Know What This Is? A Curious City Would Like to Know

Amarillo, Texas, looking for help to identify strange figure spotted outside zoo
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 10, 2022 9:50 AM CDT
Updated Jun 12, 2022 12:25 PM CDT
Know What This Is? A Curious City Would Like to Know
The "Unidentified Amarillo Object."   (City of Amarillo)

Is Sonic the Hedgehog looking for friends in Amarillo? Officials in the Texas city are asking for the public's help to identify an odd-looking object, possibly creature, spotted near the city zoo. In the "dark and early morning hours" of May 21, security cameras inside an Amarillo Zoo fence captured an image of an unrecognizable figure walking in the vicinity, per Fox News. Snapped at 1:25am, it appears to depict a creature with a head like a coyote but walking on two legs like a human. "Was it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A large coyote on its hind legs? A Chupacabra? It is a mystery—for Amarillo to help solve," city officials say in a Wednesday release.

The public sleuthing is all "in the spirit of fun if not curiosity," according to the city, which is calling it an UAO, or Unidentified Amarillo Object. "It is important to note that this entity was outside the Amarillo Zoo. There were no signs of attempted entry into the zoo. No animals or individuals were harmed. There were no signs of criminal activity or vandalism," says Director of Parks and Recreation Michael Kashuba. Still, "it is definitely a strange and interesting image." Anyone with information or a theory is asked to contact Amarillo's public communications office. Per the Houston Chronicle, some early guesses include Sonic the Hedgehog, Marvel's Rocket Raccoon, and Demogorgon from Netflix's Stranger Things. (More mystery stories.)

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