Just in time for Halloween-- a creature that nightmares are made of is in the news again. The chupacabra phenomenon has sprung up in yet another state, now spotted in upstate New York.
Museum curator John Adolfi says when he heard the story of these strange hairless animals, hunting the hills of south Texas, he had to have one. His Lost World museum in Phoenix, New York, celebrates the unexplained. The so-called "chupacabra" on display is the very beast shot, killed and mounted from Blanco, Texas.
“There is no higher or greater purpose for this than that it has star-power. It's going to attract people to the museum to create greater awareness. Not only the museum, but to these chupacabras,” said Adolfi.
But traveling with the chupacabra road-show is a healthy skepticism from animal experts. Ron Giegerich, mammal expert with State University of New York, says he doubts the display reveals a bloodsucker.
Giegerich said, "I believe if scientists did some DNA evidence on it they'd find it's a domestic dog, possibly a mutt."
The museum says it plans a series of tests on some of the display animal’s remains to determine its heritage.
