Alien In New Zealand? A Mystifying Object Dubbed As 'Muriwai Monster' Spotted On A Beach

An unusual huge object, which is dubbed as "Muriwai Monster," was found on the shores of Auckland's Muriwai beach over the weekend following a 7.8 earthquake last month. This strange object baffles the locals and raised conspiracy theories such as an alien pod time capsule, a washed-up whale, a Maori canoe and a beach Christmas tree.

Melissa Doubleday, a local resident, took a photo of the Muriwai Monster, and she posted it on the Muriwai & Waimauku Area Community Facebook. She said that she thought that it was a washed-up whale as she approached it and described it as weird.

'Muriwai monster': Mysterious object washes up on NZ beach, baffling locals https://t.co/nnDUXEObwe pic.twitter.com/QqAiib4gne

— RT (@RT_com) December 12, 2016

Meanwhile, another local Rani Timoti said that the unusual object got a putrid smell when one is downwind. He further said that when one looks closely, it looks like wiggling worms, as noted by Earth Touch News Network.

So, what is this strange-looking object? The New Zealand Marine Science Society stated that the object would probably a huge piece of driftwood that was covered in gooseneck barnacles, which are odd filter-feeding crustaceans that attach themselves to submerged rocks, ships and debris. They are numerous.

These gooseneck barnacle species belong to the Lepas anatifera. They usually attach themselves on a hard surface using their muscular stalks known as peduncles that could grow up to 80 cm long (31 inches). Once they attached themselves into an object, they could no longer move.

Doubleday went back to have another look. However, she found that everything on it had already died and it smelled bad. The country has been experiencing strange things since it suffered a 7.8 earthquake last month. These include a sea floor that was lifted 2 meters above the ground and exposed its mysterious and lumpy looks, according to Science Alert.