Beware the Chupacabra...

[Asmodai]

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Reports of slaughtered farm animals and shadowy figures in darkened yards have Puerto Rican authorities hunting for what they believe is an exotic jungle cat prowling the wooded fringes of the island's densely populated capital.

Wildlife officials patrolled streets and undeveloped lots in a sort of suburban safari Sunday, searching for a nocturnal predator that has mauled a sheep, ripped apart chickens and dominated newspaper headlines in the tropical U.S. territory since last week.

The beast, described by witnesses as a black panther, has dodged marksmen, motion-sensitive cameras and cage-like traps - including one baited with a live goat, said Natural Resources Secretary Javier Velez Arocho.

Ten sightings were reported of a 1.2-metre-long cat stalking a stretch of Rio Piedras, a San Juan suburb that is home to a 21,000-student university campus, Velez said. The elusive animal could weigh as much as 68 kilograms, he added.

Search parties scoured the area without result and Velez urged residents to keep an eye on their children and look to defend themselves if they encountered a big cat.

A loose panther could be the escaped pet of drug traffickers, who are known for crowding their compounds on the island with rare, caged jungle cats and pedigree dogs, Velez said. It is illegal to own non-native predators such as jungle cats in Puerto Rico.

Farm animals have died in inexplicable episodes on the island for decades.

In the mid-1990s, widespread news coverage chronicled the exploits of a mysterious beast known as "Chupacabras," the "Goatsucker" in Spanish, which was rumoured to dine on the blood of livestock and household pets.

Panther? Sure. That makes no sense. Panthers are illegal, and drug traffickers wouldn't break the law.

Also, it's smart enough to see cameras. That means Chupacabra or Velociraptor. Velociraptors are from Costa Rica, so they wouldn't be in PR.

[xerony]

when something happens you can't explain well....
It must be a Chupacabra

[Amarghetta]

Lol! It's been ages since I heard something about the Chupacabras...

[mini*wheat]

Those things need to be stopped.

They killed Tenkei's cousin. 

[StreakInTheSky]

I thought it was a chinchilla that did?

[mini*wheat]

Oh yeah. Crap.

MAYBE A CHUPACABRA KILLED TENKEI'S OTHER COUSIN!?


Anyway, I think it was a sissy panther.

[jabronisaur]

Since the article only states that the animals were mutilated and not drained of fluid, as is the nature of the Cupacabra, I believe its merely a sissy panther.
Also, a panther, if it has contact with humans, might become very familiar with their scent. As such, traps and cameras set by humans, would alert the animal.

[Asmodai]

Hmm... I should have included "Enraged Chinchilla" as an option.