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Scientists are scratching their heads over a bizarre mummified creature with eerily human-like hands discovered during renovations at Michigan State University. The strange specimen – nicknamed the “Capacabra” – was unearthed at Cook-Seevers Hall in East Lansing.
Though found back in 2018, researchers at the university’s Campus Archaeology Program (CAP) haven’t been able to identify it seven years later. PhD student Jerielle Cartales, who completed her master’s at Scotland’s University of Dundee, is now determined to solve this peculiar mystery.
“It’s roughly the size of a small cat with a very long, skinny tail that matches its cat-like features,” Cartales explained, according to Express. “But what’s really strange is that it has almost human hands – five fingers with nails and everything – they look humanoid.”
The remains present a puzzling contradiction of features.
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“It’s covered with an extremely thin layer of tissue that feels like old parchment paper. The nose and ears are still there, but they’re completely dried out. The whole thing is dusty, dry, and just… weird.”
Dating the specimen has proven equally challenging for Cartales, who specializes in forensic anthropology.
“The creature is so mummified that it’s impossible to determine its age precisely,” she noted. “It could have been there for a month or 50 years – we really don’t know. We could try radiocarbon dating, but since the building only dates back to 1889, it probably wouldn’t be worthwhile.”
Despite having the creature x-rayed and comparing its skeleton to known species, the CAP team remains uncertain about its identity.
“We’ve been throwing out all sorts of theories – maybe it’s a dog, maybe it’s a cat – but raccoon didn’t even make our initial list,” Cartales said. “Now that’s my strongest hunch.”
The investigation continues with methodical attention to anatomical details. “A raccoon has the same general cranium and snout shape,” Cartales explained. “But our osteology text doesn’t have any good images of raccoon dentition because their example was edentulous (without teeth). I’m trying to find a raccoon specimen I can use to compare the teeth patterns. That’s my next step.”
While Cartales is now about 75% confident the mystery creature is a raccoon, she needs to complete her analysis to be certain.
But let’s be honest – it’s either a chupacabra or an alien.
