Encounter Atlas
The huay chivo is a figure of Maya folklore in the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala: a sorcerer who can turn into an animal, usually a goat, dog or deer, to raid livestock at night. Its name mixes the Yucatec Maya word for sorcerer or animal spirit with the Spanish word for goat.
Witnesses describe a half-man, half-beast with burning red eyes. In recent decades livestock killings in the region have sometimes been blamed on it, and it is often linked with the chupacabra.
It is a local version of the wider Mesoamerican nahual, a person who takes animal form.
What witnesses report
- A goat- or dog-like animal with glowing red eyes
- Livestock found dead at night
- A figure that seems part man, part beast
Famous cases
Seen the Huay Chivo?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
