{{Short description|Carcass of a sloth found in 2009}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name  = Panama Creature
|image     = Panama Creature.jpg
|caption  = One of the original photographs of the Panama Creature, with a [[Telemetro.com]] watermark
|Grouping       = 
|Sub_Grouping   = 
|AKA            = Panama Monster, Panama ET, other names
|Similar_creatures = [[Montauk Monster]], [[brown-throated sloth]]
|Country        = [[Panama]]
|First_Reported = September 2009
}}

The "'''Panama Creature'''"<ref name="Snopes">{{cite web |url= http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/montauk.asp|title= The Montauk Monster|date= 18 May 2010|website= [[Snopes.com]]|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref> (also variously referred to as the "'''Panama Monster'''",<ref name="About"/> "'''Panama ET'''"<ref name="NG">{{cite magazine|url= http://news.preview.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/11/091109-panama-alien-et-creature-sloth.html|title= Panama "Alien" Really a Dead, Bloated Sloth|author= Valle, Sabrina|date= 9 November 2009|magazine= [[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|access-date= 5 April 2011|archive-date= 18 April 2001|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20010418171813/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/|url-status= dead}}</ref> "'''Cerro Azul Monster'''", "'''Blue Stream Monster'''" or "'''Blue Hill Horror'''"<ref name="Naish"/>) refers to a carcass photographed near the town of [[Cerro Azul, Panama|Cerro Azul]], [[Panama]], in September 2009. After the animal was discovered and reputedly killed by a group of teenagers, photographs of the corpse were given to [[Telemetro]], a Panamanian television station. The story and pictures circulated, and comparisons to the [[Montauk Monster]] were made. There was speculation about the identity of the creature, with suggestions including a hairless sloth, an [[extra-terrestrial life|alien species]] and a creature new to science. A [[biopsy]] performed by the [[National Environmental Authority of Panama]] on the remains a few days after the creature's discovery concluded that the corpse was in fact that of a male [[brown-throated sloth]]. The odd appearance had been caused by underwater decomposition, which had resulted in hair loss. Once identified, the corpse was buried.

==Events==
A group of four or five teenagers aged between 14 and 16 claim to have been playing near a cave in [[Cerro Azul, Panama|Cerro Azul]], [[Panama]], when the creature emerged.<ref name="NG"/><ref name="HP">{{cite news |title= Unidentified Creature: Panama Teens Discover Alien-Like Animal|url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/19/unidentified-creature-pan_n_292515.html|newspaper= [[Huffington Post]]|date= 19 November 2009|access-date=5 April 2011|first=Lila|last=Shapiro}}</ref> They say that it approached them, and, fearing for their safety, they attacked the creature with sticks and rocks, killing it. They claim that they then threw its corpse into a pool of water before leaving the area. They later returned and took photographs of the creature's corpse, before sending the pictures to [[Telemetro]], a Panamanian television station.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |title= New 'Montauk Monster' spotted in Panama|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/panama/6201333/New-Montauk-Monster-spotted-in-Panama.html|newspaper= [[The Daily Telegraph]]|date= 17 September 2009|access-date=5 April 2011|location=London}}</ref> According to some sources, subsequent photographs were taken of the creature after it had further decomposed;<ref name="Metro">{{cite news |title= 'Gollum-like' monster emerges from lake|url= http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/739578-gollum-like-monster-emerges-from-lake|newspaper= [[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|date= 17 September 2009|access-date=6 April 2011}}</ref> however, doubts have been expressed about whether the later photos were of the same specimen.<ref name="Naish"/> A few days after the photographs were taken, one of the teenagers gave a different account in an interview with ''Telemetro Reporta'', saying "I was in the river and I felt something grabbing my legs ... We took it out of the water and started throwing rocks and sticks at it. We had never seen anything like that."<ref name="NG"/> The photographs show a pale creature that is mostly hairless, with a rubbery body. It has "revolting features"; a snub-nose and long arms.<ref name="NG"/><ref name="Telegraph"/> Writers for the ''[[Huffington Post]]'' said that while the head is clearly animal, the torso is "strange", while the limbs are reminiscent of thin human arms.<ref name="HP"/> Writers for [[WBALTV.com]] compared it to both a "small, portly" version of the alien in ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Gollum]]'s "long-lost cousin".<ref name="WBAL">{{cite web |url= http://www.wbaltv.com/news/20980556/detail.html|title= Teens Find, Kill Unknown Creature In Panama|date= 18 September 2009|publisher= [[WBALTV.com]]|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref>

==Speculation==
The story and the photographs circulated the Internet,<ref name="About">{{cite web |url= http://ufos.about.com/b/2009/09/20/panama-monster-fuels-speculation.htm|title= Panama Monster Fuels Speculation|author= Booth, Billy|date= 20 September 2009|publisher= [[About.com]]|access-date=5 April 2011}}</ref> including various [[cryptozoology]] blogs,<ref name="Telegraph"/> with a great amount of speculation about possible explanations.<ref name="About"/> A video showing the original photographs, as well as some footage of the further decomposed corpse, became [[viral video|very popular]] on the web, being one of the most viewed videos over the course of a day.<ref name="Mercury">{{cite news |title= Mystery 'Gollum' creature found in Panama: reports|url= http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/world/world/general/mystery-gollum-creature-found-in-panama-reports/1628994.aspx|newspaper= [[Illawarra Mercury]]|date= 21 September 2009|access-date=6 April 2011}}</ref> In addition to its prevalence on the Internet, the story was covered on television and radio.<ref name="About"/> Comparisons were drawn to the [[Montauk Monster]] found in [[Montauk, New York]], in June 2008.<ref name="Telegraph"/> A popular theory was that the Panama Creature was a [[sloth]] (perhaps an [[albino]]) that had somehow became hairless; proponents of the hypothesis cited the hooked claw visible in one of the photographs.<ref name="Telegraph"/><ref name="WBAL"/> Science author Darren Naish, writing for [[ScienceBlogs]], supported the sloth hypothesis, but had a "difficult time" explaining the creature's hairlessness.<ref name="HP"/> The sloth theory was generally considered most credible; in 1996, similar photographs were taken of a creature found on the coast between Panama and Costa Rica that was later confirmed to be a sloth that had started to decay.<ref name="Perth">{{cite news |title= Kids kill Panama 'Montauk monster' by lake|url= http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/world/kids-kill-panama-montauk-monster-by-lake/story-e6frg1p3-1225776476121|publisher= [[PerthNow]]|date= 18 September 2009|access-date=6 April 2011}}</ref> Further Internet speculation led to some proposing that it was in fact a [[dolphin]] or a [[pit bull terrier]],<ref name="Naish"/><ref name="Perth"/> an example of a [[List of megafauna discovered in modern times|species previously unknown to science]],<ref name="HP"/> or some sort of genetic mutation.<ref name="Naish">{{cite web|url= http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/09/panamanian_blue_hill_monster.php|title= The Panamanian Blue Hill Monster (or Cerro Azul Monster)|author= Naish, Darren|date= 18 September 2009|publisher= [[ScienceBlogs]]|access-date= 5 April 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120508205926/http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/09/panamanian_blue_hill_monster.php|archive-date= 8 May 2012|url-status= dead}}</ref> Some Panamanian zoologists said that it appeared to be a [[Fetus (biology)|fetus]] of some kind.<ref name="HP"/> In addition to naturalistic explanations, Billy Booth of [[About.com]] reported that "there has been speculation that it is alien, and thereby the connection to UFOs, undersea bases, the whole ball of wax".<ref name="About"/>

==Necropsy==
[[File:Bradypus variegatus.jpg|thumb|right|The Panama Creature was shown to be a decomposing [[brown-throated sloth]].]]
The creature's corpse was recovered four days after the encounter, and a [[biopsy]] was performed by the [[National Environmental Authority of Panama]] (ANAM). The biopsy concluded that the corpse was in fact a male [[brown-throated sloth]], a species common in the area. André Sena Maia, a veterinarian who works at [[Niterói Zoo]], [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Brazil]], explained that "most people know how a dead animal looks like in a dry environment", and claimed that "the body must have got stuck under the water, and the movement of the currents gave the false impression that it was alive."<ref name="NG"/> A [[necropsy]] revealed that severe [[Trauma (medicine)|trauma]] had been inflicted on the body of the sloth, and Melquiades Ramos, a specialist from the ANAM Department of Protected Areas, estimated that the body had been in the water for "about two days" prior to discovery. The hairlessness was probably caused by the fact it was submerged in water, which can lead to acceleration of fur loss, resulting in smooth skin.<ref name="NG"/> A post-mortem bloating further contributed to the unusual appearance of the corpse.<ref name="Snopes"/><ref name="NG"/> After the sloth was identified, its body was buried by ANAM staff.<ref name="NG"/>

==See also==
*[[Globster]]
*[[Montauk Monster]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Sloths]]
[[Category:2009 in Panama]]
[[Category:Alleged UFO-related entities]]
[[Category:2009 animal deaths]]
[[Category:Viral videos]]
[[Category:Individual animal corpses]]