The remains of an unidentified sea animal with fur on its tail have been washed ashore in the Far East. Found near the airport at Shakhtersk, on Sakhalin Island, its appearance is unlike anything ever found in Russia.

Judging from the remains the creature was giant and about twice the length of a human, and it had a huge nose like a bird’s beak.

Pictures of the carcass have created a stir on social media after being taken by local people and posted online.

Some have claim the remains belong to a Ganges River dolphin from India, because of the long body and narrow beak nose. But the presence of fur on the tail and also its size – twice that of the Indian dolphin species – has created a mystery.

Comments on some pictures on social media joke that the animal got lost and somehow made it to Russia. One wrote: ‘Probably, our summer is so cold that even the Indian Dolphins getting into local waters, are covered with fur.’

But one expert insisted it simply is not possible for a fresh water Ganges dolphin to make it to the Far East, and survive in the salty ocean.

Nikolay Kim, Deputy Head of the Forecasting department of the Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, said: ‘Judging by the appearance of the head, this is clearly some big dolphin. According to a characteristic of the skin, it is a rare species.

‘I doubt that it lived in our waters. Most likely, the animal was brought by the warm current. Here often appear tropical and subtropical species. On cooling, they stay here and then die.

‘I can confidently say that this is some kind of a dolphin. However, it has fur. It’s unusual. Dolphins do not have any fur.’