Panic nearly erupted among holidaymakers in South Africa’s Western Cape when a local shared photos of what people thought were alien-like “monsters” on the beach.
The photos were uploaded to Facebook in late November and have been shared several times since. In total, the photos received several thousand likes, comments and shares, according to Kennedy News and Media.
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He wanted to cancel the vacation
– Are you serious? My goodness… Scary, says one comment.
Another writes that he wanted to cancel his vacation because he was afraid of sea creatures.
However, the scary images turned out to be something completely different from what most people were under the impression.
The photos are of dead aloe vera plants, which were taken in an effort to raise awareness of the damage to the environment.
The photographer behind it, Jan Vorster, admits that the photos were taken at sunrise and sunset, just to create an eerie effect.
Get angry
Afterwards, several people reacted angrily, accusing Vorster of deliberately deceiving people.
– I was surprised (by the reactions). I thought people would enjoy it, but then it got really serious. Some were extremely serious, says Vorster.
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– Many were afraid of these “alien sea monsters,” he adds.
In technical parlance, the plants are called Aloe ferox, but even by writing it, people have taken it seriously, according to Vorster.
The skeptics eventually ended up contacting an environmental scientist, who inspected the images. The person confirmed that the objects depicted were not dangerous to humans at all.