An unknown, serpent-like object slithering up the Yangtze River has social media users speculating that China may have spawned its very own Loch Ness Monster.
The “creature,” believed to be at least 10 feet (3.05 meters) long, was allegedly spotted “swimming” near the Three Gorges Dam Scenic Area, a popular tourist spot in Yichang, Hubei province.
A video of the sighting shows the black “monster” breaking the river’s surface in broad daylight.
Some believe that it only showed a small portion of what could be a gigantic body.
Unsurprisingly, the video has raised fears across China, with people putting out their own individual theories to explain the bizarre sighting.
Ding Li, a reptile expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, suggested that the object could simply be something that got snagged on the bottom of the reservoir, according to The Paper.
Still, others suspect that the object is an actual living creature.
Speaking to Pear Video, Wang Chunfang a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University said that it might be a huge water snake — supporting claims of a loose Burmese python, which happens to be an excellent swimmer.
On Sunday, a staff member from the Chizhou Yangtze River Auto Ferry Station in Anhui province confirmed that the video was filmed in an area under its jurisdiction on Sept. 3, instead of the Three Gorges Dam area.
As it turns out, the mysterious object was actually a large black plastic mesh bag, CCTV News reported.
With a length of 6,300 kilometers (3,915 miles), the Yangtze is Asia’s longest and the world’s third-longest river.
Rising north of the Tibetan Plateau, it flows in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea, helping about one-third of China’s population with water, irrigation, sanitation and transportation, among other purposes.
The river is and was home to a number of endemic and endangered species, such as the Chinese alligator, the Yangtze finless porpoise and the now-extinct Yangtze river dolphin.
The Three Gorges Dam, which spans it by the town of Sandouping in Yichang’s Yiling District, is the world’s largest hydro-electric power station.
Featured Images via Weibo / 月亮湖视频
