According to NBC4-News, the animal found in Coleman, Texas has been transported to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department lab for testing to try and determine its origins. A spokesman for the TPWD, Tom Harvey, remains skeptical. "If you want my take on it, I think it's a hoax... From the photos I've seen, this could be a White Tailed Deer fawn."
Mr.Harvey said he had yet to hear a report on the animal, but hopes to have more information by tomorrow morning. An update will be posted as soon as one is available.
*Update - Mr.Harvey has now spoken to Wildlife Division Director Mike Berger about the animal trapped in Coleman. Berger, who contacted the regional director in West Texas, Ruben Cantu, for more information, reported that they confirmed that "the 'chupacabra' is a Mexican folk tale, not a real beast." From the photos they've seen of the Coleman animal, they feel that it may be a coyote.
According to Mr.Harvey, he hasn't found any evidence that this animal was ever handed over to The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "I don't think anyone with our agency has it or knows who has it. It's possible that no one ever had this animal in custody... possibly someone took a photo of a dead coyote or other animal, doctored it a little and started spreading this hoax."
It seems only Mr.Laglow and his chickens know for sure.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Annie
LOL...Could be!
2 - John Bill
Pat Robertson says "El Chupacabra" is a demon sent by Almighty God to kill Mexicans.
3 - Bob A. Booey
Annie, this is interesting.
Keep up the weird X-Files type stories. I find them amusing.
That is all.
4 - Eric Olsen
super job Annie, couldn't be better - thanks!
5 - Annie
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. don't know where the animal is...I've updated the article.
6 - Eric Olsen
classic! We all know that the body is REALLY at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, right next to the alien autopsy
7 - Justene
Can you track down Mr. Laglow?
Jes' askin"!!
8 - Annie
I'll give it a shot!
9 - get real
folks. what we have here is simply a fox or coyote with a bad case of mange. the chupacabra along with a long list of the other things everyone WANTS to believe in (including religion lol) is nothing but a legend and will always be that way.
poor doggie.
nighty night.
10 - Pat Robertson
Hey that's the dog that my wife and I use in our SEX videos
11 - Jessica
Hey ppl, El Chupacabra was made by some stupid scientists El Chupacabra is a rat,dog,rabbit,and i forgot the rest i kno this because i have the docamentry of the Chupacabra and it shows u how El Chupacabra was made but if u ppl want 2 believe wut u believe than fine go ahead and p.s there is 4 more of the chupacabra the mom is dead but there is 4 more of the chupacabra
12 - Jessica
Annie can u track down Richard Sandrak
jes' askin
13 - Jessica
LOL!!!!!!!!!
14 - Aliciajon
You people are raunchy
15 - R. Michael Lagow
Mr. Reginald Lagow is my father. He is a retired businessman living in Coleman and is a very honest gentleman. I can assure you that the picture he took has NOT been "doctored" as Mr. Harvey pointed out. I don't think anyone really has an answer as to what the animal was. My father simply wanted to stop the killing of his chickens.
16 - chris
I love reading the stupid comments that people leave on articles like this... They are SO FUNNY! You are all stupid. "he's my dad" "made by evil scientists" "religion is a legend" Thanks for reporting Annie!
17 - Anastasia
Hi-Hi! I was surprised! You all have never seen this amusing ridiculous animal? When I was young we frightened them near a city dump. We called them tuzicks and they had striped tails and very sharp nail on a back legs.
18 - tyler
I'm from coleman. i like the story.
19 - Victor Plenty
Well, we know who to blame for Hurricane Katrina now. Think about it. Just look at this timeline for definitive proof:
August 18-August 22
August 23
August 24
August 25
August 26
August 27
August 28
August 29
The facts speak for themselves!
20 - bob
the wtory is sotrue
21 - Ruth Lagow
The only thing that Mr. Harvey and Mr. Becker was right about was the name of Mr. Lagow and the name of the town, Coleman.
They knew nothing about what they were spouting off about. They were not here nor did you get off your can to find out.
M. Lagow has never been a farmer. The critter started getting the chickens and he got about thirty. When he started in on the third neighbor his dog corned the critter in the barn and then he killed it. Mr. Lagow did not kill it.
He and Mrs. Bouroughs tried to catch it in a live trap with no luck.
The turkeys you mentioned is one wild turkey . He came here four years ago , it was so young it did not have pin feathers. He found food and water and stayed and believe this he is a free bird.
Two people saw the critter alive and several saw it after it was killed. It was not a rat , coyote or hairless dog as you suggest. It had a soft wooly fleece not hair.
The local vet suggested the name CHUPACOBRA. Not Mr. Lagow, he just took a picture as did our neighbor. Hers was a kodak picture , neither of them doctored the pictures as you inplied.
No one here said that it was on the way to T.P.W.D. . It was thrown in the trash on its way to a land fill somewhere.
Now aren't you a shame of your self for all the melarky you put out? You should be. Ruth Lagow
22 - Michael Lagow
This is an amuzing site. Comments made by uniformed parties carry no value. How do the facts get so twisted? Ruth Lagow is my mother and again, is a very honest and honorable individual. Her statements are true and correct. You, Mr. Harvey, are very uninformed of the events and are making things up as you go. This is referred to as "poetic liberty" in the business. In other words, false statements. Your message carries no value to its audiance.
23 - Annie
Michael and Ruth, thanks for setting the story straight for us. I think it's fairly obvious that the photo hasn't been doctored, and that Mr.Lagow has little to gain by lying about the animal, or the circumstances surrounding it. It appears the only ones guilty of misinformation are NBC-4 News, who reported that the animal had been taken to the TPWD, who later reported that they knew nothing about it.
This isn't the first animal like this one to have been found, as I mentioned in the article. There have also been multiple eye witness reports of animals fitting this description ranging from Texas to California.
Is it the legendary Chupacabra? I don't think so. Is it a coyote with mange? Perhaps, but I've done a little research on mange, and the animal's appearance doesn't quite fit.
There are two kinds of mange which result in massive hair loss.
Demodectic Mange - The dog's skin is sore, crusty, and oozing; the hair follicles are clogged with mites and debris...symptoms include thinning of the hair around the eyes and mouth and on the front legs that evolves into patches of hair loss approximately one inch in diameter.
Sarcoptic mange - Dogs with scabies dig and bite at themselves with great ferocity. Telltale signs of sarcoptic mange are crusty ear tips, fierce itching, and hair loss, particularly on the ears, elbows, legs, and face in the early stages. Later on, the hair loss spreads throughout the body
Did Mr.Lagow see any scabbing, or encrusted wounds? In the photo, the animal's coat seems smooth, and even, as does the Elmendorf Beast's in the photo above.
To see examples,do a Google picture search for "mange".
What ever these animals are, they need to be studied. If they are indeed coyotes with mange, something needs to be done to help them, and stop the inevitable spread of the disease among their own species, as well as others.
This could also be the result of a new mutation of mange, or the immergence of an entirely new disease. Again, something we shouldn't be ignoring, or writing off as "inconsequential".
If this is some sort of hybrid, or new species, that too must be studied, and documented!
Personally, I have little doubt Mr.Lagow is telling the absolute truth, and both appreciate, and admire his coming forward with his story.
I think if we knew how many credible witnesses to these types of events never come forward, we'd be utterly amazed.
Annie
24 - kayla
I think the situation needs to be taken serious,and not turned into such a joke.At any time another attack could accur and someone( not an animal)could be hurt.
25 - hannah
i am studying the El Chupucabra and find this very interesting. the very first picture, look at its eye slits, they are very large. even though it does look like a coyote i think that this may be the Chupacabra