Montauk Monster

Template:Event The Montauk Monster is a creature with a "dinosaur beak" which washed ashore dead in Ditch Plains, near Montauk, New York in late July 2008.

It has been speculated that Montauk Monster may be a turtle without its shell - even thought the shell of a turtle cannot be removed without damaging the turtle, a dog, a raccoon, or perhaps a science experiment from the nearby government animal testing facility, the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

Because the body is not available for study, and is only shown in photos taken by the locals who discovered it, some think that this may be a photoshopped image or part of a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming cryptid-themed Cartoon Network show called The Secret Saturdays or Cloverfield 2. A new picture of the creature has also been shown on the news and Internet. Animal Expert Jeff Corwin has appeared on Fox News and claimed that upon close inspection of the photograph, he feels sure the "monster" is merely a raccoon or dog that has decomposed slightly.

William Wise, director of Stony Brook University's Living Marine Resources Institute, interpreted the photo allong with a colleague, and suggested it was a hoax after discounting the following possibilities:

"The Montauk Monster"

• Raccoon. ("The legs appear to be too long in proportion to the body.")
• Sea turtle. ("Sea turtles do not have teeth.")
• Rodent. ("Rodents have two huge, curved incisor teeth in front of their mouths.")
• Dog or other canine such as a coyote. ("Prominent eye ridge and the feet" don't match.)
• Sheep. (Sheep don't have sharp teeth).

Others have identified the "monster" as the decomposed pig carcass. The creature's appearance may be due to the fact that it was traveling through water for a long period of time before coming to rest on the shore.

See also

• Zuiyō Maru
• Globster
• Stronsay beast