Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 12:25:24 -0700
Subject: [Atheist] AANEWS for May 16, 1996
from: AMERICAN.ATHEISTS@listserv.direct.net
Reply-To: aanews@listserv.atheists.org, AMERICAN.ATHEISTS@listserv.direct.net

     nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
     nnnnnnnnnn   AANEWS   nnnnnnnnnn
     #39 uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 5/16/96

In This Edition...
   * A Special Report on CHUPACABRAS, Goat-sucker South 'O The Border!

   MEXICO'S CHUPACABRAS ~~ SUCKING BLOOD OR HUMAN CREDULITY?
                                             (Part One of Two)
   You can add yet another artifact of pre-millennium absurdity to the
popular consciousness in Mexico, and now even the United States; along with
alien abductions, peek-a-boo visits of the Virgin Mary and other religious or
pseudo-science revelations, chalk one up for the infamous "Mexican
bloodsucker" (or Chupacabras) now said to threatening cattle, goats and
terrified people.  "Myth or reality?" mused CNN throughout the day as the
story about a mysterious creature stalking the countryside terrorizing men,
women and beasts, took on all of the dimensions of an Orson Welles broadcast.
   Except, in this case, the reports seem to be quite serious.
   "Legend has it that the chupacabras -- Spanish for 'goat sucker' -- has
fiery eyes and resembles a cross between a giant dog and a lizard.  The
creature is said to walk upright on two feet, sink its fangs into its victims
and kill them by drinking their blood."  News reports add that claims of
"sightings" are pouring in from all over Northern Mexico and Puerto Rico and
that even police have launched hunts for the mysterious creature.
   Indeed, a kind of "Chupacabras  Fever" seems to sweeping the cultural
terrain of Mexico, and could even spread to the United States.  What's really
going on, though?
                          Satanic, Alien, Blood Suckin' Cattle Mutilators At
Work
   Medical experts note that thorough examination of the "victims" of the
chupacabras reveals something considerably more prosaic than some bizarre,
blood drinking creature that has eluded anthropologists, residents,
photographers, pathologists and others.  The "goatsucker" is probably a wolf
or coyote.  A considerable amount of media attention involves the fact that
blood is supposedly "missing" from the victims, and that puncture wounds are
evident.
   All of this is consistent, though, with normal predation of farm animals,
especially in rural areas.  Many agricultural regions in the United States
are relatively free of predators like wolves, so such reports seem to us a
bit exotic and exciting; in Mexico, though, wolves, coyotes and other
predators are fairly common.
   The carcass of most animals, especially if dead for some time, can appear
 to exhibit a lack of blood.  Blood flows to portions of the body nearest the
ground, and often congeals or dries, especially in hot weather.
   In crucial respects, though, the reports about the chupacabras  echo
earlier accounts tracing back into the 1970's and 80's of so-called "cattle
mutilations."  These reports came mostly from rural areas of the United
States, and involved claims that cattle were being killed and surgically
dissected; often, the reports insisted that the cattle had been drained of
their blood.  There were a variety of theories to explain this phenomenon,
but critics were quick to point out that nothing unusual was going on --
except the persistent interest of news media, and some outrageous, unverified
claims.  Again, it was observed that the "dissected" cattle had simply been
attacked by natural predators, whose sharp claws, beaks and teeth often left
precise cut-like tears in the prey.  Many of the "mutilated" cattle had been
dead for long periods, and often a thorough autopsy on the remains was
difficult, if not impossible.  There were no bullet holes, tire tracks or
other evidence of foul play.  And the cattle mutilation phenomenon often
existed as a media event; news organizations paid considerable attention to
the reports at first, but then failed to follow-up on the less glamourous
results of official investigations, autopsies (when possible) and other
probes.
   A number of scenarios were invented, however, to explain the cattle
mutilations.  Originally, they were seen as evidence of a mysterious
government operation which required organs, tissue and blood; the lack of
tire tracks led some mutilation enthusiasts to posit that helicopters were
being used for the purpose of either locating or dumping the animals.  By the
1980's, two new groups of villans entered the picture.  Some claimed that the
cattle mutilations were the work of secret, satanic cults which used
helicopters or extended-life "cherry picker" vehicles so as not to leave
tracks.  Body parts were ostensibly used in devil worship ritual; it was
claimed that the removal of specific parts such as the eyes, lips and ear
were "proof" of this, although critics noted that these organs were generally
softer and more accessible to predators.
  Besides, why would "satanists''  go to all the trouble of buying or renting
helicopters and large, cumbersome utility vehicles?  Why not just start a
cattle ranch, or -- better yet -- buy the cattle outright?
   A second group, though, was soon blamed for the alleged mutilations.
 Harvesting of cattle organs, including blood, was associated with UFO
appearances.  The possible interest of aliens from space in cattle
 anticipated the later development of alien curiosity about HUMAN anatomy.
 Aliens crossed billions of miles of space, using enormous emounts of energy
and technological expertise, purportedly to engage in some mysterious
"genetic experiment."  The object of that experiment eventually shifted from
cattle to human beings, as bizarre accounts of alien abduction, sexual
experimentation and genetic manipulation began to emerge in the American
pop-culture.
   Critics, though, saw the cattle mutilation, alien abduction tales in a
somewhat different light.  The widespread popularity of such claims, and the
media interest they evoked, spoke a great deal about the credulity and
gullibility of the culture, as well as the profound lack of understanding in
science, and even the ability to evaluate unusual claims.  Social scientists
observed that the cattle mutilation reports, like the "satanic panic" of the
late 1970's, was essentially a kind of "urban legend" which had gotten a new
steroid-boost thanks to the electronic media.  Credulous -- some say cynical
and greedy -- talk show hosts provided a ready platform for the most
outlandish claims.  Critics rarely had an opportunity to ask questions, or
point to more prosaic and realistic explanations of what was going on.  Talk
show "guests" told stories about being impregnated by aliens, abused by
cults, used as "satanic baby breeders" whose children were to be sacrificed
to the devil -- and millions were watching, and believing.
   Fears of devil cults, sex-crazed aliens and cattle mutilating
extra-terrestrials often were exhibited against a backdrop of social anxiety
and uncertainty about the future.  Many "cattle mutilation" claims were made
in economically depressed regions.  Similarly, fears of satanic cults
appeared to thrive in small communities, and often reflected deeper realities
such as generational conflicts, or the anxieties of certain religious groups
prone to apocalpytic scenarios.  In some cases, reports were exaggerated by
un-critical news organizations; for a while, Satan made "good copy,"
especially when ratings were being measured.
                                      Of Jersey Devils and Puerto Rican
"Vampires"
   Reports of unusual beasts which appear to defy known anatomical
descriptions are not unusual.  Sea mariners at one time described incredible
creatures; in fact, the saying "Here be monsters" was simply a cartographical
description of uncharted waters.  Creatures such as mermaids and even the
giant Kraken may have had some basis in fact, the latter perhaps being a
giant squid.
   Similarly, reports of creatures assembled from parts of other animals can
be found in everything from the apocalpytic literature of the bible, to folk
claims about regional mythological beasts like the Jersey Devil. In the
mid-1800's, reports throughout New Jersey, and later even Pennsylvania, told
of a demonic creature which attacked people, chickens, goats and other farm
animals.  In the book "The Jersey Devil" by James McGloy and Ray Miller, the
creature "is said to prowl the lonely sand trails and mis-shrouded marshes of
the Pine Barrens, and emerge periodically to rampage through the towns and
cities...In its wake it has left many communities in near hysteria.  Schools,
factories and theaters have closed, armed men have 'ridden shotgun' on public
transportation, and innumerable posses have been formed to track the
monster."
   Reports of the "Jersey Devil" seem to have peaked in the early 1900's.
McGloy and Miller, perhaps using literary license, note that "thousands of
people saw the Devil, or his footprints."  They called him "kangaroo horse,"
"flying death" and even "woozlebug."  One observer claimed: "Its head
resembled that of a ram, with curled horns, and its long thick neck was
thrust forward in flight.  It had long thin wings and short legs, the front
legs shorter than the hind.  Again, it uttered its mournful and awful call --
a combination of a squawk and a whistle, the beginning very high and piercing
and ending very low and hoarse..."
   Reports of "Devil sightings," or claims that his tracks had been found,
were surprisingly frequent.  The Philadelphia Record, though, exposed at
least some of the legend as an outright hoax, especially when the beast was
supposedly caught and put on exhibit at a local museum.  The "Devil"
portrayed by the Record had bat-like wings and resembled a mythical dragon;
the hoax equivalent, though, was said to be a heavilly painted kangaroo shown
to the public for only the briefest moment in dim light.
   Like the Jersey Devil and other folk-creatures, the chupacabras is a
Frankenstein-like amalgam .  Reports claims  that it "jumps like a kangaroo",
and "smells like sulfur."  It has been described as being "4 or 5 feet tall
and had huge elongated red eyes."  "A pointy, long tongue came in and out of
his mouth.  It was gray but his back changed colors.  It was a monster."
   The legend of "El Chupacabras," though, seems to come not from Mexico but
from Puerto Rico, where the "goatsucker" was sometimes portrayed as a kind of
half-man, half-beast vampire.  There have been reports of other
blood-drinking creatures, though, which some suggest were fueled by
sensationalist media.  The "vampire of Moca" was reported in the 1970's,
about the time the "cattle mutilation" fears were starting in the United
States.
   According to Mireya Navarro (N.Y. Times News Service), fears of the
chupacabra have "both alarmed and mused this U.S. commonwealth of 3.7 million
people, inspiring theories, satire and T-shirts."  One account suggested that
the "goatsucker" was, in fact, an alien attracted to Puerto Rico by the giant
Arecibo Observatory, site of the world's largest radio telescope.  Others
suggested hoaxers, or even the involvement of "people involved in bloody
reituals," highly descriptive of the "satanic cults" said to have been
responsible for cattle mutilations.
                                          End Of Part One (Of Two)
                                                      *********
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