When 17-year-old Curt-Leigh Dixon stumbled across a mysterious dead body with spindly arms, a shrivelled head and giant teeth, he thought he’d found an alien corpse.
His ‘groundbreaking’ discovery sparked a frenzy of speculation online and in his hometown of Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, where villagers hailed it as proof extra-terrestrials live among us; others said it was, at the very least, a strange cross-breed between a seal and a monkey.
Either way, they knew it would make the town rich… until the local vet revealed it was a baby baboon.
You’re taking the monkey: Some villagers hailed the find as proof extra-terrestrials live among us while others said it was, at the very least, a strange cross-breed between a seal and a monkey
Pictures of the strange beast taken by Curt-Leigh’s father Llewellyn Dixon, a national park ranger, appeared to show a wrinkled and mummified beast unlike any on Earth.
‘It was a newborn female baboon, with umbilical cord still attached to her body.
‘It was most likely killed by the bite through her scull soon after birth, possibly infanticide, which is very common in some primate species when a new male takes over the troop.’
Alien-looking: The mysterious dead body had spindly arms, a shrivelled head and giant teeth
Shrivelled head: The body was sent to local vet Dr Magdalena Braum who immediately scotched the discovery within seconds, saying: ‘Anyone could see it was baby baboon’
She said its strange shape and apparent mummification was down to the fact it had been carried around by its mother after death.
Weird sight: Dr Braum said its strange shape and apparent mummification was down to the fact it had been carried around by its mother after death