Mystery animal carcass, first thought to be a monkey, washes ashore at Dee Why Beach

A BEACHGOER was shocked by a mysterious-looking creature she came across on a Sydney beach. She thought it was a monkey. An expert says otherwise.

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IS this mysterious-looking creature that washed ashore at Dee Why a monkey?

That’s what Dee Why’s Iris Brusse thought when she came across it on the shoreline while going for a walk last Thursday.

“It looks like that (a monkey), with its face and its body,” Mrs Brusse said.

“I was shocked and kind of scared to take a picture.”

The possum was found at Dee Why Beach.

She believed the dead animal was up to 50cm long – excluding the tail.

And while there was also speculation it could be a giant rat, Taronga Zoo senior veterinarian Larry Vogelnest was adamant it was a brushtail possum.

It’s believed the animal was a brushtail possum.

He identified the tail, head, paws and scrotum area among features on the animal that were reminiscent of a possum.

“It’s a dramatic photo – a freaky photo,” he said.

“You don’t usually find them on the beach.”