After images of an unsettling creature went viral in Malaysia, authorities are assuring residents that they can rest easy because the 'mysterious beast' was merely a toy.
The strange furor surrounding the diminutive oddity, which sports a human face and an animal's body, erupted late last week after images of the monstrous 'mutant' spread like wildfire on Malaysian social media.
As with all great online urban legends, the creature came with its own colorful origin story which claimed that the tiny terror was discovered on a beach in Malaysia and was being studied at a secret lab somewhere in the country.
In the face of growing excitement and concern over the viral images, cops were compelled to investigate the case and came back with a somewhat unsurprising answer: that the 'creature' was a fake.
Specifically, they say that it was actually a 'baby werewolf' doll and, in turn, asked the public to stop sharing the photos and story of the creature with their friends online.
Considering the captivating nature of the photos, that seems unlikely to happen, but at least the threat of a mutant creature possibly running amok in Malaysia seems to have been squashed ... for now.
Source: New Straits Times