The mystery of Tampa's hairless creature has been solved

"Unless it has rabies, it's not gonna attack you."

click to enlarge The mystery of Tampa's hairless creature has been solved
Screengrab via Blizzjuuheardd/Twitter
A photo of a mysterious, and truly miserable looking animal in Tampa went viral on social media earlier this week and despite what many commenters have speculated, it's not a hairless bear, or a chupacabra.

The photo was posted to Twitter on Monday by user Blizzjuuheardd, along with the comment "Boy what the fuck is this shit 😭 I’m getting out of tampa bro." 
The post has since been shared nearly 20,000 times, with commenters saying it could be anything from the dog from "Coco" to a Florida Skunk Ape.

Well, Miami New Times reached to Zoo Miami spokesperson Ron Magill, who confirmed that the animal is most likely a coyote with a bad case of mange, which can result in hair loss, scabbing and terrible itching for canines.

Magill assured the publication that the animal poses no risk for humans, but small pets and children should avoid coyotes while outdoors.

"Unless it has rabies, it's not gonna attack you. The key thing when you see one is to not turn and run, but to make yourself look as large as possible and it'll run away," said Magill to New Times. "They're pretty widespread but they're very reclusive and want to avoid humans at all costs."

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Colin Wolf

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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