSSUM. >> narrator: IT'S NOT WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR. IT'S TIME TO RELEASE THIS ANIMAL BACK INTO THE WILD. >> WELL... >> narrator: NEXT, GERHARD AND HALES BEGIN CHECKING THE CAMERA TRAPS FOR EVIDENCE OF OTHER ANIMALS. >> BAIT'S GONE. >> BAIT'S GONE COMPLETELY? >> YEAH. >> narrator: THE LAST CAMERA WAS SET UP BY THE SPOT WHERE THEY SPREAD COYOTE URINE. >> ALL RIGHT. >> AHA. SOMETHING TOOK OUR BAIT. >> YEAH. WOW, IT'S COMPLETELY GONE, HUH? >> narrator: THEY DISCOVER STRANGE MARKINGS ON THE POST WHERE THEY SPRAYED THE COYOTE URINE. SOMETHING SCRATCHED THE POST. >> RAKED IT WITH ITS CLAWS RIGHT HERE WHERE WE BLASTED THAT COYOTE URINE. >> RIGHT, ABOUT THREE FEET. >> THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD HEIGHT THERE. >> YEAH. >> YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE ANIMALS WE'VE SEEN AROUND THE PROPERTY SO FAR, IT'S SUBSTANTIAL. THIS IS SIGNIFICANT. >> YEAH. >> narrator: THE SCRATCHES WERE MADE BY SOMETHING BIG. THIS IS ROUGHLY THE SAME LOCATION WHERE GERHARD SAW THE CREATURE IN THE SHADOWS THE NIGHT BEFORE. >> WHAT TYPE OF ANIMAL COULD HAVE DONE THIS? I MEAN, IT'S NOT A CANINE, RIGHT? >> THIS ISN'T A TYPICAL MARKER. THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT A NORMAL ANIMAL WOULD WALK AROUND MARKING THE TREES SUCH AS THIS. >> narrator: GERHARD AND HALES RETURN TO THEIR TRUCK TO DOWNLOAD THE PHOTO EVIDENCE. THE CAMERA NEAR THE CAGE CAPTURED DOZENS OF PHOTOS OF THE POSSUM. >> ALL RIGHT, WELL, EVIDENTLY, THIS IS THE FIRST SHOT WE HAVE OF THE POSSUM ENTERING OUR TRAP. AND IF WE SCROLL THROUGH HERE QUICKLY, WE CAN SEE HOW MANY TIMES WE CAPTURED THE ANIMAL MOVING AROUND. >> narrator: THE CAMERA FROM THE WOODS IS ALSO PROMISING. GERHARD AND HALES FIND ANOTHER POSSUM AND A SURPRISE. >> WHOA, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? THAT IS AN ARMADILLO. >> narrator: BUT THE CAMERA EVIDENCE FROM THE FENCE POST IS DISAPPOINTING. >> WELL, UNFORTUNATELY, IT LOOKS LIKE WE DIDN'T CATCH OUR QUARRY HERE ON THE CAMERA THAT WE HAD SET UP BY THE POST THAT WAS SCRATCHED. IT WOULD INDICATE THAT MAYBE THE CAMERA WAS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. >> narrator: WHATEVER WAS HERE SEEMS TO HAVE GOTTEN AWAY UNSEEN. BUT SOMETHING WAS OUT THERE. JUST A FEW WEEKS AFTER GERHARD AND HALES FINISHED THEIR EXPEDITION, PHYLIS CANION FOUND THIS CREATURE DEAD ON HER NEIGHBOR'S PROPERTY. AND IT IS STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO THE FIRST CREATURE SHE FOUND. THE CREATURE HAS LARGE CANINES AND ENORMOUS CLAWS. IS THIS THE BEAST THAT SCRATCHED THE POST? IT'S NOW UP TO THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE EXISTING CREATURES TO PROVIDE ANSWERS. VETERINARY PATHOLOGIST JOANNE MANSELL WANTED TO DETERMINE IF THE FIRST CUERO, TEXAS, BEAST WAS A REGULAR ANIMAL WITH MANGE. BUT THE SAMPLE WAS PROBLEMATIC. >> IF YOU TAKE IT FROM A DEAD ANIMAL, THE BLOOD SUPPLY IS NO LONGER SUPPORTING THE SKIN. IT'S NO LONGER GIVING NUTRITION TO THE SKIN. AND SO THE PIECE OF TISSUE IS DEAD. >> narrator: AND THAT PREVENTED MANSELL FROM MAKING A DETERMINATION OF MANGE, THOUGH IT'S POSSIBLE THE ANIMAL DID HAVE THE CONDITION. BUT THE ANALYSIS DID PROVIDE OTHER ANSWERS. >> WHAT I COULD SAY FROM THAT TISSUE IS THAT "A," THE SKIN WAS FROM A CARNIVORE. I CAN TELL THAT BECAUSE CARNIVORES HAVE DIFFERENT HAIR FOLLICLES TO EITHER OMNIVORES OR HERBIVORES. >> narrator: SO IT COULD BE A CANINE, BUT HER INVESTIGATION RULED OUT THE THEORY THAT IT WAS A XOLO, A MEXICAN HAIRLESS DOG. THIS WAS A CREATURE THAT AT ONE TIME HAD A FULL HAIR COAT. >> narrator: BACK IN NEW YORK, DNA EXPERT TODD DISOTELL HAS FINISHED HIS ANALYSIS OF THE EVIDENCE. HE FIRST LOOKED AT THE HAIR FROM THE PUERTO RICO SIGHTING AND COMPARED IT TO THE TOOTH FROM THE ELMENDORF BEAST. THAT TOOTH CAME FROM THE ANIMAL IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH. >> THE PUERTO RICAN HAIR SAMPLE AND THE ELMENDORF TOOTH SAMPLE HAD IDENTICAL DNA SEQUENCES. THEY WERE 100% MATCH FOR EACH OTHER, AND THEY BOTH MATCHED THE DOMESTIC DOG. >> narrator: BUT THE RESULTS FROM CUERO, TEXAS, ARE A BIT DIFFERENT. THIS IS ANOTHER PICTURE FROM THE SPECIMEN IN CUERO WHICH LOOKS SIMILAR TO THE ELMENDORF SPECIMEN. BUT IS IT? >> THE MITOCHONDRIAL DNA RESULTS, THOSE FROM THE FEMALE LINEAGE, CLEARLY INDICATE THAT THE CUERO SAMPLE IS A COYOTE. THE "Y" CHROMOSOME SIGNATURE, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT OF WOLVES FROM MEXICO AND TEXAS. >> narrator: COYOTES ARE COMMON IN SOUTH TEXAS. AND WHILE WOLVES ARE EXTINCT IN TEXAS, SOME HAVE BEEN REINTRODUCED TO NEIGHBORING STATES. AND WOLVES DO OCCASIONALLY BREED WITH COYOTES. IF THE SPECIMEN DOES NOT HAVE MANGE, THEN THE APPEARANCE OF ITS SKIN A MYSTERY. BUT THE EYEWITNESSES IN TEXAS REMAIN SKEPTICAL THAT WHAT THEY SAW WAS MERELY A DOG OR COYOTE. >> THIS CREATURE IS NOT ONLY LIKE NOTHING I HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE IN MY LIFE, BUT NO ONE I EVER TALKED TO HAD EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. >> I'VE SEEN MANGY COYOTES ON THIS RANCH AND ON OTHER RANCHES, AND I KNOW WHAT MANGY COYOTES LOOK LIKE. >> narrator: AND WITNESSES IN PUERTO RICO BELIEVE NO DOG COULD HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GRISLY ANIMAL KILLINGS. >> A DOG DON'T DO THESE KIND OF WOUNDS. I BELIEVE IN CHUPACABRA, BECAUSE I SAW THE WOUNDS. I SAW THE ANIMALS WITHOUT BLOOD. >> narrator: SO WHILE THE EVIDENCE POINTS TO A DOG OR DOG HYBRID, THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN THE MONSTER THEY CALL THE CHUPACABRA BELIEVE IT IS SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. AND THOSE WHO SEE MONSTERS LIKE THIS MAY IN FACT BE WITNESSING AN EVOLUTIONARY JUMP TO A NEW SPECIES OF TOMORROW. >> TEXAS, OF COURSE, IS A STATE STEEPED WITH MYSTERY. I'M VERY CONVINCED THAT THE POSSIBILITY IS HERE FOR SOME TYPE OF UNKNOWN ANIMAL. >> I'VE TALKED TO TOO MANY PEOPLE. I'VE LOOKED AT TOO MANY PICTURES. I'VE DONE RESEARCH. I KNOW ANIMALS, AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT, STRANGE ANIMAL. Captioning by<font color="#00FF00"> CaptionMax</font> www.captionmax.com
