August M
An unsettling discovery on a stretch of Sussex coastline has left passers-by puzzled and uneasy. What first appeared to be a familiar marine animal quickly turned into something far stranger.
The find prompted speculation, concern and a call for expert advice.
A strange find
According to The Sun, a local man and his partner were walking along Hove beach near Brighton when they noticed an eerie shape lying high up on the sand, away from the waterline.
Havva Mustafa said he and his partner Yvonne initially thought the object was a seal. “When we first saw the carcass, we thought it was a seal,” he told local newspaper The Argus.
As they got closer, that assumption quickly changed.
Shocking details
“As we approached it we realised that there were four legs and hooves,” Havva said. “We thought it was a sheep.”
What confused the couple most was its appearance. “It was a strange sight and confusing, the skin was pearlescent, with no wool, if it is a sheep,” he said.
Havva added: “We were shocked to see legs and feet and the absence of a head. We wondered how it ended up on the beach,” The Sun reports.
Expert reaction
A spokesperson for the Sussex Wildlife Trust told The Argus it was “really difficult” to identify the animal, noting that it appeared to have been in the water “for a while”.
Despite the unusual appearance, the spokesperson said it was “likely to be a sheep”.
Not an isolated case
Odd discoveries on British beaches are not uncommon. The Sun reported that in September a 70ft carcass washed ashore in Pembrey, Wales.
That body was later confirmed by researchers to be a fin whale, the second-largest animal on Earth after the blue whale. It was only the fourth fin whale recorded on Welsh shores this century.
Wildlife experts said the Sussex find, while unsettling, was far more familiar in origin, The Sun notes.
Sources: The Sun, The Argus
