Bloated ‘Odd’ Animal Washed Ashore in Australia: Is It a Possum, Kangaroo, or an Extraterrestrial Creature?

A strangely bloated creature, with a head that has been defleshed and a body looking more like a swollen, discolored beast of a myth than anything real, washed up on a beach in Australia a week ago.

A Live Science report specified that even though it's any person's guess the identity of the stranded corpse, experts contacted by this information site shared some knowledge.

According to Alex Tan from Queensland, Australia, he took a stroll on Maroochydore Beach when he discovered the unusual creature. As shared on his Instagram account, Tan said he has stumbled "across something weird."

Describing his discovery, he said this is like one of the things he sees where people claim they have found extraterrestrial creatures. Then, the camera rapidly pans away from the guy's face to show the bald, bloated creature with claws, a long tail, and an exposed skull.

The Creature's Identity

Commenting on the video, users have speculated that the discovery could be anything from, as Tan believes, a possum, to a dehydrated kangaroo and, certainly, an extracurricular creature.

Meanwhile, wilder guesses on social media also include an extinct marsupial or a mini-Chupacabra. Despite having mentioned "extraterrestrial creature" in the video uploaded on Instagram, Tan doesn't appear to believe the discovery has an extraterrestrial origin. After he posted the video, the creature's discoverer wrote that people need answers, and he's still guessing it's a possum.

In a later interview with Storyful, a social media news outlet, the video uploader said the bloated animal had "humanlike hands," the long tail of a lizard, a nose akin to a possum, and patches similar to the black fur. There has been no consensus thus far as to what the discovered creature might be.

A Wallaby or a Kangaroo

Marine biologist Russel Bicknell, from the University of New England in Australia, thinks the creature is either a wallaby or a kangaroo. He elaborated that wherever that discovery is, it "is very waterlogged," possibly having been washed out to sea during the recent flooding.

Meanwhile, mammalogy collector manager Sandy Inglesbly from the Australian Museum said it is a "Brushtail possum, Tichoraurus Vulpecula," that has lost its fur.

Inglesbly also suggested that the skull has matched that of a brushtail and the proportions of the tail and limbs to the body, a similar News Nation USA report said. Nonetheless, this is neither the first nor the last time a bizarre-looking or unidentifiable creature will be discovered washed up onshore.

Previous Odd Creature Discoveries

Earlier on in 2013, according to a Daily Express report, a 30-foot-long gigantic squid washed up on a Spanish beach, whereas in 2020, an even more massive one in South America. Marine biologists were able to identify the discoveries as Architeuthis dux, the biggest marine invertebrate on Earth.

Then, in May last year, an inky-black fish with gnarly teeth and an appendage protruding from its head showed up on a Californian beach. This animal was later identified as a Pacific footballfish. Furthermore, in 2015, a 15-foot-long decomposing "sea monster" identified as a basking shark washed ashore in Marine.

In all circumstances, the unidentified creature is always identified. It stays to be seen what the discovery of Tan is, although all evidence points to "not extraterrestrial creature" despite how odd one might look.

A report about the unusual bloated creature discovered in Australia is shown on USA Today's YouTube video below:

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