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There's yet another claim that a mysterious, unknown creature is roaming around south-central Wisconsin.
Last week, a Juneau County man claimed he found a hairless, mysterious looking creature along side a highway just outside Elroy. A debate ensued -- was it just a sick animal, the legendary goat-sucking Chupacabra, or something else?
Whatever it is, a group of children in Montello said they have one living in their neighborhood. They claim they saw the same creature -- alive -- roaming around last week.
"The head looked like a rat, and then the body looked like a fox. It had fangs and it had really long toes," said Shane Turner, who said he came within five feet of the creature.
Turner said it ran through the outfield while he and friends were at baseball practice.
Another group of children said they saw it near their house less than a mile from the baseball diamond.
"It was really short and skinny, and it was hairless," said Casey McNamara, who saw the creature when she and her family were pulling into their driveway.
Ciara Neeb, who also saw the creature at the baseball diamond, said the animal was so strange looking, she ran toward it to get a closer look.
She said it ran off, but she knows it was like something she had never seen before.
"It wasn't until after they had seen it that we found out about your story," Ciara's mom, Cyndi Neeb said. "She said, 'Mom, that's it. I know that was it!'"
No one got any pictures of the creature, but the children claim something very strange is hanging out in their woods.
Based on pictures from last week's find in Elroy, experts said they think it's likely a manged raccoon. But the children said they just don't buy it.
"I know what mange looks like. It's like patchy," Ciara Neeb said. "It's not like all the fur is gone."
Ciara said there's just no other explanation, except the hypothesis she's formed.
"I think it's a new species," she said. "Or a hybrid of animal that maybe we don't know about."
Jeff Potter, who found the dead animal in Elroy last week and still has that animal preserved in his freezer, said he continues to search for help to determine exactly what the animal is.
Potter said a scientist from Ohio has gotten in touch, and he has plans to do a DNA test in an attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery.
I have lived in Wisconsin for over 30 years, and hunted and trapped here for around 20. I detest seeing these animals with mange and other diseases that make them appear as you see here, or even worse in some cases. This is a common disease, and if you look up photo's of raccoon's with mange on Google, you will see that what the people are talking about is in fact a sad way that nature deals with overpopulation. This disease is not only known to strike down raccoon's but many other fur bearing animals. The mite digs into the animal causing it to scratch and dig until the hair falls out, and the animal gets serious infections that eventually kill it. They suffer greatly and if seen should be dealt with fast to keep the mite under control. Do not touch the dispatched animal with bare hands, use gloves and discard them after putting the animal in a plastic bag or burning the carcass. With proper management we can help to control these horrible diseases. No mystery here people, just a few sick animals in an overpopulated area.