Experts baffled after ‘mysterious mass’ found on Outer Banks beach

OUTER BANKS, N.C. — A mysterious object that can only be described as a “blob” has washed up on the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Many people have tried to identify what it is, but can’t.

It was found at Cape Lookout National Seashore a few months ago, and an image of it was posted on the National Park Service’s Facebook page. The caption described it as looking like a squid with finger shaped clear sacks with white eggs.

Beach mystery -- Do you know what this mysterious mass is? It was found a few months ago on the beach. So far it has...
Posted by Cape Lookout National Seashore on Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Cape Lookout officials asked followers to comment on the post if they know what the “blob” could be.

Many online commenters weighed in, saying it looked like squid egg sacs.

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According to the Raleigh News and Observer, similar looking objects -- clusters of elongated segments filled with tiny eggs -- have been found on beaches on the West Coast.

A squid expert told the Oregon Coast Aquarium those particular sacs belong to a Pacific species known as the California market squid. But there is an Atlantic species that is slightly bigger.

Squid sacs were something Cape Lookout officials were already considering, but were not sure.

“So far, it has escaped being identified, although it might be something like the egg sacks of a squid, but we aren’t sure,” the Cape Lookout Facebook post said.

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