Paranormal
Various Sources
Chile -- On October first of 2002, while vacationing in the Southern Chilean city of Concepcion, a group of family members found what appeared to be a small humanoid creature. The miniscule being measures about 7.2 centimeters long. It has a relatively large head, two arms with long fingers, and two legs. The discovery was first reported by Mega News Service, which is the local news channel in the Santiago area.
According to previously gathered evidence and interviews conducted by journalist Rodrigo Ugarte, the bizarre creature was found among bushes by one of the children during an outdoors trip. The child allegedly picked it up and wrapped it with a piece of paper.
The Story
The child claims that it stayed alive for about eight days, and in some instances, it even opened its eyes. Nevertheless, after supposedly being dead for a few days, the small creature displays signs of advanced decomposition; it even appears to be in a strange state of mummification.
Nevertheless, after supposedly being dead for a few days, the small creature displays signs of advanced decomposition; it even appears to be in a strange state of mummification.
Specialists from the University of Chile pointed out to a possibility that it might be a fetus from local wild life, such as a wild cat. However, they have not reached a conclusion to determine the exact species the supposed fetus could be scientifically associated with. They expect to carry out DNA testing in order to come up with a conclusion.
What the Family Said
The Henriquez Carreño family described the accounts to Terra.cl News Service, and how 22 days earlier, they found the strange-looking creature. They provided shocking and bizarre details about the discovery. They invited the journalist inside their modest home, located in the suburban area of Pintana.
Julio Carreño, the child that found the tiny creature, was the one in charge of showing it to members of the media. Carefully and jealously guarding it, he brought it inside a first-aid kit box, still marked with a red cross. As he opened the box, the journalists were astounded to see the tiny humanoid-like creature, lying in the center of the box, among carefully placed cotton material.
'It has changed color since we had found it. It used to be more pinkish; now, it has turned darker. May be it is turning darker because we are keeping it in the refrigerator", he explained. And indeed, some areas of its tiny body look almost as dry as a red pepper.
The first thing that caught the attention of the journalists was the size of the skull in relation to the body. The fingers -located on what appear to be the hands - seem to have quite long fingernails: "They seem to be continuingly growing", Carreño said. The slanted-shaped eyes, although closed, can easily be seen. They are located on each side of the head.
The body, almost in its entirety, somehow appears to be mummified. In some parts of the extremities, tiny black stains can be seen. The carcass is very light and fragile; it is for that reason that it is kept inside the first-aid box with cotton inside. "We keep it inside the box to avoid causing any damage", they said. Nowadays, for the Henriquez Carreño Family is almost normal to have frequent visits from journalists and other people interested in seeing the so-called humanoid-carcass. "A lot of people have come to visit us: Media, psychiatrists, and even people that claim to have special powers", said Mrs. Luisa Carreño.
How it Died
None of the members of the family could specify the exact day, nor the reasons to explain why the alleged creature died. However, they all agree that it was alive about eight days ago. "When we found it in Concepcion, it was able to open its eyes. Then a few days later, once we had returned to Santiago, it opened its eyes one more time. After that, it never opened them again. But there was something peculiar about that: When we thought it was already dead, the body was still warm, and it stayed warm for a long time. I always thought that a dead body was supposed to be cold", said Armando. But because they were not able to determine whether the alleged creature was still alive or not, the family members waited too long the take it to the veterinarian, a specialist, or the local authorities in order to have it examined. Therefore, it died. "The truth is that we never really thought about it. But even after noticing that its body was still warm, we took it to a local veterinarian so he could give us an opinion. But the veterinarian was puzzled; he told us that this was the strangest thing, and he did not have a clue about what it really was", said Julio.
Rumors
In spite of the fact that this story is fairly recent (it broke on Monday, the 21st of October), rumors have already begun to spread in relation to it. Perhaps the most talked about rumor is the story about how the alleged creature made telepathic contact with the children's mother, which is completely false.
"That rumor began when those people that claim to have super powers came to the house. A lady that claimed to be a medium was talking to people on the street about how she was able to communicate with the being using telepathy. When that happened, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I doubt that that ever took place", said Mrs. Luisa. Another version mentions how "the being" stood up and opened its eyes, which according to family members, it never happened. They assure that although it did slowly open its eyes at one point, it never stood up.
The Examination
The following is a communique recieved from the CHILE C.I.O. research group in regard to the conclusions reached by veterinarian Arturo Mann on the alleged "monito de monte" corpse. The communique was issued by Eric Martinez on October 26, 2002 and quotes from a zoology broadcast on Chile's Megavision TV station. Sebastian Jimenez, a veterinarian and director of the Santiago de Chile Zoo, was the interviewee. It turns out that the creature has been given the name TOY (no reason given).
Sebastian Jimenez: "No conclusions in this regard could be made beyond a reasonable doubt." What is more, he added: "Some are going around saying its a little mouse, a marsupial, monito, etc. "but that he could not identify it beyond being a mammal, and that it needs further research." In regard to the statements made by veterinarian Arturo Mann, it is 10% (sic) that he does not know what he is saying. Therfore, it cannot be final. Furhtermore, oither veterinarians do not agree on what the [creature] might be. The "EL MERCURIO" Newspaper dated October 25, 2002 says the following in an article on the subject: veterinarian Pedro Katan, of the University of Chile, could not determine the species it belonged to."
In an interview for TVN (Television Nacional de Chile) on October 25, 2002 with Eric Martinez (Research Director for CIO CHILE) and Arturo Mann, Eric Martinez asked the following question off camera:
"Arturo, if it was a marsupial, would it have to have a tail?"
Arturo's reply: "Yes."
Eric Martinez asked: "So what happened to TOY's tail?"
Arturo's reply: "Well...um...maybe it fell off."
It is worth noting that it isn't Arturo Mann who says "it's final", but the OVNIVISION news section. The only analysis performed by Mr. Arturo Mann was a visual one, without a magnifying glass or any instrument that might have aided him [in reaching a] better diagnosis.
How could he identify a given animal, if other veterinarians are unable to? No consideration appears to have been given to the diverging opinions of other specialists, who also examined TOY... The opinion of the other specialists, which contradicted that of Mr. Arturo Mann, were not published in the article. There are three specialists who examined TOY and two of them have said they cannot identify it.
One has identified it 90% and doesn't know what the remaining 10% might be. But the reply given by Mr. Arturo Mann is precisely employed to define a case such as this one.
Several different opinions have already come out on the creature found, the most common ones calling it an alien creature, other ones call it an undiscovered species and another one described below.
Skeptics
A specialist from the University of Santo Tomas stated that it is a monito de monte, a small mammal that lives in the Valdivian rainforest and hides during the day.
SANTIAGO, October 25: The mysterious creature which caused expectation throughout Chile and which was even reputed to be extraterrestrial in origin turned out to be a mammal known as Monito de Monte (literally, mountain monkey). This was the statement made by veterinarian and professor of the Univ. of Santo Tomas, Arturo Mann, who subjected the specimen to analysis. The specialist, who was one of the few scientists who had access to the specimen found by a family in Concepcion, stated that--based on his knowledge and publications--he can assure with a 90% certainty that the species is terrestrial in origin
Specialist: "After a preliminary analysis and without seeing it in "macro" fashion, I have concluded that it is earthly. In other words, a little animal, a mammal that presents hair, nails, fingers. It is earthly and even terrestrial, which is to say, it's not a flying animal. It shows appendages suited to walking and even for digging, with long nails. The body shows some damage, possibly from animal predation or poor care [in the handling] of this little animal.
Terra.Cl: What is it, then?
Specialist: "It is a small mammal, known as a micromammal, specifically a marsupial and given the region it was found, would correspond with a high degree of certainty to a "monito del monte". To reach the conclusion that it is this "monito" or a marsupial, we are mainly based in the fact that the anterior members present five fingers with an opposable thumb. This means that the animal can grip branches using its hand. That's why it's called "monito" (little monkey).
Terra.Cl: It is commonly found in the southern area of the country?
Specialist: "Not very commonly. It's a hard animal to find. Possibly these people came across a moribund animal."
Terra.Cl: In this case, can we speak of a foetus or a newborn?
Specialist:"It's a newborn, possibly weakened. Bear in mind that marsupials in Chile hibernate during the winter. By not having any food, they go to sleep in April or May, and in late August and September, they emerge in a lethargic, weakened state to find food. This makes them more vulnerable to attacks by other animals or to die from climactic conditions."
