Chile: A Strange Animal Attack (2000)

 

 Source: GIFOR Chile

Date: 12.13.2023

Chile: A Strange Animal Attack (2000)

By Elizabeth Ramírez

Rancagua- Chile

Grupo de Investigaciones del Fenómeno Ovni de Rancagua (GIFOR)

 "Attacked by a strange animal!" - This was the headline used by regional newspaper "El Rancagüino" on its Monday May 8 2000 issue, referring to the strange incident that occurred on the evening of Sunday, May 7, that year, at approximately 23:40 hours in the Santa Elena de Codao sector of the Peumo Commune.

 The incident occurred on the premises of Narciso Canales, father of Guido, where the lifeless remains of 14 Angora rabbits were found in their cages. Guido, a 33-year-old farmer, married and with a child, was attacked by a strange animal after having stood guard all night after the strange deaths.

 This, my friends, summarizes to a great extent what befell Guido Canales Osorio that evening. Many stories were told, but over time we have learned more details - details which are essential to this account.

 The Guido Canales Osorio case - A Poorly-Told Story?

 During the exhausting winter days of 2000 in the O'Higgins area, arising from the unjustified deaths of animals on premises adjacent to the regional capital, a new and alarming situation arises: 'alleged attacks on a human being'

 At first, the events transpiring in this region were only filed through compilation of documentation obtained in the regional and national press, concerning the strange deaths, and they were not followed up at the time. How could it be possible? Events were playing out so quickly and statement did not seem to agree at all. I decided the thing to do was to wait for a reasonable period of time - whatever might prove necessary to truly research the events.

 I must say that in my opinion, the UFO phenomenon has nothing to do with the so-called "Chupacabras" phenomenon. It is for this reason I hesitated at first to track the deaths occurring in this area. I never received any reports involving sightings before, after, during or near the killings. I therefore state that the UFO phenomenon has no connection with these animal deaths.

 Nevertheless, events began to transpire throughout the entire region, making it highly interesting as a social phenomenon and much more so as research. It is true, and this must be admitted, that there are many cases in which the culprits are known quantities: dogs and other animals. There exist, however, a number of deaths for which there is no explanation

 Experts attached to the Agricultural and Livestock Service (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero - SAG) would perform necropsies every so often to see if the animals had really been exsanguinated, but according to their diagnoses, this was not the case, as the blood was present but puddled, as the flesh was not white, as would be expected in the absence of blood.

 It was then that I got in touch with Luis Lopez, a resident of Peumo, where the incident occurred, and whom I visited on several occasions. He told me the following: "In the winter of 2003, between the months of June and July, Guido Canales was admitted to the city hospital of Rancagua for 20 days. The reason at the time was unknown, but it was thought to have no connection to the events that occurred four years earlier. I asked him to be on the lookout, since he lives in the area and would conduct investigations in this regard. I would do the same on my part."

 Days later, on Sunday, 21 march 2004, around 11 am, I made contact with Luis again by phone and this is what he said: "Guido Canales Osorio was indeed admitted to the Rancagua hospital for a psychological reason - nightmares brought about by the phenomenon, such as reliving the ordeal, a panicked reaction, and constantly saying that he could see him, that is, he could see his attacker."

 I was greatly surprised by this information, as I had not imagined that the experiences would have been so traumatic. Did the attending physicians not detect possible after-effects from the ordeal, or was Guido seldom treated for this condition? Otherwise, I suppose that a visible alteration to the nervous system would have been noticed.

 Luis added that following the attack in the year 2000, Guido became introverted and never ceased to feel fear over the event, a situation that his family kept quiet. The scars left by the assailant vanished over time, but these were never studied by other physicians. Hence, their provenance was never established.

 After speculation and ridicule by the press, Guido refused to speak to the press again. We then decided to scour the archives for part of the material and came across an audio recording of an interview with Guido Canales and Don Alamiro, the person who found Guido in a state of shock that evening.

 I am transcribing the full content of the recording. The first interview was the one with Don Almira - "Don Ala" as he is called - who lives in an alleyway some 20 meters distant from where Guido's attack took place. It was he who rendered first aid. This is what he had to say:

 "It must have been around two in the morning that day, because I watched the soccer match and then turned off the TV. Five minutes after I turned off the set, Guido came to me. What happened? I asked him. They gave me a thrashing, please come help me, I'm on the ground, they beat me. I stopped and listened, in case I could hear someone running, but there was no one. Then I ran off to find the kids to come see him. We found Guido on the ground, as if he was trying to die, because he couldn't speak, his eyes were wide, scared, couldn't speak, couldn't understand what he was saying."

 Was there any trace of blood or bruising near the eyes?

 "No, he had nothing, no traces of anything. Then when we checked him, he had scratches around his neck on both sides. Four on one side and five on the other, all the way down. The claws crossed when they got up to here (at the neck). I went to see him in the morning and the scratches were still there.

 You remarked that Luis felt that someone had beaten him?

 "No, Louie was here with us when as we were helping Guido to stand. Louie said "Owww Don Ala, he also hit me here" - it had hit him on the waste. I took his hand and held him so that nothing would happen, and I led him by the hand to dispel his fear. He said he'd felt a blow on the side of his back as were helping Guido to stand. There was a journalist from Las Cabras present at the moment. We had a total of 8 people."

 Were the Carabineros [State police] also there?

 No, they came when we took Guido home. They saw everything that had happened.

 Did he have any traces on his body or just the neck?

 "On his neck he only had those big scratches, but the claws were thin like those of small bird, worn claws, with a separation of about once centimeter between them. The big scratches are on the neck."

 And with your years of experience, what do you think it could be?

 I believe little. I'm not partial to it having been a bird. Don't know what it could've been.

 Something evil?

 "Yes, something evil, I think, because it can't be seen. Guido gave us to understand that it came flying, faced off with him. He said it flew in from below, and he saw it some twenty meters distant. We figured that it jumped him and embraced him straightaway with its wings. Guido was unable to overcome the situation and he fell to the ground. He turned on a little flashlight he always carried with him and the bird took off."

 Next, we find on the recording an interview with Guido Canales Osorio himself, the affected party. Bear in mind that this is a recording from the year 2000 and with notes taken two days after the event. Let's see what Guido had to say at the time:

 "It was around two o'clock in the morning when I headed home. My mom handed me a flashlight as I left, telling me to carry it in case something happened, and I went out. Some thirty meters from the old man's house (meaning Don Alamiro), this animal stood before me and grabbed me. I turned on the flashlight and it took off, kicking up dirt. It was just like a gorilla. It had 'cachos' (horns?) and a large mouth. It had feet just like a human but the wings were big. He started flipping me on the ground, three times, and scratched my neck. I called for help, and I remember nothing else."

 How did it scratch you? It had hands?

 Yes, huge hands, immense, big claws too.

 Aside from the wings?

 Yes, aside from the wings. It doesn't do anything with the wings. All it does is smother, but uses the hands to attack.

 The eyes - could you see its eyes?

 Yes, the eyes had color and glittered, the same characteristics given [for the creature seen in] Calama. The same. Identical.

 How big was it, more or less?

 One meter twenty [3'11"]

 Did you defend yourself? Did you attack him?

 No, I tried defending myself but I couldn't. I turned on the flashlight and it took off. It's afraid of the light. That's what I recall.

 This, then, is Guido's brief statement. I must say that his tone of voice is highly distressing. The effects of his state of shock are noticeable.

 The recording ends with the statements made by Luis Canales Osorio, Guido's brother. This tape has never been transcribed, only broadcast over a small local station.

 "I'd gone out to accompany my sister-in-law and went behind the house to see the prints it had left on the tree. Looking closely, I thought it was the turkeys that roost on the tree at night. The tree was shaking, and its trunk is large. That's when I saw it. I fired a bullet because I wanted to hunt it, kill it for what it had done to my brother, to the rabbits, and all the harm it caused."

 The distance must've been some four meters?

 No, some ten meters more or less.

 Height. How tall is the bird?

 The bird stands one meter twenty, more or less.

 You had it in your sights, you fired and it fell?

 "No, no. At that distance there I couldn't harm it. It flew, kept flying and I carried shells in my pocket, but I reached into the wrong pocket. When I fired again, it was some fifty meters distant now. I ran after it and fired some ten rounds at it, but they missed. The first one must've hit it. That's when I took off through the farm, between the trees, shooting more and more rounds. Then the Carabineros arrived and my brother saw it (not Guido, another brother) and saw it flying upward, more or less toward the Peumo sector, and it more or less disappeared. We returned and that's all I saw."

 From what you were able to see, what could you really see about it?

 "It's like a giant bat. It's just like a bat, black and large, one meter twenty, one meter thirty in height, more or less. The wings are big, each wing is a meter in a half or more. In flight it looks large, in the air it looks really, really big. That's all I saw. I only wanted to kill it. That's why I fired several rounds at it and chased it, but it flies too fast."

 What about the SAG's story that it's a Guiña (Chilean wildcat)?

 No, Guiñas don't fly. That bird is something abnormal.

 Are you ready in case it attacks again tonight?

 "Yes, we have to wait and see, then try to kill it so it stops doing damage. There are over 70 turkeys, some 100 hens, ducks, horses, pigs...and the children. Imagine a bird that size grabbing a 10-year-old child. It'll take it away, given its size and strength. Picture my brother, who ways some 80 kilos more or less. It smothered him and threw him to the ground. No, that's not normal. The good thing is that there was a journalist with a camera present when my brother was on the ground, and we saw the dust it kicked up when it flew off, when it left my brother and flew. The dust it kicked up with its wings remained. It was something to see."

 Did the journalist focus his camera on it?

 "Yes. I don't know if he managed to capture something that night. Yes, it scared us. Why deny it? We were all scared. The Carabineros, everyone was frightened. We went around frightened. I only chased it into the farm because I think I'm brave. I never hold back. Never. Nothing scares me. I was furious, wanting to kill that thing and I fired ten shots at it. The first one must've done something, as it was only ten meters away. I didn't believe any of this. I'd laugh when I'd see cases like these on TV. But now I believe it's something beyond normal."

 This brings to a close Luis [Canales Osorio's] statements regarding the events.

 Guido's case - at least to me - represents something that cannot be understood. Many questions arose in my mind after the event, and it was possible for me to visit the site on Tuesday, meaning two days after the incident. I was able to interview Guido on camera, which I shall make public shortly, and also attest to the psychosis that gripped the area following the events.

 The material presented here does not appear in any newspaper record. This forms part of my compilation of files and will be released little by little.

 Why is it subtitled "a poorly told story" you may ask? Well, the truth is that there are many incongruities in the experiences, and in the attack itself. The alleyway in which Guido was attacked is very dark. It has no electric light. He was walking on a dirt road, alone, nervous, a product of the rabbit deaths that had distressed his parents the night before. Therefore, his level of objectivity was quite low. Something attacks him, throws him to the ground, he panics and subsequently cries for help.

 What surprises me the most, and I wonder: is it possible for a person gripped by panic to turn on a flashlight taken from his pocket, when he says that something immense has enveloped him, covered him with its wings, and be able to describe the assailant in detail? Even more surprising is that an animal, bird or whatever of that size did not leave more serious marks on Guido's neck, as the scratches were light and vanished quickly. Even more striking is that when Don Alamiro, a lifelong rural dweller, says the claws are those of a small bird. I hope these questions will be addressed as work on this matter progresses.

 [Translation © 2023 Scott Corrales, IHU with thanks to Elizabeth Ramírez, GIFOR and Carlos Iurchuk of “El Fuego del Dragón”]