In the past few days, two stories have been brought to my attention, that involve unknown animals that have been killed because, you know, if you don’t know what it is, you’d better kill it. It’s a detestable mindset. Of course, if you are being attacked by something and you’re defending yourself, that’s a different story. Take sharks, for example. If you’re in the water and suddenly a shark is gnawing on your leg, it’s perfectly rational to shoot it, stab it or beat it. But if you’re on a boat and the shark is minding its own business in the water, don’t hurt the shark. And don’t rip its fin off and throw the dying, suffering animal back into the ocean. Shark attack victims agree.
The first story comes from Dickson County, Tennessee (see it on the map), where a man reports that he shot a Chupacabra (a “mythical type creature that is of Mexican folklore”) after it trespassed on his property a few times. He said: “It looks like it came from some other place we’d rather not go when we die.” So the guy is obviously religious and figured it was a creature from hell! Kill it, the demon offspring!
Of course, after he killed it, photos were shown to the Tennessee Wildlife and Resources Agency and it turns out it’s likely just a red fox with mange. Compare:
Tennesean Chupacabra (above)
Coyote with mange, as seen on Wikipedia
Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner!
So he shot first and asked questions later, and then – even if you get over the fact that he shot it just like that (maybe he did feel threatened) – he just put it on ice for a while? Why not take it to a taxidermist? I mean, surely a stuffed Chupacabra would be a nice trophy for anyone’s fireplace.
The second story comes straight from Cerro Azul, Panama (see it on the map). There, some evil monster was “creeping” out of a cave and startled some teenagers so much that they beat it to death with rocks and sticks. Aww, poor little creepy naked Hoffmann’s 3-toed sloth, or whatever it was:
So this is where the trap-making comes in. If people were more inclined to build traps and outsmart “beasts from hell”/cave-dwellers, they’d have built a trap and taken the creatures to the authorities, where scientists could’ve poked them with needles and probably a) cured the mangy fox, and b) figured out if the other creature is a space-alien or just a naked sloth. In the latter case, they might’ve given him hair implants or a nice wig.
So now, let’s all learn how to build some traps:
Links:
Dickson Co. man believes he killed a Chupacabra [WKRN.com]
Kids Kill Monster in Panama [homorazzi.com]
Strange Creature Washes Ashore in Cerro Azul, Panama [strangeunknown.com]
Survival: Basic Snare Trap For Small Game [YOUTUBE]
Animal Trapping [Wikipedia]
chapacubra are real