Mysterious creature found in Nelson County

[Still Waters]

Has a mythical creature made its way to Kentucky? Some people seem to think so, after a Nelson County man came across a creature with grayish, wrinkly skin and no fur.

Mark Cothren shot and killed an animal on December 18 because he said he feared what it was, since he did not recognize it. He said the animal walked from the woods onto his front yard around 3 p.m. Cothren lives on Mount Carmel Church Road in Lebanon Junction.

"I was like: 'every animal has hair, especially this time of year!' What puzzled me is how something like that could survive through a winter with no hair," Cothren said.

"Everybody is getting very curious, you know. [The] phone is ringing off the hook. It's kind of a mystery right now," Cothren said.

Cothren described the creature as having large ears, whiskers, a long tail, and about the size of a house cat. He says many people have tried to guess what the animal may be. He said he's heard anything from raccoon to a dog to the legendary Chupacabra.

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[j b]

maybe there is something to be concerned with... it appears to be nothing more than a dog but take a look at the paws... they resemble a raccoon. also another animal has been found in kentucky by a member of UM not too long ago but this one had black fur... link below

link

with fur...

without fur...

Edited December 24, 2010 by j b

[Cryptid_Control]

The one with the black fur that Ebonycrow posted ended up being, not 100% sure, but most likely a spray painted racoon. So maybe these would be the same thing, the second one either shaved or with a disease of some sort. I'm not really an expert, but other than the shap of the ears they look the same. But that could just be because of the decomposition on the first picture. My friend told me this morning that she saw something on the news (All the way up in Canada!)about a chupacabra-like animal found in Kentucky, so I can only assume this would be what she meant.

"I just happened to walk out on the porch and saw something moving in the field and it just looked unusual," said Mark Cothern.

I don't know why the guy would just shoot a random animal that he didn't recognize though. If I saw something like that I would most likely take some pictures, but not just shoot the thing off my front porch because it 'Looked unusual'.

"Well, it's something strange, so I got my rifle to shoot it, get a closer look. And I'm glad I did, 'cause I don't know what it is." Said Mark

[j b]

it makes me wonder if someone has started a breeding population of a new species to the eastern US and its not adapting well. i have'nt done any research on like animals from different areas... but im just having a hard time believing its a raccoon even though both animals have raccoon like feet.

[Cryptid_Control]

it makes me wonder if someone has started a breeding population of a new species to the eastern US and its not adapting well. i have'nt done any research on like animals from different areas... but im just having a hard time believing its a raccoon even though both animals have raccoon like feet.

Yeah, I wasn't sure if it was a raccoon, but as I said, I'm not expert, so I can't really judge properly whether or not it is. It's just the body shape that looks wrong to me. I've seen my fair share of raccoons and none of them look quite like that. Even the baby ones. It makes sense that someone might have started breeding a new species, or maybe they just started breeding naturally in the wild without anyone knowing.

[Clobhair-cean]

It's either a raccoon or an opossum, nothing really special. At first I thought it would be the latter but then I found an image of a raccoon with mange that was somewhat similar:

The shape of the feet and the number and arrangement of the nipples are also against it being an opossum. So, it's a raccoon.

Animals tend to look very different without fur, there's no need to speculate about new species.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Clobhair-cean

[xYlvax]

I go with the raccoon theory. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[j b]

I am anxious to know what the studies say about the one without fur. I do believe its a raccoon also but with the mangey dogs that have been called chupacabras in Texas makes me think that its spreading into other species and becoming a problem. What are people going to do when it spreads to house pets? Maybe this is a more extreme case of mange that could also spread to humans... That would be a mess then. I'm with the guy that shot the creature... if not then we could be clueless on the disease that appears to be spreading.

Edited December 25, 2010 by j b

[Cryptid_Control]

Seeing that picture Clobhair posted I'm now pretty sure it's a raccoon. They look very alike, if not exactly the same!

[Clobhair-cean]

I am anxious to know what the studies say about the one without fur. I do believe its a raccoon also but with the mangey dogs that have been called chupacabras in Texas makes me think that its spreading into other species and becoming a problem. What are people going to do when it spreads to house pets? Maybe this is a more extreme case of mange that could also spread to humans... That would be a mess then. I'm with the guy that shot the creature... if not then we could be clueless on the disease that appears to be spreading.

Mange have been present in canids, humans and practically any other terrestrial mammal species around. I don't think that it's spreading, just that after the first moron confused a mangy coyote with a chupacabra, every single one found by an idiot will get into the news. Before, they were just ignored.

[Destiany]

Found this image/article of a hairless raccoon found here in Texas. Sure looks to me like what the guy killed.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/weird/Hide-Your-Goats-Alleged-Chupacabra-Found-in-North-Texas-82001187.html

[j b]

Found this image/article of a hairless raccoon found here in Texas. Sure looks to me like what the guy killed.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/weird/Hide-Your-Goats-Alleged-Chupacabra-Found-in-North-Texas-82001187.html

good find and thanks for that link... id say its the same after comparing the two also

[Chooky88]

Typical Yanks. "Wow, what a rare and unusual creature, I better shoot it!" Reminds me of the scientists a couple of years ago who killed the worlds oldest creature "a 400 year old clam" They were exited it lived, and they killed it to prove its age...jerks.

[xXHellkittiesXx]

looks like an unarmored armedillo, lol.

[FlyingAngel]

Nothing special. Animals mutated, having illness, evolution... happen all the time.

[realmcutter]

looks just like a hairless possum,thats whats i think it most likely is. I've pick up dead possums before and seen their fur fall off, looks just like one.

[Azurehart]

Shoot first, ask questions later. What a idiot. It's probably just some poor raccoon, or even someone's pet cat that has mange. Nothing mysterious about that other than how the shooter has enough brain cells to remember to breathe.

[Scruffy]

The guy in the video said he was unsure what it is and shot it.... why do rare animals or something unexplained always end up on the porch of some complete fool who's idea of resolving something is to shoot it.... perhaps if the guy took a moment to think he might have had an epiphany and decided to capture the animal because if it is some sort of new species or something it could have been preserved and studied. If some rare animal thats the last of its kind walks onto your porch and you didn't know what it is and shot it, then you'd be forever remember as the moron that killed an entire species. So please this message go's out to all those trigger finger happy fools out there looking for something to kill... DON'T, stupidity can be cured, if you need to shoot something take the stack of beer cans laying there in your tv room and shoot that.

[itsbatmansilly]

look.. i understand the impulse to slag the guy.. but when you live in the backwoods or mountains and you are approached by some freaked out looking creature coming at you, well it doesnt make him a retard or inbred to react instinctively.

[Prab]

Found this image/article of a hairless raccoon found here in Texas. Sure looks to me like what the guy killed.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/weird/Hide-Your-Goats-Alleged-Chupacabra-Found-in-North-Texas-82001187.html

Surely seems like a hairless raccoon after seeing this.

[The Black Ghost]

I beleive its a coyote or a fox, but it could be a type of opposum.

[Prab]

The guy in the video said he was unsure what it is and shot it.... why do rare animals or something unexplained always end up on the porch of some complete fool who's idea of resolving something is to shoot it.... perhaps if the guy took a moment to think he might have had an epiphany and decided to capture the animal because if it is some sort of new species or something it could have been preserved and studied. If some rare animal thats the last of its kind walks onto your porch and you didn't know what it is and shot it, then you'd be forever remember as the moron that killed an entire species. So please this message go's out to all those trigger finger happy fools out there looking for something to kill... DON'T, stupidity can be cured, if you need to shoot something take the stack of beer cans laying there in your tv room and shoot that.

Agreed, I seriously thought of the same thing and only if an animal poses a threat of some kind to someone then only one should think of shooting to protect one's life, which I think was not the case here !

You cannot just roam around shooting animals if you cannot recognize them.

Or

Maybe the person was too scared after seeing an animal like this.

Or

Maybe he was surprised to see an animal like this and thought that the best way of stopping and observing it would be to shoot it because its very likely that if he would have tried to catch it, it could have run away !

But anyways he would have crippled that creature instead of killing it.

[+DieChecker]

At first I thought it was a cat, but the feet are wrong for a cat. Then I thought it was a skunk. The maybe a racoon. I think the ears are a little too big for it to be a skunk.

Here is a naked skunk for contrasting...

Here is a compare between a raccoon and a skunk...

I'm 90% sure raccoon.

[Col. Kurtz]

Shoot first, ask questions later. What a idiot. It's probably just some poor raccoon, or even someone's pet cat that has mange. Nothing mysterious about that other than how the shooter has enough brain cells to remember to breathe.

Nice first post thats just about what i was gonna say.

[Scruffy]

look.. i understand the impulse to slag the guy.. but when you live in the backwoods or mountains and you are approached by some freaked out looking creature coming at you, well it doesnt make him a retard or inbred to react instinctively.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with acting instinctively but thats if the thing was the size of a elephant with a T-rex head poping out of its ass and devouring everything in sight then I'd recommend shooting it, this creature on the other hand is small and seemingly harmless, that is why I come to the conclusion that this was a pointless act of violence.