La Cabra Verde (The Green Goat) is a little-known folkloric creature from the Valdivia region of southern Chile. Described as a river-dwelling goat with green fur or algae-covered hide, it inhabits the lakes and rivers of the area, notably targeting small boats and canoes. The creature is said to ram vessels from below, mimicking natural accidents.
Its presence is primarily preserved through oral tradition and the scattered writings of folklorists like Oreste Plath, as well as niche publications from the Valdivian region. Unlike better-known Chilean water monsters such as the Cuchivilu, El Cuero, or El Camahueto, La Cabra Verde never gained widespread attention. However, it fits into a peculiar regional pattern where traditional farm animals—pigs, cows, even horses—are imagined as monstrous aquatic versions of themselves.
This tendency may reflect a cultural blending of rural life with the omnipresence of water in southern Chile. In this context, the transformation of a humble goat into a cryptid that haunts the rivers is both symbolic and rooted in the daily anxieties of river-bound communities: capsizing, loss of cargo, and the unpredictable nature of Patagonian waters.
Some versions of the tale add that the goat's green color is due to moss and algae growing on its body, indicating its long submersion in the depths. Others suggest the goat is supernatural in origin—perhaps a cursed animal or a wekufe (malevolent spirit)—that despises human presence in its watery territory.
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- https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/archivos2/pdfs/MC0031710.pdf
- Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos, Sonia Montecino.
- https://www.libreriadelgam.cl/libro/folclor-chileno_75337