The internet had no idea what they were watching when a woman began acting like an animal on the beach .

The self-described “ therian ” began wagging, crawling, and acting like an animal in the sand, saying she was experiencing a “ therianthropic mental shift ” in front of the camera. 

Netizens were baffled as they witnessed her “transitioning into the mindset of my hybrid kintype crowdoggy .”

The viral woman said she was seeing the world through “different eyes” when she experienced a “mental shift” on the beach.

She identified herself as a therian, making her part of a small online subculture who claim to identify as an animal .

The Therian Guide website defines a therian or therianthrope as a person who “experiences being and identifies as a non-human animal on an integral, personal level.”

It reportedly started popping up on internet forums in the 1990s, with “therians” discreetly sharing ideas through websites and mailing lists. The trend picked up speed with the rise of TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

“The therian phenomenon is a perfect example of how algorithms and social media, with a mixture of political interest and morbid curiosity, can fabricate a news story out of thin air,” Adrián Juste, an analyst at the Al Descubierto think tank, told EL PAÍS .