An unusual ‘alien-looking’ creature has been found on a beach near Perth, Australia.
The strange-looking being was found by a man who shared a photo of his discovery on social media.
‘ID on this alien looking thing that washed up on Leighton Beach,’ he wrote on Facebook.
However, one man, who seemed to have some understanding on what the bizarre creature could be, suggested the man ‘get a plastic bag and throw it away’ – which seems a little inhumane if you ask me.
‘Don’t touch it – that’s a dog killer,’ he added.
The strange species was later confirmed to be a sea hare, according to experts who spoke to Yahoo News Australia.
Professor Culum Brown from the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University said when the sea hare is alarmed, it produces a purple dye.
‘They are mildly toxic,’ Professor Brown told the publication, adding, ‘depending on the algae they have been eating’.
It comes after a woman in Queensland came across a sea hare at a beach just north of Brisbane last year.
In October, the woman took to Facebook to describe the ‘bleeding’ creature she’d found on Scarborough beach.
‘Does anyone know what this is?’ she asked, adding, ‘found at Scarborough beach with blood coming out’.
There are 23 different species of sea hares known to be in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, with fully grown adults weighing up to 14 kilograms.
Sea hares are believed to be similar to octopi, in that they can both use ink in defensive manoeuvres – however sea hares tend to use it as a defence mechanism, while octopi use it to escape prey. The ink produced by these creatures contains toxins, which is thought to be poisonous to dogs.
Dr Joshua Ovens, Swans Veterinary Services associate vet, previously warned anyone who thinks their dog may have eaten a sea hare to contact a vet immediately.
Speaking in 2018, he said:
In terms of clinical signs, if your dog has licked or eaten one, they’ll tend to drool excessively, they can get muscle spasms and begin shaking, vomiting and it can progress to seizures and possible death if they get a really large dosage.
However, he added that some dogs are ‘more susceptible to it’ than others, and some sea hares produce more toxins than others.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.