Gigantic ‘sea serpents’ are washing up on beaches and no-one can explain why
Sightings of 30ft creatures prompt claims they are "sea messengers" that can predict earthquakes
MYSTERIOUS sea serpents have found themselves at a centre of a conspiracy theory that suggests they can predict earthquakes.
Several of the massive sea serpents washed up on the shore of the Philippines just before a killer earthquake tore through one of the islands.
The little known bony fish were found ahead of the deadly 6.5 quake that devastated Mindanao Island on February 8.
In one instance, a 10-foot long oarfish washed up onto a beach on the island just two days before, and another was caught by fisherman.
Five more oarfish were found off Mindanao's northern coast in the days following the natural disaster.
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It has prompted speculation that the sea creatures are able to "predict" or detect early tremors.
Jake Bade wrote on Facebook: "There are several instances that people had sightings of oarfishes prior to an Earthquake, including the Earthquake and Tsunami that happened in Japan, Chile, Haiti and now in Surigao Ph."
Facts about the oarfish are few and far between.
It was first seen in 1772 and rarely makes appearances in shallow waters, preferring to stay up to 1,000 metres below the surface.
What is an oarfish?
Found in all temperate to tropical oceans yet rarely seen, the oarfish like to lurk at least 1000 metres below the surface.
Human encounters with live oarfish are rare.
Most informatio is collated from records of oarfish caught or washed ashore.
They are often been labelled as earthquake predictors because they tend to wash up on the shore before and after tremors.
The plankton eating bony fish have no scales.
But when they do appear, scientists believe it's because of strong currents.
There have been several unexplained incidents of animals beaching themselves lately.
New Zealand beachgoers were recently warned about exploding whales after a mass stranding.
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