ORANGE WALK–Folkloric stories about what were once thought to be mythical creatures such as the blood-sucking cryptid, dubbed the “Chupacabra”, which literally means “goat sucker”, have been recited in Mestizo culture for decades, and while there have been several reported sightings in several parts of the Americas, the elusive predator has never been spotted in Belize until this past Wednesday night when a villager was astonished by a strange-looking animal that he accidentally knocked down while on his way home.

Cain Cal, a resident of San Lazaro Village, Orange Walk, was driving past a ranch between Yo Creek and San Lazaro Villages about 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday when he struck a curious animal that no one seems to be able to identify as yet.

While speaking with the media about the incident today, Cal said, “This animal appeared in [the] middle of the road and I hit it. [First], my wife told me it looked like a kangaroo and we started to laugh, but I said ‘no’ because we don’t have kangaroos here [in Belize], but I know I have never seen it before, and it isn’t a fox – even my daughter was asking me what it is and I couldn’t tell her.”

“I think that it [is] something that runs and jumps because that is how it appeared on the road. After I hit it, it got up and stood with both feet, its hands in the air. Then three cars came from behind me and hit it also, but it still wanted to get back up”, he continued.

Photographs which were taken by Cal’s daughter and posted on social media showed that the animal, which, at first glance, can actually be mistaken to be a mangy dog, has grey skin with very little hair and a long narrow face with visible fangs.

It also has a long tail similar to that of an opossum; however, its hind legs are noticeably longer than its front arms, and the texture and appearance of its feet and palms can be likened to that of a monkey.

Critics have surmised that it may be a giant version of a hairless or diseased raccoon, but no analysis has been performed on the creature to confirm that hypothesis.

Others have similarly speculated that it is the mysterious “Chupacabra”, which purportedly attacks and sucks the blood of livestock, especially goats and cattle, but while descriptions of the enigmatic animal vary greatly, Cal said that the strange creature which he found has perplexed even the most seasoned hunter in the village.

“Many hunters in the village have seen it and they say that they do not know that it is. I heard that they [farmers] were complaining that they were losing many newborn small animals, and perhaps it was because of that animal”, mentioned Cal.

The caretaker of the ranch in the area where the animal was knocked down told Orange Walk’s CTV3 News that they have lost several cattle in the last few months under strange circumstances that remain unexplained up to today.

He went further and cited that on the same night the creature was hit, he had been hearing a bizarre noise on the roof of the cottage in which he lives, and admitted that in the recent past, some farm animals in the area have either been found dead, or have simply gone missing.

“About two years ago, we had some cows that died on the farm. They [the cows] just started to foam out from the mouth and next, they were dead. When we checked, we saw that their heads were twisted to one side, and there were two holes in their neck. We contacted BAHA [the Belize Agricultural Health Authority], and they cut off one of the heads and sent it to Panama for testing, but we never got back any answer”, the caretaker explained.

The caretaker said that he found the incident strange because the cows had previously been inoculated for diseases, and further added that the cattle had numerous blood stains on their body, which are consistent with the myth behind the Chupacabra, which theoretically sucks the blood of the defenseless animals.

Whether the animal that was found in San Lazaro is the “Chupacabra” or not, the farm’s caretaker has confirmed that they have lost a total of five cattle in a span of six months, none of which have been accounted for to date.

The first sighting of this indefinable creature was made in March 1995 in Puerto Rico, and although identical creatures have been found alive in other countries including Mexico and the United States, many of the reports have been disregarded as uncorroborated or lacking evidence, while some of the creatures sighted have been verified as canids afflicted by mange.

So far, no one apparently seems to be able to positively identify this weird species, and even though biologists and wildlife management officials view the “Chupacabra” as a contemporary legend, Cain Cal and his family are convinced that the creature he ran into and subsequently photographed could be the “Chupacabra.”