Purple sea slugs or California sea hare are being washed up on East Bay beaches. Their appearance makes many wonder if they have found human heart on the beach.

In fact, many people have called emergency services to know about the species and from which part of earth they have come from. Carolyn Jones, a spokeswoman for the East Bay Regional Park District, was of the view that these sea slugs are quite big and present in abundance. They are natural to the area.

“It’s native to our area. It’s not endangered, but they are rarely seen other than an occasional one here or there”, said Jones. One of the main reasons for which these purple sea slugs are washing up on East Bay beaches could be because the coastal waters are warmer.

Terry Gosliner, senior curator at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, said a rise in number of sea slugs could be because of the periodic rise in the population of the mollusks and another reason could be warming.

With passage of time, such events are increasing, said Gosliner. It could be an indication of long-term global change. Experts said that sea slugs could be 15 pounds in weight. But the ones being washed up in East Bay are not as big.

They are also known as sea hares because of their antennae, looking like rabbit ears. For now, it is not known as to how many have washed up on shore since last fall. But many have not seen them until now.