Case file · High strangeness
Metepec 'creature'
A small 'alien' said to have been caught in a rat trap on a farm in Metepec turned out to be a doctored monkey carcass.
2007 CE · 19.25, -99.60 · status: hoax
The account
In 2007 a creature reportedly trapped and drowned by a farmer in Metepec, State of Mexico, was publicised by Jaime Maussan as possible alien life and featured in TV documentaries.
The sceptical view
It turned out to be a skinned monkey.
The researched reading
A rat-trap ‘alien’ that was a skinned or modified monkey.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A hoax or fabrication | 86% | The ‘creature’ was identified as a doctored monkey carcass, and a taxidermist was later said to have admitted making it; the story was used in TV specials. |
| A cultural story | 6% | The tale draws on Mexican duende and chupacabra lore. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 3% | Excited witnesses believed it was alive; fear shaped the first story. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 3% | An unusual-looking but ordinary animal could underlie it. |
| Something in the surroundings | 1% | Not relevant: the creature was a physical object. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 1% | Nothing anomalous survives examination. |
Official position: No official investigation; specialists identified it as a modified animal carcass.