Photos of an “alien army” walking up a beach have left viewers in a panic, sparking intense curiosity and concern online.
A recent photo taken in South Africa has caused quite a stir online.
The image shows strange shapes emerging from the sea, leading many people to think they might be aliens.
This photo has sparked panic and curiosity among social media users.
A beachgoer took a photo capturing an “alien army” that walked up the beach
Jan Vorster, a resident of Still Bay in Western Cape, was the one who took the picture.
He meant to raise awareness about environmental issues, but the photo ended up creating confusion instead.
When he shared the image online, it was quickly labeled as a sighting of “sea spiders.” This mislabeling only added to the chaos.
The picture quickly went viral, receiving over 22,000 comments and more than 52,000 shares.
Many Facebook users compared the shapes to creatures from the movie “War of the Worlds”, which features aliens attacking Earth.
One commenter even said, “They look like some alien thing from “War of the Worlds” with Tom Cruise.”
As people reacted, some expressed that they would run away if they saw such creatures on the beach.
The excitement and fear spread rapidly, and some people even sent the images to environmental scientists for clarification.
Experts clarified what the “creatures” are
The good news is that the scientists confirmed these shapes were not dangerous.
They turned out to be dead aloe vera plants washed up on the shore. This revelation eased many fears but did not stop the discussion online.
Jan Vorster reflected on the unexpected reaction to his photo.
He had hoped that people would see the beauty and importance of the aloe plants.
Instead, he found that many were scared of what they thought were alien creatures.
“The comments started immediately. Then it was shared like you can’t believe.
“I was surprised [by the reaction]. I thought that people would have fun with it, but then it was very serious, some of it was extremely serious.
“A lot of people were scared of these alien-looking sea monsters. It was like Jaws – is it safe to go into the water?”
He remarked, “I thought I could use this as a metaphor for how people see these plants as aliens, but we are actually the two-legged aliens messing up their world.”
People’s reactions ranged from fear to humor.
While some were genuinely frightened, others joked about the situation.
They look like the Stranger Things Mind Flayer, not the Demogorgons “sigh,” one user said.
Thought they were a species of crab, the second user commented.
The original war of the worlds you never saw the aliens, so this is so wrong, the third user said.
An alien army, I guess, another wrote.
They have been round longer than us,I think we are the aliens, someone said.