The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Giant sea creature washes up on Indonesia's Serum Island

news.com.au
12 May, 2017 02:26 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A local found this giant sea creature washed ashore on Indonesia's Serum Island on Tuesday night. Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook

A local found this giant sea creature washed ashore on Indonesia's Serum Island on Tuesday night. Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook

An unidentified sea creature has washed ashore in Indonesia's Maluku province.

The colossal carcass was found on Hulung Beach on the westside of Serum Island on Tuesday night by a local man.

In the darkness, Asrul Tuanakota, 37, initially mistook the huge fleshy blob for a stranded boat, according to the Jakarta Globe.

Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook
Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook

Fishermen in the island's Iha village are convinced the remains are those of a giant squid while others who have viewed the footage say the stinking mass could also be a decomposing humpback whale.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The bloated 15 metre corpse is believed to have been dead for at least three days by the time it was found.

Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook
Photo/Abhy Hafik/Facebook

Close up vision shows its discoloured skin turning the waters a disconcerting red as it disintegrates.

Russian sailors film live giant squid

Locals have asked the government to help them remove the remains as the stench is getting worse by the day.

A group of marine scientists have reportedly taken samples of the creature in a bid to identify it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In February, a mysterious hairy, white blob washed up in the Philippines, baffling locals.

The 4.5 metre long creature was found on a beach at Cagdianao in the Dinagat Islands.

Cagdianao Municipal Agriculture Office spokesperson Sufenia Chua told Filipino news service ABS-CBN News the creature was likely to be a sea cow.

There had been previous sightings of sea cows in the region, she said.

In 2015, fisherman Mark Watkins captured incredible footage of a bizarre creature floating off Western Australia.

The fleshy pink and white object bobbed along the surface of the ocean off WA like an alien boat. Photo/Facebook
The fleshy pink and white object bobbed along the surface of the ocean off WA like an alien boat. Photo/Facebook

He later described how the fleshy pink and white object bobbed along the surface of the ocean like an alien boat.

On closer inspection, however, Watkins and his fellow crew came to the conclusion they had come across the gas-filled corpse of a whale.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

The Country: Luxon on meeting Trump

05 Nov 12:53 AM
The Country

'Forever art': NZ company's $500,000 honey

04 Nov 10:59 PM
The Country

'Close to a 16-year low': Farm loan arrears fall on high dairy and beef prices

04 Nov 10:56 PM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country: Luxon on meeting Trump
The Country

The Country: Luxon on meeting Trump

Christopher Luxon, Jane Smith, Andrew Murray, and Stefan Vogel.

05 Nov 12:53 AM
'Forever art': NZ company's $500,000 honey
The Country

'Forever art': NZ company's $500,000 honey

04 Nov 10:59 PM
'Close to a 16-year low': Farm loan arrears fall on high dairy and beef prices
The Country

'Close to a 16-year low': Farm loan arrears fall on high dairy and beef prices

04 Nov 10:56 PM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP