Creature with huge teeth reported in Nebraska park, giving rise to Chupacabra rumors

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Mark Price//The Charlotte Observer) - It was only a month ago that India’s army said it found proof of the Abominable Snowman, so it shouldn’t be a complete shock that many on Twitter now claim a Chupacabra turned up in Nebraska, of all places.

The proof, some insist, is a pair of photos tweeted Friday by Sportsman Channel, showing half of a furry creature with a vicious looking set of teeth and canine similarities.

Among those retweeting the photos was the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

The tweet asked Twitter users to give their best guess and that’s where Chupacabra came up... over and over again.

Chupacabra, like Bigfoot, is a fabled creature that Animal Planet describes as “a mix of vampire and marauding, furry lizard” first reported in Chile. Knowledge of the dog-like beast has spread in the United States via the nation’s growing South and Central American immigrant population.

“No one has ever caught a Chupacabra, though plenty of eyewitnesses claim to have seen one,” Animal Planet says.

Photos of the mysterious creature allegedly found in Ponca State Park began showing up June 4 on The Adventures Of Country Hunting & Fishing Facebook page.

“A friend of mine sent this to me today,” said the June 4 Facebook post. “The back half of the animal is gone. My friend (thinks) this animal may have been around 18 inches in length....Would anyone know what this is??? At first I thought my friend was playing a joke on me or this was photoshopped.”

The post, which has gotten nearly 4,000 reactions, concluded by asking “jokesters” not to respond. “There may be other animals out there like this, I am serious,” said the post.

Those taking the matter seriously have suggested it was a dog, mountain lion, fox or “blonde raccoon.”

However, as the photos have spread on Facebook and Twitter, the Chupacabra theory has taken hold.

TV station WTGS covered the mystery Friday under the headline: “Lion-dog? Unknown animal found in NE baffles Twitter” and noted a Chupacabra was among the possibilities being debated.

“If it is not a photoshopped picture,” asked the station, “then what could this animal be?”