Elmendorf Beast mystery

[merlinhoot]

The Mystery of the Elmendorf Beast

28-Aug-2004

There's a genuine cryptozoological mystery deep in the heart of Texas. A rancher in Elmendorf, Texas, shot a strange animal that ate 35 of his chickens in a single day. Scientists who have examined the creature's body have not been able to identify it. Unknowncountry.com is having DNA testing done on the body. For more information and pictures, read the full story.

The Elmendorf beast is a strange, hairless dog-looking creature with a blue-gray color and strangely-shaped teeth. Macanally says, "First thing that came to my mind, is surely everybody's gonna think this is a Chupacabra. But it's so odd because it has no hair." One woman who saw a photo of it says it's exactly how her grandmother described the Chupacabras she saw.

When the rancer took the skull to experts at the San Antonio Zoo, biologists could not identify it. The zoo's Terry DeRosa thinks "It may be one of the hairless dogs that perhaps you see in Mexico." Mexican hairless dogs are generally much smaller. This animal is believed to have weighed around twenty pounds. Some experts who have observed photos of the corpse feel that the animal was afflicted by sarcoptic mange, and had not originally been hairless.

This expert says, "I believe that this animal's condition represents some sort of unrecognized environmental catastrophe. Other small predators with sarcoptic mange have been observed elsewhere in the country recently. It needs urgent study."

The condition of the Elmendorf Beast's jaw is not a result of disease process. John Gramieri, the San Antonio Zoo's Mammal Curator thinks it's a mix between a dog and a coyote?a coydog?with very strange teeth. He says, "It's clearly a member of the dog family, a family candidate. For whatever reason, this animal had a very poor fusion in the [jaw area]?so it allowed that lower jaw to spread in a way that is not normal for any mammal, actually?It apparently had some very bad skin ailment, and that skin ailment made it go bald except for the top of its body." Gramieri, as well as area ranchers, believes that there are more of the creatures out there. Area ranchers believe that they are breeding.

The jaw structure is not a deformity in the usual sense because it is symmetrical. It is not a mammalian jaw at all, but appears more akin to the jaw of a reptile. There is nothing in the genetic code of the mammal that would enable a jaw structure such as this. This raises the possibility that intentional genetic manipulation, or a highly unusual natural mutation, has been involved in the emergence of this species.

The rancher says, "I want this one to be a new species?or at least something that somebody has never seen in a cross between two different ones."

DNA results from one of the world's leading testing facilities should be available within a month. onth.

[CAH]

Chupacabras are Grey aliens pets that escaped out of the UFOs.

[emel]

Some experts believe it's a sort of wild Mexican dog.

But hunting guide E.T. Hughey says he's sure it's a Muntjac (MOONT-jac) deer -- a small antelope-type animal.

He says some South Texas ranchers import them, and turn them loose on their property.

But others have speculated that the "Elmendorf beast" is some kind of canine. Still others believe it's the chupacabra -- an animal of Mexican folklore, said to kill farm animals.

We here at News 4 WOAI have done a little digging around on the world wide web, and have uncovered some interesting facts.

According to the Rolling Hills Zoo in Kansas, "as Muntjacs mature, the upper canine teeth are elongated into 'tusks' that curve outward from the lips." Also, "Muntjac deer are sometimes known as the 'barking deer' because they will emit a barking sound to warn others of predators and to identify individuals." Some interesting canine comparisons.

Concerning the dead chickens at the Elmendorf farm, Muntjac deer are actually herbivores. But remember, Mcanally says he found the creature eating mulberries. And a British web site says the deer are very territorial, using their canine "tusk" teeth on intruders, to inflict "serious injuries... to their flanks, neck and ears." Perceived chicken intruders, perhaps?

But there are some questions to ask about the deer theory. On the web sites we searched, the pictures of Muntjac deer don't indicate a long tail. The pictures from Elmendorf show that creature's tail is quite long, almost rat-like. Also, Muntjacs, just like other deer, have split hoofs. It's hard to tell from the pictures if our strange animal had hooves, or some kind of paw. We haven't gotten a chance to ask Mcanally yet.

Of course all of these are just theories at this point. No one has done any testing on the "Elmendorf beast

LINK

dear in zoo:

[xortex]

It's funny there is so much info about the so called shot "creature" but there is no real pictures of this creature ;)