- By Esteban Leal
- Diario El Centro
- July 7, 2004
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- Affected parties acknowledge having paid no furhter mind
to the event, but with all tha has been published, they are now afraid
and have decided to talk.
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- PARRAL - Fourteen sheep died inexplicably last week,
but this wasn't enough to for two familes of shepherds from Parral to make
a formal report of the event, despite the fact that the animals bodies
were found torn and bloodied but without any traces of a predator that
would have feasted on them. Everything changed in the last few hours, when
word spread of the attack on peasant Juan Acuna Periera by creatures unknown
to doctors, and that he described as "winged dogs."
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- The deaths occured at the Las Cabras farm and at a smallhold
located near the commune's hospital. The affected parties say they gave
no special importance to the event, but in view of all that has been published,
they became afraid and decided to come forward.
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- In the first case, 8 sheep were found exsanguinated in
the rear of the Inapar corporation. The family running the premises - facing
the hospital - recorded the dead animals on their camcorder to leave a
document for the owner of the property and the animals, in the hopes of
avoiding any misunderstandings later. Diario EL CENTRO managed to obtain
exclusive access to this visual record, showing the conditions in which
the sheep were found.
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- Ever since the Acuña case became known, members
of this family have chosen to leave their clothes hanging outside after
nightfall instead of going out and risking a similar attack. That is the
level of their fear. "They can't be dogs," the said, requesting
anonymity, since "dogs will eat the sheep, not bleed it...this is
the work of a strange animal."
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- The affected parties said they decided not to report
the incident to Carabineros (state police) because over 40 dead hens were
found under similar conditions last year, and they remember that the police
told them not to go out at night, since a strange dangerous species could
be on the loose.
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- The second case corresponds to the death of 6 sheep in
the Paso Hondo rural area on the way to Cauquenes, in the "Las Cabras"
farm.
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- This newspaper visited the site, notivied by a source.
After asking if it was indeed true that they had found dead animals on
the property, a person came to the door to confirm the report: "Yes,
6 dead sheep were found on the pasture, but it was never known what killed
them. I can't explain it. All I know is that they had very little blood,
because they were brought in for the dogs and their hides were removed."
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- Claudio Bravo, mayor of Parral, said: "I have no
greater opinion that what has appeared in the media. I think calm should
reign, first and foremost. These cases are isolated and infrequent. The
fact is that we don't know--until the investigation is well underway --
if we are facing a new species or a normal, everyday species. I would ask
the community to remain calm.
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- But he also joked: "If the Chupacabras has done
anything positive by its presence, it's that we have fewer people on the
streets at night., which I think is good. I hope the Chupacabras won't
attack decent folks, only the delinquents who are up to no good in Parral."
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- The Parralinos interpretations of the event range from
skepticism to the Bible. Nora Retamal, a secretary to Senator Jaime Naranjo,
has a view of the phenomenon that he relates to the Apocalypse: "This
book tells us that different things will come to pass. We know that the
forces of evil present themselves in different guises. God wants us to
be ready to witness some very odd things."
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- Fidel Sanchez, who keeps his hand on the local society's
pulse, things that most Parralinos believe that the attack on the farmer
was the work of the Chupacabras, while adding that others believe it's
just a dog. "All of these things give me goose pimples. The fact that
there could be a mysterious creature wandering the night that could attack
me...all I can do is go to bed early."
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- Translation (c) 2004. Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic
Ufology (IHU). Special thanks to Grupo GEO.
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