There's photos of a new monster lying dead in the British sand and its causing quite the stir on the Internet. Washed up on a Welsh beach, the already dubbed "Beast of Tenby" is as yet still unidentified, its grotesque image a target of intense speculation. It's general disposition is reminiscent of Long Island's Montauk Monster of a couple years back, save that its head seems to be more equine in build. Needless to say, it has locals and the world wide web puzzled as to exactly what it might be and from whence it came.
Just like something flying around in the sky that can't be identified, the unrecognizable carcass of an unknown mammal has again captured the imagination of the world. First reported about on American shores by Huffington Post on March 1, the "Beast of Tenby" was discovered over the weekend by 27-year-old local resident Peter Bailey, who was taking his dog for a walk and became concerned when the Siberian Huskie began acting strangely, howling, and running around in circles.
"I ran up to her to see if she was ok and then I came across this hideous looking carcass," Bailey told the Western Telegraph. "I could see it had little hair left on it's decomposing body. Immediately I thought it was a horse but it had claws like a bear and a body of a pig. Surprisingly it didn't smell."
In the photo of the "Beast," the creature is nearly completely hairless, save for a bristly tuft of hair on the back of its neck. Its body, most of which is pale but becomes a mottled white and grey around the foreshoulders and head, is stretched along the sand. But it is the head that is the most striking. Although equine-esque around the muzzle, its lips are peeled back to reveal un-horselike canines.
The image was uploaded to Facebook and speculation soon began. Most posited it was a badger (because of its sharp claws) or a dog. A Pembrokeshire city councilperson said they got a call about a Jack Russell terrier washing up on the beach but staff members were unable to locate it. The Western Telegraph reached out to experts who also believed the carcass to be that of a water-logged badger or dog.
Some of the Facebook speculators wildly guessed at bear, boar, horse, and even Simon Cowell (perhaps an X-files factor?).
Of course, there were also those who believed it to be a hoax. And to add fuel to that particular fire, it would appear that, like any good mystery (or hoax), the evidence has vanished. The carcass of the "Beast of Tenby" has disappeared, probably washed back into the sea -- but that is not known for certain.
All in all, as has been pointed out in numerous reports, the creature is reminiscent of Long Island's Montauk Monster, the beak-faced carcass that washed ashore in New York in 2008. And some have pointed to last year's bloated Brooklyn Bridge "Monster," which was found under the Brooklyn Bridge in July and speculated to be somehow connected to the Montauk Monster. But whereas most experts believed the Long Island carcass was the bloated body of dead raccoon, the Brooklyn Bridge "cousin" was thought to have been a small dog.
Which only mean that the "Beast of Tenby" might be closer related to the latter of the two American creatures.
In the end, it would appear that the Tenby creature is merely the product of mundane ingredients in an imaginative recipe: Take one animal carcass, add water, and let stew...
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