The giant carcass of an unidentified sea creature has washed up on an island in Indonesia.
Asrul Tuanakota discovered the 15 metre-long body on Hulung Beach on Seram Island, and initially believed it to be a washed-up boat or shipping container.
Investigators found that the creature was dead for at least three days before it arrived on the shore and its blood had turned the surrounding water red, the Jakarta Globe reported.
Tourists immediately flocked to the beach to see the carcass as police attempted to cordon off the area.
Indonesia’s Marine and Coastal Resources Management said it was likely that the carcass belonged to a humpback whale, although others claimed it looked more like a giant squid. The cause of its death is yet to be confirmed.
The residents of Seram Island called on the national government to help them clear out and identify the remains of the creature as it had started to decay.
The discovery was said to baffle marine experts across the globe.
Deputy Head of the Forecasting department of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Nikolay Kim, said: “Judging by the appearance of the head, this is clearly some big dolphin. According to a characteristic of the skin, it is a rare species.
“I doubt that it lived in our waters. Most likely, the animal was brought by the warm current.
“We often get tropical and subtropical species here and, when they cool down, they stay here and then die.
“I can confidently say that this is some kind of a dolphin. However, it has fur. It’s unusual. Dolphins do not have any fur.”
