Chupacabra, in Latin American popular legend, a monstrous creature that attacks animals and consumes their blood. The name is derived from the Spanish words chupar (“to suck”) and cabra (“goat”) and can be translated as “goat-sucker.” As a fearsome but probably nonexistent creature, the chupacabra has been characterized as the southern equivalent of the Sasquatch. Chupacabras were first reported in 1995, in Puerto Rico, where they were blamed for attacks on goats, sheep, and other domestic animals, supposedly leaving uneaten carcasses that were drained of blood. Early reports described a creature that stood upright and resembled a large reptilian kangaroo with huge red eyes. No actual specimens were found, and skeptics suggested that “witnesses” may have been influenced by the Hollywood science-fiction horror film called Species, which features a monster of similar appearance. But other sightings were reported throughout the Americas and as far north as the United States.