Strange animal shot and killed

In summary: I wonder if they have pictures of it inside?I saw the program too, and I was surprised at how big it was. I thought it was a mix of a lion and a tiger, but then I saw that it was just a liger, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.and the guy is standing on the picnic table and holding the meat as high as he can, and the Liger stands up and takes it with its mouth. :surprise:
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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A Hairless Mexican dog, a coyote with mange, an armadillo without a shell, a hybrid? An interesting story with a [dead] body for evidence.

Be sure to watch the video.

...People at the San Antonio Zoo say they have not seen anything like it. Terry DeRosa with the zoo says at a feather-light 20 pounds, he thinks it might be a wild mexican dog. [continued]

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=FAE91F84-A264-4AC3-8EA4-9097690CDEFC
 
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  • #2
Can't they put up some larger pictures?
 
  • #3
Ivan Seeking said:
A Hairless Mexican dog, a coyote with mange, an armadillo without a shell, a hybrid? An interesting story with a [dead] body for evidence.

Be sure to watch the video.



http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=FAE91F84-A264-4AC3-8EA4-9097690CDEFC
That animal looks like the one from an xH outer space, just compare the picture of their faces, you will see what I mean..
 
  • #4
I have no idea what you are talking about.
 
  • #6
:confused: why are ALL the newsitems about sex/death/abuse? typical..
 
  • #7
Monique said:
funny that they put such grainy pictures up.. it looks just like a dog to me :confused:

Here's an update to the story.. they even got a 'liger' animal in there
(cross tiger and a lion) :tongue2:
http://video.woai.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=23556&tf=woaiviewer.tpl

The face doesn't look like a dog's face to me...except maybe a little like a Chihuahua. What surprises me is that people at the Zoo couldn't be sure. Can't they do some kind of simple test to show whether or not its a breed of dog, or is DNA the only method beyond visual identification for something like this?

An interesting note about the Liger: I will probably get this backwards, but the gene that controls growth is found in the female lion, and in the male tiger. So, if we cross a male lion, with a female tiget we get something absolutely amazing - the biggest kitty cat I have ever seen! I think it may weigh almost twice as much as a normal lion or tiger. I saw a short nature diddi on this quite some time ago so the exact details are a bit vague. Must google.
 
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  • #8
Ivan Seeking said:
The face doesn't look like a dog's face to me...except maybe a little like a Chihuahua. What surprises me is that people at the Zoo couldn't be sure. Can't they do some kind of simple test to show whether or not its a breed of dog, or is DNA the only method beyond visual identification for something like this?

An interesting note about the Liger: I will probably get this backwards, but the gene that controls growth is found in the female lion, and in the male tiger. So, if we cross a male lion, with a female tiget we get something absolutely amazing - the biggest kitty cat I have ever seen! I think it may weigh almost twice as much as a normal lion or tiger. I saw a short nature diddi on this quite some time ago so the exact details are a bit vague. Must google.

Hey! I saw the same program about the liger. I don't remember if you have the parent's sexes right, but yeah that was really neat, because the gene that limited growth was in the parent of each species that they *didn't* use to breed. Really neat! Remember the shot where it was standing with its paws on the table, and how tall it was??

With this "chupacabra", like you said, why can't they just get some DNA and compare it whatever breed of C. familiaris (dog?)? I don't see why it's so difficult, the profs at my university compare DNA of plants all the time.
 
  • #9
Monique said:
:confused: why are ALL the newsitems about sex/death/abuse? typical..

Because it grabs attention :-) Who wants to watch news about the worlds biggest cookie?
 
  • #10
Maybe some social or political topics would be in place.. I was actually curious what's going on in San Antonio.. that's why you'd usually watch the news.. well.. I won't be stopping by when I'm in the neighbourhood :uhh:
 
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  • #11
aychamo said:
Hey! I saw the same program about the liger. I don't remember if you have the parent's sexes right, but yeah that was really neat, because the gene that limited growth was in the parent of each species that they *didn't* use to breed. Really neat! Remember the shot where it was standing with its paws on the table, and how tall it was??

and the guy is standing on the picnic table and holding the meat as high as he can, and the Liger stands up and takes it with its mouth. :surprise:

That is one big animal! AMAZING!
 
  • #12
Monique said:
Maybe some social or political topics would be in place.. I was actually curious what's going on in San Antonio.. that's why you'd usually watch the news.. well.. I won't be stopping by when I'm in the neighbourhood :uhh:


chicken of tham thar chupacabras are yeh? :biggrin:
 
  • #13
omg [PLAIN]http://www.tigers-animal-actors.com/pom/liger.jpg
 
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  • #14
Yes that would be the one. Incredible isn't it?
 
  • #15
Monique said:
Maybe some social or political topics would be in place.. I was actually curious what's going on in San Antonio.. that's why you'd usually watch the news.. well.. I won't be stopping by when I'm in the neighbourhood :uhh:

Are you in San Antonio often? ;)
 
  • #16
Monique said:
Maybe some social or political topics would be in place.. I was actually curious what's going on in San Antonio.. that's why you'd usually watch the news.. well.. I won't be stopping by when I'm in the neighbourhood :uhh:

It's bland and boring as hell. Don't speed, either. The cops are ruthless.
 
  • #17
Yes, but can you still legally drink while you drive? For me, many years ago at least, that defined Texas.
 
  • #18
It's impossible to tell anything from those pictures...those have to be some of the worst quality photos I've ever seen, and no way to even enlarge them. I'm sure they could just do a DNA test to confirm it's a dog if that's what they think it is. Looks emaciated...ribs and hip bones just sticking out...or has it been dead a while?

Hard to believe it was doing that good of a job catching chickens if it looks so scrawny. Wonder if he really got the right culprit there.
 
  • #20
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  • #22
DNA Testing Underway
...Biologists dug up the animal's remains for DNA testing, a process that could take up to six weeks...

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=317D3A73-8413-449D-A218-DEE30F924E81
 
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  • #23
S.A. Zoo Weighs-In on Chupacabra Debate

...Bones from a mystery animal shot by an Elmendorf rancher have been taken to an expert from the San Antonio Zoo. But can he tell what it is? John Gramieri, the Mammal Curator at the San Antonio Zoo, doesn't think it's the Chupacabra. It's definitely unique, but he thinks it's a mix between a dog and a coyote. [continued]

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=4E470718-F7B0-48AB-AC65-C5A1108E62B0
 
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  • #24
A second mystery animal killed?

We're still waiting on the DNA report from the first animal, but there may be a another...

LUFKIN, Texas -- Local animal experts are having a hard time identifying a strange looking animal killed in Angelina County on Friday -- an animal that looks eerily similar to the as yet unidentified "Elmendorf Beast" killed near San Antonio earlier this year. [continued with good pictures]

http://woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=EBC8FC7B-ED5D-46A5-8DA4-3C6F6C31975E

If the link doesn't work then try again later - it is a good. The story is linked at Coast to Coast AM which is famous for swamping servers.
 
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  • #25
Well, at least we finally get to see some clear, close-up photos! That article is right, it looks like it's been dead for days, not hours! Demodex mange...yipes, that's pretty nasty stuff and will kill an animal. I think that article gets to the important point, it's more of a concern to find out what these animals are infected with than whether it's a dog or coyote. If you've got wild animals around spreading a serious infection of mange, the local livestock farmers need to know to watch their herds.
 
  • #26
Whatever the results the finding will be interesting nonetheless. Either we have some new species or we have some seriously sick animals. If this is the fables "Chupacabra" maybe that isn't such a good thing if they are being found. Although you would wonder how something that has been stories for years would all of a sudden just pop up out of no where.
 
  • #27
I found some upclose photo's...
http://www.unknowncountry.com/lufkin_images.phtml
 
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  • #28
It's a fox with mange. I'll pull a link if needed later.
 
  • #29
I didn't spot anything except unsubstantiated statements as such. Where did you find this?
 
  • #30
I am wondering if this story is getting confused with the Maryland story.

UPDATED: 11:57 am EDT August 2, 2004

GLYNDON, Md. -- The mystery may be over as one of the creatures roaming through central Maryland was finally captured on Saturday.

According to the veterinarians at Falls Road Animal Hospital, the animal was a male red fox. However, Dr. Michael Herko -- a vet at the animal hospital -- and the man who caught the fox say it is not the mysterious creature videotaped in July, but a relative.

...Animal control officers took the creature to the Falls Road Animal Hospital. They determined it was a fox with sarcoptic mange[continued]

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/3604238/detail.html

Here is a picture of a Red Fox with mange.
http://www.bto.org/gbw/mammals/species%20accounts/redfo.htm
It should be relatively straightforward to identify a fox. The conspicuous features are the slender muzzle, erect black-backed ears and long, bushy tail. Individuals suffering from mange (see photograph below) may have patches of fur missing and in some cases the tail is far from bushy. Fresh fox droppings (known as scats) are black with a characteristic odour. They often have a characteristic twist in them, which helps distinguish fox droppings from those of dog.

There are reports of similar sightings from many parts of the country. Maybe a real problem for the fox population?
 
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  • #32
Last night Howe reported that one Veterinarian examined the most recent kill and declared it to be a coyote with sarcoptic mange, genetic anomalies, and possibly a damaged jaw. DNA results from the Elmendorf kill are still pending.
 
  • #33
What was that creature which shot the first beast?
 
  • #35
The final comment of we don't need DNA identification based off my observations of a long deceased animal rubbed me the wrong way.
 

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