Community Chat

[Clover29]

My opinion, for what it's worth: that is a coatimundi with mange. It doesn't look enough like a raccoon to me, and canines don't eat with their paws like that. Coatis are unusual in Texas, but not non-existent.

I can't begin to imagine why the householders are keeping it in a cage "until we get it ID'd" rather than just handing the cage over to wildlife experts.

[Kachina624]

On 4/3/2014 Clover29 said:

My opinion, for what it's worth: that is a coatimundi with mange. It doesn't look enough like a raccoon to me, and canines don't eat with their paws like that. Coatis are unusual in Texas, but not non-existent.

I can't begin to imagine why the householders are keeping it in a cage "until we get it ID'd" rather than just handing the cage over to wildlife experts.

A coatimundi in Texas? You can't be serious!

[Disneylandfan]

I don't know if it is a chupacabra, don't know enough about them. But considering researchers now believe that the giant squid is actually what sailors thought was a kraken (a creature most people chalked up to myth) it could be what people called a chupacabra or it may be a sick animal we already have identified.

[BlackMagic]

On 4/3/2014 Clover29 said:

My opinion, for what it's worth: that is a coatimundi with mange. It doesn't look enough like a raccoon to me, and canines don't eat with their paws like that. Coatis are unusual in Texas, but not non-existent.

I can't begin to imagine why the householders are keeping it in a cage "until we get it ID'd" rather than just handing the cage over to wildlife experts.

It reminds me of a raccoon, except for that growl. My son saw it and almost immediately thought of a coatimundi, he just couldn't remember the name right away. He just knew that it looked like this creature and ate tarantulas. After he remembered the name and showed me I can definitely see the resemblance, but I don't know if a coatimundi growls like this creature.

[croemer]

Average Statistics

<table border="0" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <h3>Length</h3> </td> <td>

2.5 to 3.5 ft

</td> <td rowspan="6" valign="middle"></td> </tr> <tr> <td> <h3>Weight</h3> </td> <td>

6 to 13 lbs

</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <h3>Geographic Range</h3> </td> <td>

Tropical regions of South America, from Columbia and Venezuela to Uruguay, northern parts of Argentina, and into Ecuador.

</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

[croemer]

<table width=""100%""> <tbody> <tr> <td valign=""top"" bgcolor=""#FFFFFF"" width=""20""> </td> <td valign=""top"" bgcolor=""#FFFFFF"" width=""300"">


</td> <td valign=""top"" width=""20""> </td> <td valign=""top""> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

[Clover29]

On 4/3/2014 kachina624 said:

On 4/3/2014 Clover29 said:

My opinion, for what it's worth: that is a coatimundi with mange. It doesn't look enough like a raccoon to me, and canines don't eat with their paws like that. Coatis are unusual in Texas, but not non-existent.

I can't begin to imagine why the householders are keeping it in a cage "until we get it ID'd" rather than just handing the cage over to wildlife experts.

A coatimundi in Texas? You can't be serious!

There are all kinds of animals in all kinds of places. Wallabies aren't indigenous to Europe, but they escape from zoos and private homes and establish wild colonies. Big cat sightings are probably "pets" that escaped or someone released. Why wouldn't there be a coatimundi in Texas? It has a land border with Mexico, and I've seen coatimundis in Mexico myself.

Why is it so unlikely to you?

[Kachina624]

Because i lived there 35 years and never heard of such a thing and they are not native to Texas. Using your theory, you could possibly find anything anywhere but the probability is remote.

[Lacey1]

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Ak4.3dbN1a9nQ1J2c46ylHebvZx4?fr=yfp-t-644-s&toggle=1&cop=mss&e...

Picture this animal covered in mange. Texas has very lax laws on exotic animal possession. My guess is that these people went to an 'exotic' animal auction, got this poor creature for free and decided to try an make a $$ by promoting it as a Chupacabra.

[Marp2]

On 4/3/2014 kachina624 said: Because i lived there 35 years and never heard of such a thing and they are not native to Texas. Using your theory, you could possibly find anything anywhere but the probability is remote.

A search on the term Coatimundi in Texas will return listings for dealers offering them for sale as pets.