Probably not. But it's April Fools' Day, and that means we can have just as much fun fooling ourselves as we do other people. After all, the world is a more interesting place with these creatures in it.
Join us below as we explore the most intriguing cryptid sightings of 2014 – if they're real, might they be hiding in your backyard?
The legend of the Chupacabra – a bloodsucking monster that preys on livestock – continues to haunt the Southwest, most recently in March, when a Texas family claimed to have shot and killed a real Chupacabra. With its terrifying teeth and unholy grimace, the animal's corpse certainly fits the Chupcabra's description, but local authorities, their hearts dead to the magic of the West, say the creature was likely a local predator infected by Sarcoptic mange.
Antonino Barbagallo / Corbis
Still, Bigfoot claims are like the Hydra: Knock one down and another three grow in its place. 2014 has already seen Bigfoot sightings in Detroit, Vermont and Maine.
As you may guess from its delightfully folksy moniker, the Yowie is the Australian analogue to Bigfoot, a gigantic hominid rumored to hide in the Australian bush. Given Australia's remarkable biodiversity and relatively low population density, the Yowie might be slightly easier to believe in than its American relative, particularly among the numerous travelers who have recently reported seeing it in the New South Wales outback.
"When you read these stories online or watch them on TV, you think, 'Man, these people are crazy, or on meds or something,'" CryptoZoologyNews.com quoted one of the bikers as saying. "This story has made me a believer."
What's Portugese for "spooky-scary?" The Brazilian Internet blew up in February after security footage of what appeared to be a terrifying wolf figure, complete with tales of frightened locals and security lockdowns, went viral.
The rumors were finally stopped by the Internet equivalent of a silver bullet: A few skeptical sleuths, who noticed that the video dated back to at least 2007. Officials in the town reportedly terrorized by the werewolf said they had no knowledge of any such creature – of course, that's what they would say.
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Meanwhile in Scotland, longtime Loch Ness watchers are puzzled at the lack of sightings of their own aquatic monster – there have been no reports of "Nessie" in a year and a half, for the first time since 1925. Maybe it migrated?