The video posted on Facebook on January 3 by Chasin Tails Outdoors Bait & Tackle in Atlantic Beach has been viewed more than 150,000 times, according to our news gathering partners at the News & Observer.
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"Something you don't see everyday," the shop wrote. "Whales or the Loch News Monster in the port this morning. Never seen one inside the inlet like this!"
The 43-second video shows the creature surface then begin slithering like a snake - with an alligator-like head sticking out of the water.
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Nearly 1,400 reactions and comments had been posted as of Jan. 5, including guesses that it was an alligator, a rarely seen right whale calf, a large dolphin or a manatee. Most of those are uncommon in Bogue Sound this time of year, though right whales are migrating along the coast for winter.
Another video was also recorded by charter boat Captain Daniel Griffee, who says it "looked like a baby whale got lost from its mother."