Mysterious headless remains of huge exotic predator wash up on UK beach leaving experts baffled
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EXPERTS have been left baffled after the mysterious headless remains of a huge exotic predator washed up on a UK beach. Louise Joyce had been walking her dog Willow along Ardeer Beach near Stevenston, Ayrshire, with a friend and their pooch when she came across the body of a large snake-like creature.
![[Mysterious remains of a large predator on a beach.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/stevenston-ayrshire-scotland-uk-mysterious-965164551.jpg?strip=all&w=539)
The 56-year-old said she noticed a man approach the snake first and prod it with one of the sticks he had been walking with. While they initially thought the creature was an eel, on closer inspection they realised it was a snake. Louise said the markings and colouring made it look snake-like, although the head of the creature was missing, as well as its stomach.
![[Dog in the ocean at Ardeer Beach, Scotland.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/stevenston-ayrshire-scotland-uk-photo-965164555.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
She said: “Our reaction was ‘God, you think you have seen it all’". Louise and her friend guessed that someone may have dumped the snake, due to either its costs or size, but that it had failed to survive in the cold climate. After sharing the images on Facebook, locals were split on whether the creature was an eel or a snake.
![[Mysterious remains of a large sea creature on a beach.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/stevenston-ayrshire-scotland-uk-mysterious-965164673.jpg?strip=all&w=540)
Nick Davison and Rob Deaville of the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme ruled out it as being a marine species, but experts also say it's too big to be a native snake. Angela Julian, co-ordinator of Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK, is unsure what the creature is.
![[Mysterious remains of a large exotic predator on a Scottish beach.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/stevenston-ayrshire-scotland-uk-photo-965164666.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
While they noted it has scales that are "very snake-like", and that the they reckon it's a female, Angela added it could not be a native snake as it's "very big", describing it as "python sized". Chris Newman of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare said it was tough to pin down which specific species it could be but offered one idea.
![[Mysterious remains of a large exotic predator washed up on a beach.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/stevenston-ayrshire-scotland-uk-mysterious-965164669.jpg?strip=all&w=540)
