Locals baffled after hairy-looking beast washes up in the Philippines

A huge, hairy mysterious sea creature has washed up on a beach in the Philippines.

Stunned locals have flocked to the beach in Cagdainao, Dinagat Islands to gawp at the monster-like beast and take selfies with it.

The huge white hairy beast is thought to have come ashore following a recent earthquake.

Several unusual sea creatures have been washing up on the shores of the tropical islands following the deadly quake on Sunday.

Images of the creature have since gone viral online, with several people offering up their suggestions as to what the monster could be.

Several suggested that the beast could be Appa, a fictional character from the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Austin Blanch‏@austinblanch tweeted saying: "Yhink it's appa. Or a big Shitzu. I could be wrong."

While another Twitter user, J Flow, said: "It's that creature from The Neverending Story."

John Paul Garcia suggested the beast may be similar to a supposed half-whale half-polar bear creature that washed up in Margate, South Africa, on 25 October 1924, which was nicknamed Trunko.

"Globster/Trunko right? Half whale half polar bear?" he said.

Globster is the name given to an unidentified organic mass that washes up on the shoreline of an ocean or other body of water.

However, the beast is actually a 20 foot long whale carcass, local scientists have said.

The body of the whale, which weighs approximately 2,000 kilograms, is believed to have turned white due to an advanced stage of decomposition.

The animal is thought to have died approximately two weeks ago, possibly after being hit by a ship.