Fairy-tale creatures wash up beaches after rainfall

Beach bums could not believe what they saw on the beaches of New South Wales after a big surf and weeks of rainfalls ruffled the water body.

Dozens of “bizarre” creatures, including sea dragons washed up waterfronts.

The weedy seadragons have been spotted in Cronulla, Malabar and the Central Coast and they are thought to be 10 times the amount of normal wash-ups to hit the beaches.

“Clearly it’s a result of some combination of the shocking weather, pollutants being washed into the ocean and big surf,” Dr David Booth, professor of marine ecology at the University of Technology Sydney, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Though present in Australian waters, the creatures usually don’t stray offshore as such.

“This can make them susceptible to loss of habitat and changing environmental factors,” added lead investigator Dr Selma Klanten