The Chilean Blob
A 13-tonne mass of pale flesh washed up on a Chilean beach and was hailed as a giant octopus.
What was reported
In June 2003, a huge, shapeless, pale mass about 12 metres long and weighing an estimated 13 tonnes washed ashore at Pinuno beach, near Los Muermos in southern Chile. Some speculated it was a giant octopus or another unknown sea creature.
Like the St. Augustine Monster of 1896, its fibrous, boneless look invited comparisons with octopuses.
Explanations offered
DNA analysis in 2004 showed it was the remains of a sperm whale: a mass of decomposed blubber and connective tissue. It's one of the clearest examples of how globsters, the strange carcasses that wash up around the world, usually turn out.
- When
- June 2003
- Where
- Los Muermos, Los Lagos, Chile
- Witnesses
- Beachgoers and Chilean scientists
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.