The Legendary West Virginia Abbagoochie
The official site of the West Virginia Abbagoochie
The Original Hoax
by: Jim Wilson (the father)
by: Jim Wilson (the father)
Readers of the Webster Echo learned in February 2001 that officials of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) had recently introduced thirteen baby Abbagoochies from Costa Rica into their state in order to keep down the population of overpopulated predators such as coyotes and rattlesnakes.
The Abbagoochies were described by the newspaper as being a fierce, carnivorous species. Costa Ricans referred to them as "dry-land piranhas." But according to the Webster Echo, the WVDNR's plan had soon gone horribly awry. The Abbagoochies had grown up and were now eating everything in sight, including "rabbits, coons, squirrels, dogs, cats, deer and even bear." Cows and horses had also been attacked. To make matters worse, the Abbagoochies, which had been imported to control the growth of overpopulated species, were themselves multiplying out of control.
Soon after the Webster Echo article appeared, sightings of the Abbagoochies began occuring throughout the region. Farmers reportedly began carrying shotguns in order to protect their livestock. Concerned parents walked their kids to the schoolbus to make sure they were safe. And one man reported that he had accidentally run over an Abbagoochie by mistake.
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