A trail camera captured a “mysterious winged and horned creature” near the Bristol Zoo Project in England earlier today (October 22).

The black-and-white footage shows an unsettling animal that appears to be a small deer-like specimen with glowing eyes, at least one horn, and fleshy, wing-like appendages protruding from its back. The footage has left the zoo’s experts “baffled.”

Unable to decipher the identity of the enigmatic quadruped, Bristol Zoo took to Facebook to request help from the community. The shared images were obtained by “trap cameras” set up by their personnel to monitor the ancient woodland surrounding the establishment.

“In this footage, you can see a familiar muntjac deer alongside a creature that has us just a little stumped,” the post read.

The British Zoo asked for help in identifying a “mysterious winged and horned creature” spotted near the park’s habitat

Image credits: Bristol Zoo Project

The muntjac is a species of deer native to South Asia that has recently become infamous for possessing scent glands below and above its eyes that can be opened and even pushed out. This has led to the species being nicknamed the “alien deer.”

While the description of the muntjac seems accurate to what’s shown in the footage—at least as far as the shape of the antlers and the overall size of the creature—it doesn’t explain the presence of the “wings” on its back.

Image credits: Bristol Zoo Project

“This creature is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said a Bristol Zoological Society conservation team member. Whether the animal was a malformed muntjac deer or an entirely new species remains to be seen.

Adding to the confusion, the footage was captured in Bear Wood, a habitat for bears, wolves, wolverines, and lynx.

While some netizens believe the creature is a muntjac deer or even a unicorn, others think it’s all part of a Halloween campaign by the zoo

Image credits: Bristol Zoo Project

Despite being unable to identify the animal, the zoo took the sighting as an opportunity to promote their Halloween celebrations, which include a “Myth and Legends” event, where visitors can see various animals and might even spot the mysterious creature themselves. 

“The sighting of this mythical-like creature is a mystery to us here at Bristol Zoo Project and has been a great inspiration for the Halloween trail this year,” said Rosie Sims, the public engagement manager at the zoo. 

Image credits: Eric/stock.adobe.com (Not the actual photo)

“Scotland has the Loch Ness monster, and Cornwall has the Beast of Bodmin Moor – have we discovered a similar mythical monster here in Bristol?”

Upon seeing the strange footage, netizens started coming up with their own theories, with some postulating that the creature might be some offshoot of the muntjac deer and others jokingly stating that it was a baby-winged unicorn.

Image credits: Amee Fairbank-Brown/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

Some, however, believe that the images are just part of an elaborate publicity stunt by the Bristol Zoo and that the supposed “wings” are the result of the way the photo was taken.

“Artifacts in the photo due to shutter speed and low light. The “Wings” are an exact match for the ears,” one said.

“Eye roll. It’s low visibility, so the camera speed is low, and the animal is moving fast; those wings are the ears in a past frame superimposed on the present frame.”

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