Argentinian+ Chilean NeoDinosaur, South American Apes + Chupabats

As recounted in a number of media articles from 2004, several different motorists driving along the main road linking Iquique and Arica, through the Atacama Desert, have reported witnessing an extraordinary bipedal creature over 6 ft tall[or long], with sharp teeth and three-toed footprints, which has been variously likened to a velociraptor or even a ‘dinosaur kangaroo’
In the words of one eyewitness, Hernan Cuevas: “A weird animal looking like a dinosaur with two legs and huge thighs crossed the road in front of my car”. Not surprisingly, the local authorities were, and remain, very puzzled.
This has also been called the local type of Chupacabras, elsewhere also compared to a reptilian kangaroo or a small dinosaur. The three-toed tracks incidentally turned out to be condor (vulture) tracks upon investigation in one specific instance. So we really don't have a good idea what the tracks of the reptilian creature are like.


Condor or Vulture tracks reported as "Chupacabras"

One of the 2002 press releases said that Cupacabras from the Atacama desert was "Los 'chupacabras' capturados medirían un metro y 20 centímetros de estatura, tendrían piernas de velocirraptor, su desplazamiento sería en zig-zag, contaría con rasgos humanoides en el rostro y su cuerpo se asemejaría a un mandril".[The captured Chupacabras stands 48 inches tall and has the hind legs like a Velociraptor, it runs a zigzag path, has humanoid features of the body (the arms?) and a face like a mandrill (Baboon-which is to say something like a dogs head but uglier)] NASA has denied any involvement and the event has been taken to be a hoax but based on descriptions of reports coming out of the area: so the overall description is probably close enough, but we need not insist on such details as the creatures' face resembling that of a mandrill.
The initial, uncirculated reports of the "Mountain Boomers" in the Southwest and Texas compared the creature's size and shape to this Charles R Knight reconstruction of an "Ornitholestes"

 

At the same time, reports of other creatures also being called Chupacabras are continuing in the area. There was and is a general confusion between the types.

More Chilean News items from the early 2000s:
http://paranormal.about.com/science/paranormal/library/blnews600.htm
 LIVE ONES?
• Chupacabra Eggs Found? Witnesses in Chile continued to come forward last
week with more about the reputed clash between Chilean Army troops and three
Chupacabras on or about May 9. Two witnesses claimed that the Chilean troops
returned with large eggs, which they reportedly obtained from a "nest" in
the Atacama Desert, not far from the Radomiro Tomic mine. According to the
newspaper La Cuarta, "Three specimens of Chupacabra, mythical creatures of
apelike characteristics who drink animal blood, were captured in northern
Chile by an expedition spearheaded by NASA and were taken back to the United
States, according to researchers of the subject. The president of the
Ovalvision Chile research group, Cristian Riffo, told La Cuarta that the
creatures were the result of genetic research by NASA using terrestrial
creatures and space entities. Several of the hybrid creatures escaped from a
secret base and propagated themselves in the southern United States, Mexico
and Puerto Rico where they were given the name Chupacabras. Riffo maintains
that in the Chilean case, the Chupacabras fled from the Atacama Desert where
where the U.S. agency is trying to replicate the conditions of a voyage to
the planet Mars. Chupacabra news is coming fast and furious from Chile. The
latest items include the following:

Between June 12 and June 15(2000?), residents of Maria Elena, a farm community 140
kilometers (84 miles) west of Calama, found mysterious clawed footprints in
the fields. "Identical to the footprints found at the (Radomiro Tomic) mine"
at the time of the reported capture, said radio talk show host Pablo
Aguilera, with the prints "highlighting their large shape and the sharpness
of the claws."

The newspaper Diario La Estrella reported, "Guards of a security company in
the sector claim to have witnessed a strange entity on the prowl, and while
they were unable to see it entirely, stated that it moved at considerable
speed."

An area resident, Miguel O., claimed that his nephew, who is in the Chilean
Army, was on guard duty at the Radomiro Tomic mine and saw one of the
creatures. "Between May 9 and May 11," Miguel O. said, his nephew "while
standing guard with his regiment, he had a chance to see a specimen of the
so-called Chupacabras and immediately called his superior. The strange
creature took prodigious leaps and bounds and, at one point, gave the
impression of floating on the air. He described it as 1.2 meters tall,
half-hairy and hunched over
 [This is perhaps the monkey or ape creature. The subsequently found eggs might not have been laid by the "Chupas" I this case, the creatures could have been gathering them up and eating them-DD]
" After gearing up, an army patrol went out into
the desert, Miguel said. "The most surprising thing is that the patrol
returned with several ‘eggs' found at the location where the creatures were
taken by surprise. He added that the patrol managed to kill two and capture
one, that the creatures were subsequently removed by NASA personnel from the
area." Commenting on Miguel O.'s statement, Pablo Aguilera, host of Radio
Pudahuel's morning show, said, "The hole discovered in the area could well
be a ‘nest' the creature was making to deposit its young." [Source: UFO
Roundup by Joseph Trainor]

THE RAMPAGE:
• Chupacabras Go on the Rampage in Chile. Less than three weeks after the
reported capture of three Chupacabras at the Radomiro Tomic mine nea Calama,
a new wave of Chupacabra incidents swept Chile. On June 4, 2000, during the
early morning hours, a Chupacabra slaughtered 14 chickens in a backyard in
Talcahuano, a port city five miles north of Concepcion, which was the site
of many Chuapcabra incidents during May. On June 7 at 4 a.m., another
Chupacabra attack took place in Concepcion while Julio Reyes and his wife,
Carmen Andrade, were still asleep. They suddenly heard a loud noise coming
from their home's backyard. "The light outside the henhouse was on," Carmen
said. "I saw the monster flapping his [bat?] wings fiercely while the hens were
crowing - something they never do at this time. That's when I saw the white
one running toward the back. Bobby [the family's terrier watchdog] came out
to take a look, but when he saw the back gate, through which the hens had
fled, he refused to follow and remained standing still." Around 7 a.m., the
couple discovered what had transpired. Their three hens and one rooster were
found dead, completely torn to shreds, as if they had been ripped open at
the chest cavity and scattered in a 33-foot radius. On June 9, at 11:45
a.m., a caller to Chile's Radio Pudahuel reported a recent Chupacabra attack
in the city of Antofagasta. Accordiung to the caller, he was asleep in his
bedroom, and the cat started making noises, waking him up. That's when they
saw the alleged Chupacabra. He says that when it saw them, the creature took
off at high speed. He says it destroyed their car and it killed the cat.
Afterward, the witness reportedly found deep scratches, "made by its claws,"
in the doors and fenders of his car. [Source: UFO Roundup by Joseph Trainor]

The claims continued and continued to grow more elaborate:

dantsan December 15, 2009 23:02

Excellent report. At the time I saw him completely. Today it is amazing of course see it again. Among the many theories I have similar data, but other sobering, to see if you can be of help, or more of the same. they metabolize the blood, that is these entities that consume the blood of animals. Like any predator draw their nutrients from there. 's kind of experimental animal, alien, of course, I agree that are made ​​by grises. Para that to see how human beings react to an ecological catastrophe, indicate some theories. weight these bugs, 55 kgs., height 1.20, color greyish, short coat volume, round head with 3 bump on the forehead, ears cat has legs or limbs with 3 fingers. Displacement: Advance of 8-10 meters. Every 10 meters, leaves a mark, I mean get jumps of 10 meters high, big eyes, small nose, no tail, hearing like a small dog. Arms like monkeys. Low frequency hearing, humanoid type figure as a mandrill, 3 fingers (plus thumb?) prehensile, intelligence of a child of seven years, fear of man, lemur vision, supports 18-degree cold, and up to 40 (Centigrade) degree heat, (Heavy fur) protection in their back, is hybrid, lives in trees, foliage or in caves in semi warm, defecates like sheep, your urine is strong as ammonia, in open ground reaches 60 kilometers per hour, has morph every two years, changes its structure, grows wings [the description has shifted to the bat reports], can fly. were paired, there are males and females, with adult males will grow three horns, works as rodent is active at night, it communicates with its space(?) for Low Power-frequency. As they arrived, there are theories that indicate that gray craft, which landed once in the Gran Chaco, Argentina, hence is north of chile despazaron were four ships, in the eyes of the salty, the other near Pucon, the other in ice fields and the last in the area of the Torres del Paine. And this part may sound fantastic but can not be ruled. Each ship brought 100 of these entities experimentation, leaving it in a systematic way along chile. There other theories that suggest that they are an experiment to see how the gray man(Alien) reacts to invasion a larger scale, this can be much but could not be excluded. During the year 2009-2010, could appear again. emit a low- utiizan frequency, which only animals and listen to paralyze or numb because instill fear. Some define it as an "biological entity extraterrestrial genetic hybrid" EGBEH. They are outsiders, not land, not man-made, are manufactured by the grays, like, well, abduct animals, they take, the cross, and the breed as a genetic hybrid form. This information is extracted from a conversation that once took place in a radio station in Santiago, and I can not remember someone did get me for years, do not know if it's true or not, but I think by now beside the point, what strikes me attention, at least those who study these topics are the small details.

Tocopilla, Chile. Date: June 18 of 2000. 12:00 AM.

Source: Miami UFO Center © 2006 sanchezocejov@bellsouth.net

 

The Eyewitnesses (Who preferred not to be identified by name but were interviewed on tape) were on the beach having a party (a cookout I presume) said the creature had long dark furry hair, long arms with hands below the knees, big round eyes, with a long snout and mouth shaped like an animal muzzle. The creature approached one of them making several guttural sounds, as if it was trying to communicate with the young man.(begging for food?) Moments later, it placed its right hand on the young man's left shoulder, leaving a green stain on his sweater, which they described as the same color as marine algae. The Bigfoot-like creature soon left, as it disappeared into the dark. (I do not find any UFO mentioned in the original report, presumably the artist just added that in)

In this case the "Bigfoot" bears a strong resemblance to the De Loys Ape in outline. 

 

Chilean Villagers Describe An Alleged Capture Of A Chupacabras
Source: Ovnivision Chile. Bulletin dated January 26, 2011     

 

Chilean law enforcement agencies have conducted an apparent successful operation to capture the legendary chupacabras creature in the small village of Huasco, Third Region of Chile.

 

Due to the constant animal deaths in the area, the community of Huasco had been very worried. Recent attacks on domestic animals have created panic and fear among local residents. Numerous reports of these attacks have prompted Customs officers of the area to conduct special operations in an effort to capture the so-called chupacabras. The purpose of the operation was to avoid new animal slaughters.

 

According to several eyewitnesses, police and customs officers were seen conducting searches and chasing an animal that was finally captured in a cave. "Local residents heard gunshots during the intense pursuit in the nearby village of O,Higgins, said Darwin Godoy, a local ufo and "chupacabras investigator.

 

Finally, the group of officers finished their search in a local cave, where they captured what appeared to be a strange giant bat. "According to descriptions, the creature was about 80 centimeters in height and it had a wingspan of approximately 1.7 meters, said Godoy. [ About 32 inches long with a wingspan of 5'8" which makes a good estimate for the Chupabat or Chonchon. The body of such a bat is a rounded mass perhaps a foot long.] 

 

The cave where the alleged capture took place is located near the thermoelectric power plant of Guacolda, just south of Huasco. Several of the eyewitnesses were employees of the electric power plant. Residents that live nearby the local cemetery also witnessed the operative.

 

Translation by Mario Andrade
Special thanks to Rodrigo Cuadra from T.O.C. Online Magazine

Another Ameranthropoides loysi?

I came upon the following tattoo design while browsing and I thought of the following comparison. The Tainos are Arawaks in the Caribbean area but they ultimately came from South America and the tattoo pattern could easily have originated in Colombia

Amended Primate Family Tree

This is my revised version, combining my researches with Tyer Stone's additions.

The original Family Tree was found on a photosearch and attributed to: http://www.wwnorton.com/college/anthro/our-origins2/ch/09/answers.aspx

More Mayan Monkeys (Apes)

From Ivan Sanderson's book Abominable Snowmen: legend come to Life, we know of two quite distinct unknown Primates of the Mayan lands, the Sisimite and the Dwendi. Rather than make exceptions to this idea, I think we should review the information given on them:

p.159

"There live in the mountain forests very big, wild men, completely clothed in short, thick, brown, hairy fur, with no necks, small eyes, long arms and huge hands. They leave footprints twice the length of a man's[and sometimes allegedly turned back-to-front]".
The area in question was in Baja Verapaz, around the town of Cubulco. Cubulco is the last vestige of civilization, the road ends there, and for all intents and purposes so does everything. The range of mountains in question is the Sierra de Chuacus, whose greatest peak is Mt. (Cerro) Sanché, 8500 feet elevation. Depending on which direction you're coming from, there are between 5 and 7 ridges from the floor of the Cubulco Valley [Rio Cubulco, which eventually joins the Rio Negro to the north roughly 20 kilometers] to C. Sanché. Further than this, I would not want to speculate as to range of this alleged creature. I have coloured in a patch on the enclosed map which depicts the approximate range according to what the natives told me, which means it would range into the departmento of El Quiche. (See Map V.)
Cubulco itself, at about 4200 feet, is really "tierra templada," and the area in question ranges up to "tierra fria." The vegetation is open pine and oak forests on the slopes, and many high plateau areas are covered with grass, as is the Cubulco environ. Along the margins of the highlands where rainfall is greatest, the oak and pine forest merges with the rain forest. Temperature ranges from 30°F to 90°F, and while I have no good figures on rainfall, it is considerably less than, say, Coban.
Now, as to "what the natives said." They referred to a large, hairy creature, which sometimes walked on two legs, and apparently ran on all fours. I considered bear first of all, and queried them regarding size, shape, appearance, etc. The answer was that it looked like a bear, but it wasn't from the description they gave—no conspicuous ears, no "snout"—it was somewhat taller [or "Somewhat shorter"]  than a man, and considerably broader, covered with darkish hair, and the locals live in mortal dread of disturbing it. Occasionally, one or two of the natives who got drunk or particularly boastful would go half way up the ridge and make a big show of "hunting" it, but no one has ever killed one that I learned. Several persons reported they were chased by it down the mountain, although with the fear they have of whatever it is, they probably just caught a glimpse of

p. 160

it and ran all the way down the mountain at top speed. No one seemed very anxious to guide us to the spot, or spots, but one of the braver souls agreed to do so finally. Unfortunately, we never got to it, for which you will curse, no doubt. I have no way of determining from their descriptions whether it was a bear or a Sisemite or something else, but it would seem reasonable that something is back there. You will be somewhat interested in the fact that the natives reported to me that this thing "calls" every so often, and they hear it from time to time when they are travelling about the ridges.

And then later on

Both these peoples—the regular British Hondurans or Belizians, and the Coast Caribs—assert that there dwell in the tall, wet forests of the southern half of their country certain small semi-human creatures which they call Dwendis, a form of Duende, Spanish for goblin. To the very well-educated Belizians, these are regarded more as we regard fairies than as real entities—unless they have lived or worked in the southern forested area. Then they, like the Caribs, take quite an- other view of the matter. I lived in that country off and on for years while we traveled Central America and the West Indies, and I talked to innumerable people there about them. Dozens told me of having seen them, and these were mostly men of substance who had worked for responsible organizations like the Forestry Department and who had, in several cases, been schooled or trained either in Europe or the United States. One, a junior forestry officer born locally, described in great detail two of these little creatures that he had suddenly noticed quietly watching him on several occasions at the edge
p. 165
of the forestry reserve near the foot of the Maya Mountains when he was "cruising" and marking young mahogany trees. His description of them coincided with that of all the others who were serious.
These little folk were described as being between three foot six and four foot six, well proportioned but with very heavy shoulders and rather long arms; clothed in thick, tight, close, brown hair looking like that of a short-coated dog; having very flat yellowish faces but head-hair no longer than the body hair except down the back of the neck and midback. Everybody said that these Dwendis have very pronounced calves but that the most outstanding thing of all about them is that they almost always held either a piece of dried palm leaf or something looking like a large Mexican-type hat over their heads. This at first sounds like the silliest thing, but when one has heard it from highly educated men as well as from simple peasants, and of half a dozen nationalities and in three languages, and all over an area as great as that from the Peten to Nicaragua, one begins to wonder. Then, one day, I came across a lone chimpanzee in West Africa in an open patch of forest and on the ground; and, by jingo, it was solemnly holding a large section of dead palm frond over its head, just like an umbrella and looking exactly like a large Mexican straw hat!
Dwendis are said to appear suddenly in the forest both by day and night and to watch you from a discreet distance. They are silent but seem to be very curious. I heard of no case of their ever making any threatening move, but I was time and time again told of them chasing, sometimes catching, and carrying off dogs [presumably to eat them]. They are said to leave very deep little footprints, that have pointed heels.

At the top is a Mayan-Empire-Aged pot showing what I suspect might be a Dwendi holding a large leaf over itself as an umbrella, as Sanderson states" I thake the creature itself to be identical to the DeLoys Ape and the Shiru mentioned in Sanderson's book slightly further on, AND I expect it to be a larger form of lesser ape most closely allied to the Siamangs. In the photos below, the first is a spidermonkey and the next two are Siamangs.

It is my belief that the creature shown on the pot is larger and heavier than a spidermonkey, has different facial contours and a different nose, and it has no tail. Nor is it depicted in a way that the Mayas would have depiced spidermonkeys: they knew them well and could depict them at the same time accurately and in humorous caracature, and always with the tail, as below;

The style of the depictions on such pottery always reminds me of well- done Chinese and Japanese brushwork: the scribes definitely knew what they were about.

Below is the face of another such creature, once again with the nose of a completely different type than a spidermonkey's and probably depicting the "Dwendi"-Ape as a "Baby Monkey" with big eyes:

And here are a couple of them dancing from ornaments meant to be stuck into a lady's hair, photograph from Flickr from a series of several similar shots of the ornaments.

On the other hand, Sanderson's information concerning the Sisimite mixes descriptions of two different creatures, one of which leaving large human-looking prints thought to face backwards, and the other a large tailless ape that can walk erect but runs on all-fours. It could be that the confusion comes from collectors not knowing the distinction but possibly the confusion occurs at the local level. My impression is that locally the "Apes" are seen as one thing and the "Apemen" as their bastard offspring, but still a separate category. Below I add three reconstructions meant to show Sisemites, the first two probably illustrating an apeman and the second an ape, and the "Monkey" on the pot below I expect is a simplified and symbolic Sisimite. There are fuller depictions of the larger ape in Mayan artwork but they are hard to separate out from depictions of Apemen or depictions of Howler monkeys. The folklorists and Archaeologists tend to lump all of them together, BTW.

This depiction of "El Sisimite" below seems to me to be definitely an Orangutan, especially the face; and its backwards-turned feet in this case include an opposed toe facing foreward while the longer toes face back. Because of that, I think that we are talking about a track where the longer toes curl around and that the creature is the same as the "Bottlefoot" Mapinguari of the Mato Grosso.

Comment made on one website by Julio:
Re: Has anyone ever heard of the Sisimite? on 07-18-2009 9:25 a.m.

Apparently, some reports show the Sisimite as a man-ape, and others, is confused with the Goblin [Dwendi]or Sombrerón [Wears a Sombrero]. . . It is possible that the very word of Aztec origin "tzitzimitles" has been used to describe any kind of terror in general. So some anthropology books say seemingly meaningless things like "the Sisimite is a giant and a dwarf at a time.". .
See you later.. Julio..

Which would indicate that either the "Sisimite" or the "Dwendi" of Sanderson could be described as "Sisimites: and furthermore, "Dwendi" has the conventional meaning of a fairy-tale "Elf" and so much of the plain Folklore is actually in that vein: the same names are used to mean different things. And evidently "Sisimite" is an Aztec name, the Mayans use other names for it (Such as Cax-Vinic), and we are passing through layers of translations.

Mayan figurine of "Black Howler Monkey"-Except for the tail, a fair representation of an "Apeman"

Two Face-"Haches"(derived from Olmec figural celts): the one on the left is said to represent a Black Howler Monkey and the one on the right is supposed to represent its "Apeman" offspring

Handout for mythological humanoids believed to have fed into stories of the Sisimite and Mapinguari in Central and South America. The top entry represents cannibals and the version of "Headless Man" stories involved more usually show it as a Cyclops in the New World.








Best Wishes, Dale D.

Please see also this blog's reprint article on the Sisimite:
http://frontiersofzoology.blogspot.com/2011/05/repost-dale-drinnon-sisimite-tzitzimitl.html

Sample Comparisons for Latin-American Cryptids

 This is my recent pasteup to indicate the size of the head in a Gigantic Boa (Sucuriju) Based on Titanoboa.
I had done this with the idea I was showing "The Black Boa" but I cannot be certain that the sightings I am using for scale did not belong to the more usual Sucuriju Gigante. In particular I wanted to illustrate how big and heavy the head is if it is as large as the reports say, and also the vey large size of the eye as reported ("The size of plates" or larger). If the snakes really are this big then about the only prey animals large enough to sustain them would have to be caimans

I also did a composite showing a basilisk lizard running in comparison to a repoted "Chupacabras" from a company that prints it as a logo onto t-shirts and such.This type of "Chupa" reports extend from Texas and the SW USA through Mexico and Central America, Colombia and Venezuela to Brazil, and to Northern Argentina and Chile. They not only correspond to descriptions given iin Conquistadore days and traditionally, they are similar to depictions made in Pre-Columbian Art where even some of the given names sound similar to "Chupacabras" : and Chupacabras (goat-sucker) is also the name given to certain large lizards (and snakes) in the belief that they drink the goat's milk. This legend is also verifiably traditional in Mexico and most of the rest of Latin America.


Just as a reminder, all of these points have been discussed on this blog before.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History: "The first reported attacks occurred in March 1995 in Puerto Rico...In 1975, similar killings in the small town of Moca, were attributed to El Vampiro de Moca (The Vampire of Moca)..[At about that same time, mutilations of sheep and goats were being attributed to a creature described as a "Snake on its (hind) legs" with a sawtoothed ridge down its back, which was called by the Comanche name Timbo (Hairless) as well as other names of other traditional figures from Native Folklore according to region, the Navajo name Kleesto also being used, but probably improperly-DD] ...Puerto Rican comedian and entrepreneur Silverio Pérez is credited with coining the term chupacabras soon after the first incidents were reported in the press. Shortly after the first reported incidents in Puerto Rico, [similar reported creatures and] other animal deaths were reported in other countries, such as the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Brazil, United States, and Mexico.^[5]
5^ ^{a b c d} Stephen Wagner. "On the trail of the Chupacabras". http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa051898.htm. Retrieved October 5, 2007
[Silviero Perez at best only recycled the pre-existing name for the Folkloric "Milk Snake/Lizard" which otherwise has been the subject of legends running as far back as Roman times, at least-DD]

Appearance: The most common description of chupacabras is a reptile-like being, appearing to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back.^[40] This form stands approximately 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and [runs on its hind legs or] hops in a similar fashion to a kangaroo.^[41] In at least one sighting, the creature was reported to hop[jump] 20 feet (6 m). This variety is said to have a dog or lizard-like nose and face, a forked tongue, and large fangs. It is said to hiss and screech when alarmed, as well as leave behind a sulfuric stench.^[41] ...Some reports assert that the chupacabras' eyes are coloured an unusual red [and the stench from the bowels] gives the witnesses nausea.
[This form is also said to climb rocks and trees well and to leap down out of trees when disturbed. it also dives into water where it can swim away rapidly and it is sometimes referred to under traditional names for water-monsters as well. Its total legth including the tail usually ranges from 6 to 10 or 12 feet long-DD]
41^ ^{a b c} Stephen Wagner. "The Top 10 Most Mysterious Creatures of Modern Times". http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa010101b.htm. Retrieved October 5, 2007.

....Another description of chupacabras, although not as common, describes a strange breed of wild dog.^[41] This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. It is claimed that this breed might be an example of a dog-like reptile...
[This latter kind is most definitely based on feral dogs and sometimes foxes or coyotes, diseased with scabies and the mange, and generally in a bad way when they are found. several examples of the type have been killed or produced as corpses: they are invariably hairless canids or canids with the hair reduced to a ridge along the spine. Almost all of the supposed "Animal Mutilation" cases can also be attributed to them]
[The Wikipedia article also says the Chilean Peuchen are analogous to Chupacabras, but that creature is more definitely a giant vampire bat. There are several other creatures in Chilean lore that are better fits and much more like the modern Chupacabras reports: Currently the term Chupacabras is used anyway-DD]

Precolumbian statue showing giant iguanid lizard with characteristic boss at angle of jaw, dewlap under chin and spiny crest down back: similar to other such depictions from Mexico to Peru, all depictions varying a great deal in artistic quality of course. The scale represented in such depictions is consistent with the recent reports. From the Larousse Mythology  reference encyclopedia. [DD Personal Files]

Chart comparing the various known apes and man at the top, from appendix to Time-Life Nature Library book Evolution.
Bottom row shows reported size range for both Mono Grande and Mono Rey in different parts of South America. Males only shown. The Mono Rey comes in sizes from about the size of a standard siamang to the size of a small and slender chimpanzee: the Mono Rey comes from chimpanzee to gorilla sizes basically, although the larger sizes might be much exaggerated (perhaps doubled).

Both Mono Grande and Mono Rey appear to be variations on recognisable types of ASIATIC apes.Colours are very diverse but smaller ones tend to be dark or black and larger ones more reddish brown. I suspect that the standard "Yeti" sizes are much like the Mono Rey.

CFZ REPRINT:
http://forteanzoology.blogspot.com/2009/11/dale-drinnon-looking-at-chupacabra-part.html

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

DALE DRINNON: Looking at the Chupacabra (Part One)

Knowing of our involvement with things apertaining to the Puerto Rican goatsuckers, Dale sent us several of his musings on the nature of the chupacabra, which we read with great interest. We have condensed them into a two-part article.

Early on in the Frontiers of Zoology group I had posted a link to a site that said that chupacabras depradations were being caused by giant vampire bats. All well and good; Shuker had mentioned reports of these giant vampire bats, and the website specified that they ranged from a wingspan of a foot to a few feet, walked on all fours on the ground and the largest ones were the size of a small dog on the ground. This is generally comparable with reports and traditions elsewhere in Latin America.

But there is a complication; there are different types of giant bats in the New World being reported and their characteristics are quite different.

While I was working for the Anthropology department at IUPUI I came across some photographs of some stone statues from Colombia, illustrating something that reminded me strikingly of Ivan Sanderson's Ahool drawing from Investigating the Unexplained. These reference photos were on file at the department and the captions stated that such 'Bat-effigies' were found occasionally from the American southwest to northern Argentina. Later I realised that these same figures were well known in Mesoamerica and related to the Mayan Kamazotz (Camazotz): in some of the UFO books, Kamazotz stories are ascribed to the Ikhals. They were said to stand on their hind legs as tall as a small child (2-3 feet or so) but were still regular bats, and ordinarily fish-eaters. And they are still being reported as chupacabras in some regions (notable examples from the southwest and illustrated on Cryptomundo, but known in 'Big Bird' lore from Texas in the mid-1970s, as bat-winged and monkey-faced, differing from the usual 'Big Bird' reports)

Moreover, the typical vampires of South American lore are chonchons, said to be a human head flying on ears transformed into batwings a fathom wide. Eberhart's Mysterious Creatures has entries on all of these giant bats, and the usual explanation given is they are all giant vampre bats.



pajaro-batchupa-chile
est 1 meter tall, wingspan at least 3.5m


It is not that simple: you have a small, medium-sized and a very large giant bat species emerging from these reports, and the medium-sized one is on a scale comparable to an Old-World flying fox (fruit-eating mega-bat) The largest is pretty much exactly comparable to an Ahool. The smallest reported unknown bat would be the giant vampire bat, the medium-sized one would be a giant false vampire bat, the chonchon. It is the size of a flying fox and the body of a flying fox is about the apparant size of a human's head.
 

So the smallest one is the bat with a wingspan of a foot or two, but it is the blood-drinker. The others are innocent but get the blame; however, false vampire bats are still predatory and one that size might give a human a bad mauling if it was very frightened or rabid. And while the biggest one gets blamed for such things as haunting graveyards and kidnapping children, it would much rather keep to itself. The big one is at least comparable in size to a big owl or a big eagle, unless stories are very much exaggerated



Cryptid Bat Photo, 2003 in Brazil; estimated as Eagle-sized



Best Wishes, Dale D.