NEWS

Hairless creature on loose at golf course. Some think it’s a chupacabra

Sandra Nortunen

Wilson Hui posted this photo in 2012 with the header "El Chupacabra. "It was quite an honour to encounter one in real life," he wrote. "It was akin to seeing big foot or the abominable snowman in person."

A giant ship rat, a coyote with mange, a sickly kangaroo, a demon straight from hell, a chupacabra ...

People on Facebook trying to identify this four-legged hairless creature are still going strong after Doug Stewart posted its photo a few days ago.

He spotted the beast scrounging around while he was playing golf in Santee, S.C. As of Thursday, more than 700 people have commented on his #ThatAintNoDog post.

A chupacabra is popular in Spanish folklore and literally means “goat sucker,” since it enjoys noshing on the blood of livestock.

Some have called it the Big Foot of the Latin culture. They’ve been featured on “The X-Files,” “Grimm” and several sci-fi movies including the 1997 “Guns of El Chupacabra.”

However, most wildlife management officials and biologists say chupacabras are pretty much folklore.

Jay Butfiloski, furbearer project manager for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, is among that group. When asked about the animal on the golf course, he didn’t mince words.

Butfiloski told WCIV: "It's a canine with mange; it’s not a Chupracabra. That you can put to bed.”