A mysterious, hairy looking “blob” washed ashore in the Philippines in February, spreading across the world and leaving people with questions about the creepy figure. According to National Geographic, the animal-like object looked to be covered in long, rough white hair, in which many believed a new species surfaced.

Images arose from the Dinagat Islands where locals captured the sight of the new finding, many overwhelmed by the enormous blob. Fascinating at first, the new figure turned out to be a heavily decomposed sea creature.

“It’s really disgusting,” junior Leah Meltzer said. “It definitely looks like an animal.”

Many scientists speculate the remains came from the body of a whale that had been dead for two weeks. The decomposition of marine animals happens much differently than expected with week-long phases. In reality, the famous hair seen in the images is not hair, but decomposed muscle fibers.

The surprise of such a large creature sweeping up on a beach is highly unlikely, but because of a reported 6.7 magnitude earthquake in the area, the storm surges likely washed the carcasses ashore. The 20 foot-long, 4,000 pound hairy figure is usually an unseen yet normal cycle of life for many marine animals. Some even hypothesized it was a half polar bear, half whale because of its odd shape and color.

“It’s repulsive and sad,” senior Lanie Neuman said.

This was definitely a strange yet interesting week for the science community.