Goodbye home

Winter. Ponti Archipelago, 90 million and 105,000 years after present.

A group of banchisaraptors and ottofoxes are drawn together by a strong, pungent scent. The source? A dead reefsurfer, slowly floating on the water and pushed toward the sea ice by the currents. The feast begins, but they are not alone. Seabirds, ferociously attacking the soft outer layers, tear into the reefsurfer's flesh, while pinpiercers, thanks to their beaks designed for precision, dive into the carcass, devouring the nutrient-rich internal organs. Amid this frenzy, banchisaraptors and ottofoxes battle for their share, stealing pieces from the relentless pinpiercers.
Suddenly, a lone bark echoes from the distance. Another ottofox, desperate, tries to reach the carcass, but it can’t. It stands helpless, trapped behind a maze of half-melted sea ice, stretching for less than a kilometer. The sea is teeming with predators, making the journey to the feast greatly dangerous. Frustrated, the ottofox watches the feast, barking nervously at the ice that separates it from its meal.

In the past years, the sea ice here was solid during winter, forming a natural bridge connecting Antarctica to the outside world. Few tens of thousands years ago, borax and rompos crossed this ice bridge, causing a global climatic revolution. As the ice retreats, this crucial passage is disappearing. Antarctica, as in the past, is retreating into its ancient seclusion, locking away its unique fauna once more.
Yet the animals now feeding don’t stand on Antarctic soil. This feast is happening in the northern, external reaches of the Ponti Archipelago. This is the first sign of life breaking free from our frozen continent.
Will they survive beyond Antarctica? Will they carry their Antarctic legacy into a new world? Only time will reveal the answers.