Mexican beachgoers were left speechless as a 30-foot sea creature caused absolute chaos on the shore
Sign of the times?
Two incredibly rare oarfish recently caused quite a spectacle when they washed ashore on a popular beach in Cabo San Lucas, Baja, Mexico, leaving onlookers absolutely stunned. This truly unusual sighting happened in February, creating a scene that many described as absolutely surreal.
According to the NY Post, Monica Pittenger, who was at the beach with her sister Katie, managed to capture the entire scene on video that she later posted on Instagram in collaboration with the account We Love Animals. She recalled that she spotted something “flashing” and “really bright” in the distance. When they got closer, she said, “it was like nothing we’ve seen before, so we were like, this can’t be real.”
Spotting even one of these deep-sea dwellers is incredibly unusual, but two at once? That’s practically a “one in a billion” event, as Monica put it. She called her experience something straight out of a fiction movie.
Not just one, but two in a million!
The footage shows one of these elusive, ribbon-like fish flopping around on the sand. Katie, Monica’s sister, apparently “cannot stand anything in pain,” so she immediately sprang into action. She tried to push the giant sea dweller back into the water.
While some onlookers were understandably hesitant, about five other people eventually jumped in to assist the gallant woman. The other oarfish was a bit further up the shore. Monica confirmed that after a lot of effort, Katie “ended up getting it pushed back in and both of them ended up swimming off.”
Oarfish are fascinating deep-sea creatures, typically living at depths of up to 3,200 feet in the mesopelagic zone, one of the ocean’s least-explored parts. They’re gentle giants, despite their intimidating size and appearance. These fish have no visible teeth and feed mainly on plankton, krill, small crustaceans, and tiny fish by filtering them from the water.
Their flesh is gelatinous and considered inedible, so you won’t find them targeted by commercial fishing. The first confirmed underwater photo of a live oarfish wasn’t even taken until 2001 by the US Navy.
Now, if you’re into ancient lore, you might know these creatures by another, far spookier name: ‘doomsday fish’. Ancient legends claim their appearance signals impending natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis. Japanese mythology also suggests these serpentine plankton-eaters will strand themselves when trouble is near. In Japanese folklore, they’re called “ryūgū no tsukai,” which translates to “messenger from the sea god’s palace.”
This myth gained some serious traction during the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. Dozens of these deep-sea creatures reportedly washed ashore in the two years leading up to that catastrophe. Of course, scientists have pretty much dismissed any direct link between oarfish sightings and natural disasters.
The Baja California Sur coastline, including Cabo San Lucas, has a history of rare doomsday fish sightings, though mostly dead or dying specimens over centuries. This area sees occasional strandings due to ocean currents and upwelling, but no major disaster followed this one, reinforcing the scientific view that the omen is folklore, not fact.
Oarfish usually only appear near the surface when they’re sick, injured, or disoriented, often leading to beach strandings. Despite the apocalyptic myths surrounding them, Monica described the rare experience as “extremely magical” and “very surreal.” The sisters and other beachgoers that day got a chance to experience one of the incredible, often unseen, wonders lurking in the oceans.
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