A mysterious, brownish creature with sharp claws and pointy teeth was discovered on a beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Tuesday, leaving many locals baffled with its unusual appearance.
The hairless carcass was reportedly found deceased near a drain washout on the beach after brutal storms recently battered the coast, according to KEYT.com.
Although it remains unclear where the animal came from, the brown-skinned creature had washed ashore near an area where sandy water from the harbor is known to flow out of a dredging pipe, east of Stearns Wharf.
The animal is about 2 feet long and "had the body shape of a pig - kind of a fat stomach, middle area. And the canines were just ridiculously large," Josh Menard, a 19-year-old snowboarder from Lake Tahoe, said. He also took a picture of the mysterious animal.
Naturally, local residents have been left stunned by the unidentified beast's emergence since nobody has been able to identify the species of the animal yet, according to UK MailOnline.
While several people speculated that it might be a bear or a pig, KEYT anchors noted that the body was small, citing a branch near the carcass to demonstrate its size.
"I'd say it looks like a combination of a seal and a dog with fangs, dried up, potentially," a Santa Barbara resident said in an interview with KEYT.
His friend, however, had a different theory, citing the apparent age of the carcass as a factor, Inquisitr reported.
"To me it looks like a... reminiscent of a dinosaur. Like it's just really old... It's something you've never seen but like a dog, but ancient, you know? It's old."
Meanwhile, a similar looking creature was allegedly found in San Diego, about 200 miles from Santa Barbara, back in June 2012.
Do you have any clue as to what this mysterious creature might be? Any guesses?
