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Thursday, 10 December 2009


Friendly alien

Mystery creature is not an alien, scientists confirm

A mysterious bald, rubbery creature that was found in a Panamanian river has had scientists puzzled.

Five boys who were playing in a river in Panama City said that the beast grabbed their legs. They were so scared that they pelted the creature with sticks and rocks.

The boys later returned and took pictures of it, then posted them online. After reading reports of the ‘alien’, scientists recovered the body and examined it in the lab.

Later they found that it was a three-toed sloth, a species that is common in South America. Experts say that when animals decompose under water, they quickly lose their fur and their skin gets smoother. Gases also cause bodies to swell up, which added to the weird appearance of the ‘alien’.

To see CNN’s first report on the ‘alien’, see tinyurl.com/mysteryalien.





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19 Comments


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  • Moo-Gal (Age 13) wrote on Sunday, 13 December 2009 @ 10:33

    Eughhhh x Thats Totally Gross x

  • NewsWhizz (Age 12) wrote on Sunday, 13 December 2009 @ 16:43

    It could have been an alien! What if it was...?

  • Matilda (Age 11) wrote on Sunday, 13 December 2009 @ 17:31

    Cool...

  • CharlieM (Age 13) wrote on Saturday, 19 December 2009 @ 13:01

    It isn't gross! You would not like it if someone called YOU gross!

  • birmingham (Age 13) wrote on Sunday, 20 December 2009 @ 19:38

    Why not? They're just trying to prove they aren't real when they obviously r!

  • pjloma (Age 11) wrote on Monday, 21 December 2009 @ 11:59

    u never now until u find out

  • cbborfmm (Age 14) wrote on Wednesday, 13 October 2010 @ 18:06

    Poor thing being hit with rocks and sticks!

  • Tigress (Age 11) wrote on Wednesday, 27 October 2010 @ 10:25

    I loved the article.

  • SuperSuze (Age 13) wrote on Thursday, 28 October 2010 @ 16:13

    u would.

  • ana1001 (Age 11) wrote on Sunday, 19 December 2010 @ 13:22

    it would be so cool if it was a alien

  • Hajra444 (Age 8) wrote on Monday, 3 January 2011 @ 19:09

    Where did that come from?

  • monferno55 (Age 11) wrote on Thursday, 26 May 2011 @ 20:07

    W.O.W! Poor creature,;o

  • jelly-baby (Age 12) wrote on Monday, 6 June 2011 @ 21:43

    cool

  • redhotstig (Age 12) wrote on Saturday, 20 August 2011 @ 09:59

    weird

  • Toastie (Age 11) wrote on Sunday, 18 September 2011 @ 19:26

    Why would a sloth grab 5 boys' legs? Poor animal

  • shoeless27 (Age 10) wrote on Monday, 21 November 2011 @ 19:39

    SCARY

  • vivk1 (Age 11) wrote on Saturday, 26 November 2011 @ 18:35

    That's so cool! I didn't know going in water could cause such a big change in an animal.

  • Zackarius (Age 11) wrote on Sunday, 27 November 2011 @ 19:42

    that must of been scary!!! :{

  • liljen2001 (Age 10) wrote on Saturday, 10 December 2011 @ 19:40

    There is normally an explanation for lots of 'alien' sitings. One that they thought was a UFO was actually a remote conrtol toy aeroplane!