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With all the excitement in recent times regarding dessicated remains of mangy canines that become "chupacabras" in an onanistic frenzy for their own 15 minutes, I wish to bring to light what must surely be the very first case. In fact, it predates the chupacabras phenomenon by several years.
In November 1991, Frank Pryor and his wife, Cindy, were hunting deer near Charleston, AR when they stumbled upon the mostly skeletal remains of a creature not easily identified.
By the remaining tissue clinging to the bones, it was calculated that whatever it was had been dead for as many as 6 weeks. The rounded skull possessed two large orbits and a large mouth filled with sharp teeth. Missing were its limbs, but it had a large rib cage and a row of "spines" along its back.
Pryor took the remains to the Westark Science Department. There, Dr. David Meeks informed him that the creature was some type of carnivore unknown to the region. From there, Pryor passed the specimen on to Oklahoma Baptist University, but scientists there were unable to determine what the creature was. The learned men and women at Oklahoma State University examined the specimen and pronounced it a llama. However, a Fort Smith, AR veterinarian said that he was familiar with these animals and didn't believe it was one. Dr. Mary Whitmore, a professor of zoology at the University of Oklahoma, deemed that the specimen would never be identified. But another scientist, after studying it for several hours, concluded it was a new world camel (such as an alpaca, llama, or vicuña). Others scientists weighed in with their opinion that it was nothing more than the calf of a domestic cow.
Pryor was a bit disheartened that none were able to identify the animal conclusively. And yet the nascent mystery intrigued the Arkansas man. So, Pryor returned to where he discovered the animal in hopes of finding more of it. If he had a more complete skeleton, perhaps scientists would then be able to readily identify the animal.
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