Robert Loerzel discovered the furry remains of a snake-like fish while strolling at a beach in Chicago. The 55-year-old freelance journalist shared the photo of the bizarre marine creature on his social media account and it went viral.
Locals were also left scratching their heads on what kind of animal could be that freaky-looking creature. The remains of the sea monster were met by mixed reactions from Robert's more than 23,000 followers on Twitter.
Bizarre Sea Monster Has Head the Size of A Fist and A Furry Body
Robert specializes in photographing the natural world, and he was shocked to see the bizarre fish lying on the ground not too far from a walking path through the dunes. According to Daily Star, he was simply strolling that day and happened to look down when he saw the eerie remains of a snake-like furry creature.
He thought to himself that there was something almost horrific and frightening about the corpse. It was 6 feet (2 meters) long and its body was curved into a shape like a letter "U."
Sea monster mystery!
— Robert Loerzel (@robertloerzel) April 1, 2022
I found this, um … THING at the Montrose Beach Dunes.
And I thought: Well, I guess that’s some kind of fish. But WTF is it? … pic.twitter.com/YOtXkGtxij
Robert said that the skull of the fish was about the size of a human fist, while its body looked very narrow and resembled an eel or snake. Meanwhile, the skin that remained on the skeleton has shriveled up and has fur all over it.
The horrifying remains were found in Montrose Beach Dunes, which is about eight miles from the center of Chicago and just near the shore of one of the five Great Lakes of North America, Lake Michigan,
Robert frequents the dunes and neighboring areas. He said that the images were too strange to keep for himself, so he decided to share them on the iNaturalist app, which he found useful in identifying flora and fauna using artificial intelligence. But from there, the images also went viral on social media, including Twitter.
What Animal is That Snake-like Fish?
According to Metro, some commenters on social media suggested that the appearance of the fish on the shore could be a sign of an apocalypse, while another wrote that it is the sea monster from Lake Michigan. Facebook users have also identified the creature as "obviously a catfish."
But the iNaturalist app, which uses AI to identify flora and fauna, suggested that the corpse could belong to the freshwater fish called burbot. The bizarre fish is about 30 to 40 feet from the water and Robert thinks that it might have been carried by another animal to that location.
However, there are no recorded nearby burbot sightings in Lake Michigan and the closest one was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is about 80 miles to the north. According to Britannica, the burbot (Lota lota) is also known as eelpout and is an elongated fish that live in rivers, and lakes in North America, Europe, and Asia.
They are bottom-dwellers found in fresh and brackish waters. Burbot could also come in greenish or brownish color and may grow as long as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet). In some areas, it is valued as food.
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