During the summer, hunters and boaters heard a mysterious pinging or humming sound coming from the sea floor through the Arctic waters of the Fury and Hecla Strait, located in Nunavut, the northernmost and least populated territory of Canada, according to a report in CBC News.

And whatever the sound is, it seems to be scaring animals away.

"That passage is a migratory route for bowhead whales, and also bearded seals and ringed seals. There would be so many in that particular area," George Qulaut, a local legislative assembly member, told the CBC.

Only this summer, there were none, said Qulaut.

Local Inuit rely on hunting in the area, so the sudden disappearance of marine life is both noticeable and disturbing.

Though there was a rumor that the conservation organization Greenpeace might have placed sonar to scare off marine life, the group told the CBC it had no involvement.

There is no known work going on in the region that could explain the sound, either. The Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation told the CBC that it has no equipment in the water. The Canadian military is investigating the mysterious sound, according to a statement provided to the CBC.

But so far, no one has any idea what's going on.

(BI)