in 'predator' why is arnie invisible when coated in mud ?

[Mattk]

i understand that when he 1st crawls thru the mud the predator doesnt see him as his outer body temperature is low due to the water/mud but later on he is coated in dry mud but remains invisible ! surely he is now visible or have i missed something ?! im only asking as i saw it again this week and have always wondered(still a great film tho)

[wizard]

you've answered your own question. Its because the mud is meant to cool down his skin temperature, hence Predator not being able to see him. With it not been the most intellectual film, they obviously havent taken into account that the mud may actually heat up by his body heat.

[stoory]

I think its just one of those "ignored facts that really let down a film but still we ignore it cos its a classic" type scenarios. Well spotted.

[bluedolphin]

I always liked to fool myself that the mud contained a naturally occuring chemical that was impervious to the Pred's scanner was present in humungous quantities in the mud ...after all the simple cold virus caused all the flying saucers to crash (cos alien astronauts were susceptible to it) in War of the Worlds...

[bobtheduck]

my fav film of all time

[Dazzler]

Sorry, but I thought it was pretty obvious from the visuals in the first film, but it's explained even better in Pred 2. The predator's default vision system is mostly infra-red or heat based vision.Seems that even the dry mud helps to distort or mask his heat ouput. In Pred 2 the hunters have worked this out and use stealth suits that mask body heat, but the wily Pred switches to UV vision and spots them. Hope this helps.