# Mysterious Antarctic Animal **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889 "2003-12-19T01:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/1 "2003-12-19T01:22:49Z")
I read about this years ago and while I’m 99% certain its untrue I’ve never been quite sure… There was an article about a new species found in Antarctica, carnivourous weasle like creatures called “ice-borers” that borrowed through the ice with help from hot blood in their forheads (I know…I know…) They would attack penguins in groups by melting the ice under them and then eating them when they fell in…the article stated that a researcher saw this happening and pulled the penguin out with the ice-borers attached. The final statement was that this might explain the mysterious disappearance of several people over the years. A load of nonsense right? Just need to make sure 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/2 "2003-12-19T01:29:27Z")
> [@](#): > > In its **April** , 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that Dr. Aprile Pazzo, a noted wildlife biologist, had found a fascinating new Antarctic species: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These bizarre creatures were each about half a foot long, very light, and had a bony plate attached to their head that could become burning hot, allowing them to bore tunnels through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins. Packs of them would melt the ice beneath a penguin causing it to sink into the slush, at which point the borers would surround the hapless creature and consume it. [http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/borers.html](http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/borers.html) ---
**Author:** ![Buran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Buran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buran)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/3 "2003-12-19T01:35:11Z")
Ah thanks…I’m actually a little bit disappointed, part of me hoped they were real… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/4 "2003-12-19T01:40:59Z")
I take it “pazzo” is Italian for “fool”? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/5 "2003-12-19T01:49:06Z")
A free italian translation program says pazzo -\> crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/6 "2003-12-19T03:03:14Z")
The thermodynamics alone are suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/7 "2003-12-19T03:16:40Z")
The creature pictured is in fact a naked mole rat. It’s best known for the fact that it lives in colonies composed of a single breeding queen and her offspring, a pattern common in hive insects but found nowhere else in the order Mammilia. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/8 "2003-12-19T05:57:07Z")
I clicked on this link thinking, “Oh please, let it be the hot-headed ice borer.” That was probably the best of the April Fool’s prank stories that Discover ever did (they did one every year, but this one had legs, I suppose…) ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-antarctic-animal/219889/9 "2003-12-19T06:04:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Midwinter \* > \*\*Ah thanks…I’m actually a little bit disappointed, part of me hoped they were real… \*\* Oh well, at least you could some shoggoths in the Antartic. Now those are freaky creatures. 😃