[The following story appeared in the "Duindee Evening Telegraph" on May 3, 1996 and was forwarded by Andy Cobley through the Fortean Times Online reporting service.]
(Mexico) -- A giant bat-like creature is terrorising a village in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, where goats are found daily with their blood sucked dry, witnesses said [on May 3].
Poor farmers from Calderon village have formed night vigilante squads to track down the flying beast, dubbed the "Goat Sucker."
"We are telling people to keep the women and children locked up inside at night," one villager said. "Nobody knows really what it is."
Dozens of goats have fallen victim to the bloodsucker and it has also allegedly attacked one human.
Farmers have cobbled together a "Wanted" sketch of the bat, which is more than a foot long and has two horn-like prongs protruding from a hairy head.
The world's three species of blood-sucking bats live predominantly in the warm climates of Latin America. Similar recent cases have emerged from Peureto Rico, Costa Rica and El Salvador.
Original file name: CNI - Chupa a bat? 5.6
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