Beach cleaners in Denmark were stunned when they found a “large strange creature” during a litter pick.
The intriguing object, measuring 1.5 meters (5 feet), was washed up on Dueodde, a beach on the southern tip of the Danish island Bornholm.
After picking it up, they noticed how heavy it felt.
However, after taking it to experts, the discoverers discovered that the object was not any type of “sea serpent” as initially believed.
So can you guess what it really is?
The large object, discovered in Bornholm, Denmark, on September 17, can be seen lying on the ground.
Beach cleaners René Vilsholm, Morten Gebhardt and Kenneth Nielsen were collecting trash on their local beach. In the photo, Gebhardt and Nielsen with their find.
It’s a humpback whale’s penis!
Beach cleaners René Vilsholm, Morten Gebhardt and Kenneth Nielsen were picking up litter on their local beach on Monday, September 16.
When they found the long limb, they contacted local conservation group NaturBornholm, which confirmed its true nature.
“It was a different day at work,” NaturBornholm said in a instagram post with penis photos.
‘A large, strange creature washed ashore near Snogebaek on Monday.
“After some speculation, it turned out to be a penis belonging to the young humpback whale that appeared earlier this year.”
The intriguing object appeared on Dueodde, a beach on the southern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm.
The humpback whale’s penis is believed to belong to a whale that appeared earlier this year (pictured)
NaturBornholm said he cut off a portion of the penis in an effort to get “a better view of the organ.”
Experts believe the phallus belonged to a whale that appeared at the site earlier this year, although it is unclear how exactly it came off.
NaturBornholm, based in Aakirkeby, Denmark, plans to conduct further analysis of the meaty package, but for now it remains in a freezer.
He told MailOnline he has already cut off a portion of the penis in an effort to get “a better view of the organ.”
A humpback whale’s penis can measure up to 10 feet long and is typically hidden within the animal’s genital slit, located near the whale’s belly.
Tom Mustill, wildlife filmmaker and whale enthusiast, told MailOnline: “There is nothing that I know of that would make a penis more likely to fall off.”
‘Like the testicles and mammary glands of whales, they are inside the whales, keeping them insulated and streamlined.
“My bet would be that the whale died or was killed and the penis was extruded after death (pushed outward by the pressure of decomposition building up inside) and then fell off decomposing.”
Watching a live whale’s penis emerge from its genital slit is rare, according to the Pacific Whale Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Maui, Hawaii.
The foundation has already released images of a humpback whale swimming with its penis extruded, which it describes as “a rare and fascinating sight.”
As the video shows, the male humpback whale swims towards another whale with his penis clearly visible.
But it is not known whether the humpback whale he approaches is male or female.
The Pacific Whale Foundation states that males may direct their penises toward both males and females, possibly as some type of threatening territorial display.
Adult humpback whales (pictured) measure between 39 and 52 feet. The males produce a complex song that lasts 10 to 20 minutes and which they repeat for hours (file photo)
Adult humpback whales (officially known as Megaptera novaeangliae) measure between 39 and 52 feet and weigh about 36 metric tons.
Males produce a complex song that lasts 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time, although both males and females use some type of vocalization.
Along with the blue whale, fin whale, and others, the humpback whale is a baleen or “feeder” whale.
Baleen whales have a filter-feeding system inside their mouths instead of teeth, which they use to collect krill, plankton, and small shrimp-like fish from the sea.
In comparison, toothed whales, such as the beaked whale and sperm whale, bite off their food or even swallow it whole.
