Mysterious Creature Washes Ashore in Russia, Baffles Scientists

A bizarre mutation in the form of a bloody carcass washed up on one of Russia's shores and left local scientists at a loss for words. On one hand, they surmised that it might be a dolphin's remains, but the strange 'beak' and the fur decorating its tail raised doubts about this assumption. 

"I believe these are the remains of a large dolphin," said Nikolai Kim, deputy head of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries. "I can say with certainty that it is a dolphin, but its fur is definitely unusual. Dolphins, after all, have no fur. Given its skin characteristics, it's a rare species, and I doubt it lives in our waters - it's likely it drifted here on a warm current. Sometimes we receive different species of fish, tropical and subtropical, and when they cool in our climate, they just remain in the waters and die here." 

A curious citizen examines the dolphin carcass

Citizens who witnessed the strange 'dolphin' found it both disgusting and particularly intriguing. Some even claimed it was a 'monster.' However, certain experts were quick to contradict such claims, explaining that some dolphins indeed are born with hair follicles at the ends of their tails to aid in survival and protect them from organisms that irritate the body. Nevertheless, most dolphins naturally shed these hair follicles shortly after birth. Another opinion suggested that various kinds of seaweed clung to the dolphin's body, giving it this 'furry' appearance. 

The hairy tail that puzzled scientists