Officials in Amarillo, Texas, requested assistance on Wednesday in identifying a strange” human-like animal that was observed outside a local zoo last month.
The city posted a photo of the creature on social media, claiming it was captured outside the Amarillo Zoo in the early morning hours of May 21.
“Is it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A chupacabra? Do you have any ideas of what this UAO- Unidentified Amarillo Object could be?” the city wrote.
According to Michael Kashuba, the parks and recreation department director for the city of Amarillo, members of the zoo were casually glancing at footage from game cameras placed across it when they came across the shot.
Kashuba explained that the cameras only take images, and the now-famous image shows an open part of the park just outside the zoo that doesn’t get much traffic. He claimed that a staff member had sent him the image and that after consulting with other coworkers, they concluded that “nobody could figure out what it was.”
“And so, that’s where we decided to kind of reach out to our community to see if there were any thoughts on what it could potentially be,” he said.
From Sonic the Hedgehog to Rocket Raccoon, the request drew dozens of responses and requests for video of the incident. Many others on social media assumed it was a skinwalker, a Navajo mythological creature that can transform into an animal.
“Clearly a Skinwalker phasing between two densities/dimensions, and what better place but the Zoo. I mean. DUH,” one Twitter user replied.
Others appeared to be more certain in their judgment. “Clearly a young werewolf…not a big deal,” one Facebook user said.
Kashuba stated that no animals were harmed and that no one was present at the time. Most significantly, he said, there isn’t any fear — “just more of a curiosity.”
“It’s just a very unique picture in a very unique location,” he added.
