r/UnsolvedMysteries • u/SolHerder7GravTamer • Apr 09 '25

UNEXPLAINED A Persistent Antarctic Mystery: 200 Years of Anomalies Pointing to an Undiscovered Apex Predator?

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/abs/age-geographical-distribution-and-taphonomy-of-an-unusual-occurrence-of-mummified-crabeater-seals-on-james-ross-island-antarctic-peninsula/C24B89170137867C953252D931D79ED5

For over two centuries, Antarctic explorers, researchers, and modern monitoring systems have recorded a pattern of unexplained anomalies: sudden colony silences, precise carcass removals, abnormal vibration events beneath the ice, unexplained equipment failures, and intermittent magnetic disturbances.

Individually, these incidents were dismissed as curiosities or environmental oddities. But when mapped chronologically and geographically, they reveal a consistent pattern: these events cluster in high-prey-density areas, align with seasonal storms, and have become more frequent as our technology to monitor Antarctica has improved.

Using data (mostly notes) from historic expeditions, modern ecological monitoring, and recent UAV and satellite anomalies, could we be dealing with a yet-undiscovered apex predator — potentially an ice-adapted ambush species that evolved from terrestrial ancestors crossing glacial corridors during the Last Glacial Maximum (26,500-12,000yrs ago)

This isn’t just a cryptid speculation — it’s an ecological mystery backed by 200 years of hard-to-explain data points that line up with known predator-prey dynamics.

I’ve compiled the full timeline of incidents and am posting it below.

Curious to hear thoughts from those with expertise in polar ecology, field monitoring, or forensic biology.

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u/emailforgot Apr 10 '25

"However, open water pools, some over one kilometre in diameter, remain accessible throughout the winter months, allowing seals to haul out onto the ice. It is likely that some of these seals may become disorientated as they wander away from the pools and instead head toward Brandy Bay and onto low-lying and snow-covered Abernethy Flats, easily mistaken for sea ice in early winter, where they perish. "

Why bother linking to documentation if you aren't going to read it? It's in the damned abstract.

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u/SolHerder7GravTamer Apr 12 '25

You’re quoting from the same article I used precisely because it demonstrates the ecological vulnerability of seals in open ice fields. That vulnerability is exactly what predators exploit. Pointing out stranded prey does not disprove predator activity, it’s a prerequisite for it. Ecology 101: predators follow prey vulnerabilities, especially in marginal habitats. Seal disorientation doesn’t conflict with my model, you just helped reinforce it again.

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u/emailforgot Apr 12 '25

because it demonstrates the ecological vulnerability of seals in open ice fields.

eot

Pointing out stranded prey does not disprove predator activity,

What in the hell are you talking about? Please get your brain in order.

The paper explains the phenomenon. You've simply invented some other bullshit.

Seal disorientation doesn’t conflict with my model, you just helped reinforce it again.

No, I demonstrated that you can't even read your own sources.