A giant white hairy blob which washed up on a beach in the Philippines has been identified as something far more simple than a sea monster.
Weighing two tonnes and measuring almost 7m in length, locals speculated the creature was some sort of undiscovered dugong.
The creature had tough skin unlike a fish, but what appeared to be long white hair all over the carcass masked any other discernible features.
But despite looking like a waterlogged English sheepdog, the blob monster is a big mammal much more used to the sea.
The carcass is actually a whale, which took on an alien-like appearance thanks to decomposition.
There was speculation the creature had been killed by a recent earthquake, but officials on Thursday said the whale was probably struck by a ship.