Sword-Tooth

The mightiest of hunting cats on all of Valerick, an apex predator capable of competing even with less natural creatures such as manticores, or burias. They are of a monstrous size, their names well earned, for they've two front teeth like curved sword blades that rest outside the mouth. Their jaw force capable of snapping bones, rending through most armors, and even puncturing the finest of plate mail. They rule the Durolian highlands and Suranthi tundra with ferocity, stealth and raw power. Rare though they are, with massive home ranges, twice that of a grizzly bear, they are a predator to be feared and respected. They have no natural predators and no living thing in their domain is off the menu. A sword-tooth is bar nothing the most dangerous animal on the continent of Durol to find one's self face to face with. Though should you find yourself face to face with one, you are doing a damn sight better than most people whom encounter one. Most never see or hear it until they are on the ground underneath it, its jaws tearing life from skull and neck.

Montague Cuchilian Williamson Esq, Mochi for short.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Sword-tooth's are truly massive felines, with a powerful almost tiger like build, their fur thick, slick and water proof. Their tell-tale teeth are each almost two feet in length. Their jaws, capable of opening impressively wide, allowing them to utilize those incisors as weapons when hunting, though these teeth do not seem to serve much purpose when eating besides initial driving into a carcass, aiding in tearing a large slab off. Their claws are retractable as with most large cats, however their feet have distinct padding, small grip like bristles, these bristles seeming to have a unique ridity and grip to them, allowing greater traction on stone, ice and snow. Their massive bulk is capable of swift movements, the sheer power in the muscle structure making this beast nimble and swift. An oddity for Sword-Tooths, given their size, that they do not have any similar 'roar' like vocalizations as a tiger, lion or leopard might, they seem not to have the vocal structure for it. Their snarls and growls are terrifying enough, however they do have a louder call, emitting an ear piercing shriek, not unlike the call of a puma, though much more powerful. These cats also can see in the dark, very clearly and with great detail, that much is obvious from how successful of night hunters they are. In limited (and dangerous) studies their success rate likely as much as doubles when they hunt in the dark of night.

Biological Traits

Sword-Tooth cats, like many hunting cats, have all this power yet are not creatures with a dense and hardy skeletal structure like bears. This likely factors into the evolution of their hunting tactics and instincts, seeking to avoid injury. Their fur coats are water proof, seeming to have a natural sort of repellent effect to water and wet snow, insuring ice cannot form upon them, and likely helping to keep them warm, given staying dry is such an important part of not freezing to death in such environments. Beyond this they have unique gripping like hairs of sorts on their feet, which seem to help play some roll in getting traction on stone, smooth and slick rock, and ice. These small 'hairs' are quite rigid and bristlely. Their massive incisors seem to play a huge roll in their long term health, and the health of those two teeth are a great indicator as to the health fo a specimen. It is not known exactly why this would be so key, as these teeth are not necessary even for hunting, yet losing or damaging one, in limited study of the species, does seem to notably decrease life expectancy and mating potential.

Genetics and Reproduction

Very little is fully understood about these highly dangerous and majestic predators mating habits, partially due to the difficulty of reaching their mating environments, partially due to the danger of following, tracking and observing them, and partially due to their rarity. What is known, based on limited observation, is that it would seem that the sword-tooth females will actually wander outside their territories and seek courtship, a rarity in the animal kingdom, and once they find a male and have mated, they will return to their territory, and take to some high altitude, to a den or cave presumedly, and give birth. Based on other members of the Felidae family, and the Sword-Tooth's size, it is presumed that females typically give birth to anywhere between 2-4 kittens. What these babies look like when first born is unknown, again a lack of data due to the danger of such observation and study. However the mother, whom will have spent the pregnancy hunting heavily, aggressively, and feeding voraciously, will not eat again after the kittens are born for as best as can be guessed, about 3 months. The babies are born mid winter, so by early spring, they have coats, are weaned, and have tearing and ripping teeth growing in, and will be capable of eating meat. It is estimated that about 1 of every 3 kittens doesn't make it out of the cave, and given the lack of food the mother has over that three months, it is very likely she consumes this lost young after they expire. Causes of this are most likely malnutrition (being outcompeted by siblings and bullied out of weaning) as well as hypothermia.

Growth Rate & Stages

Kittens are born blind and with no real protection from the cold, and are quite small. The mother's milk will have them growing rapidly and developing a fur coat swift enough. Our best guess is that their eyes open within but a few days and their coats take perhaps a few weeks. By three months, the kittens are weaned entirely off their mother's milk. A mother raises her kittens even after the short three months of weaning, hunting to feed her and them, whilst teaching them, for two full years, until their namesake teeth have grown down and they've managed to grow into sub-adults, likely close to the size of a lion or tiger. Then the kittens will oft stick together for another year, again an oddity, this solo predator exhibiting pack like behaviors, as they hunt voraciously, traveling far and wide, never staying in another cat's territory to long for fear of reprisal. All this time they are also growing rapidly into full and mature adults. That third spring of life, the siblings will part ways, though it happens quite naturally, one finding/claiming their own hunting grounds and territory, deciding to compete with another cat or finding somewhere unbothered with such things, if they travel far enough. The others will continue traveling together until this happens again, until they have all found their own home ranges.

Ecology and Habitats

Sword-Tooths are cold weather felines, ruling the highlands, tundras and mountain ranges of the continent of Durol. This does limit their interactions with sapient species (read humanoids). They are not opposed to hunting and eating us however, we are just another animal in their territory as far as they are concerned. Just another prey item.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Sword-tooths require a notable amount of food, which would explain their massive home range, easily twice that of even a grizzly bear. They require at least as much meat as a full grown moose weekly to be at peak health and diet. So they spend the majority of their life tracking, hunting and eating, as one might expect is a requirement for a beast so large.

Biological Cycle

Sword Tooths do not shed as with most mammals, at least not seasonally. They do regularly have hairs of their coat die and grow anew of course, however they do not shed seasonally like many mammals. Instead their coat merely fades from its earthy brown to a softer grey-white, and then back again come spring. This phenomenom is believed to be linked to the amount of sunlight they receive though this is merely a theory. They do not full on hibernate as some bear species, however they are known to go into deep sort of miniature hibernation cycles for a few days, perhaps a week at most, at various times during the worst and most food scarce parts of winter.

Behaviour

Sword-tooths, particularly males, are highly territorial, willing to fight, hunt and even kill and eat intruding members of their own species into their domain. The exception to this is the mid to late spring mating period. Over this window of time, roughly three weeks, their is a notable change in this extreme and violent territorialism towards their own kind, at least from males to females and from females to females. Males remain extremely territorial to other males.

Sword-tooths have few predators and certainly have no natural ones within the animal kingdom. Though there are some whom will hunt and even eat the meat of this creature hunting has not been successful enough or common enough for them to developa and evolve to see humanoids as predators. In fact to the contrary they ultimately think of us as prey. Sword-tooths are ambush-blitz predators, taking their time to stalk their prey and wait for the opportune moment to strike. However when they do strike, no matter the size or capability of the prey item, they strike with full aggression, utilizing their bulk, attempting to leap onto the back of their target, bearing them hopefully to the ground, raking their claws whilst their mighty jaws try and clamp down on the neck and throat (and skull if the prey item is small enough), biting down with all the force they can muster, whilst also flexing and twisting their mighty neck muscles. At minimum this usually results in a broken neck, as well as a cracked or crushed skull, partially or fully. The sheer ferocity of this sudden assault likely kills many creatures from the weight, cracking or snapping the spine, as well as the sudden neck trauma of the initial bite, however the cat always sees the assault fully to completion, riding the prey item to the ground and pinning it under its massive bulk. This is likely an instinct driven by the need to avoid the injuries that can come from sudden death spasms of limbs, necks and other parts of the anatomy of various prey items by basically forcibly preventing such muscular spasms from being able to occur. Once the prey begins to stiffen, the obvious sign of total death, the sword-tooth will lift itself off the body and begin to feed with gusto.

Additional Information

Domestication

Absolutely not. This is a dominant apex predator, and one solely independant and ferociously territorial. Such a thing would be madness to even attempt

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Those brave or fool enough to attempt to hunt such a predator do so for the meat, but more importantly for its pelt. The pelts of these animals make some of the finest and most insulated and wind resistant winter gear one could hope for, perhaps only matched by the polar bear and maybe the moose.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

These mighty predators are very rare, though believed to have once been a dominant feline species all across Valerick. Now they are merely found in the tundras and highland mountain ranges of the continent of Durol, with Suranth having the most well documented and robust population.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Though we cannot fully confirm, it is believed that Sword-Tooths have evolved beyond normal light dependant sight, or at least can make due with greatly reduced light, so much so that even the night of the new moon, the darkest nights of the lunar cycle, seems to not really effect them in any noticeable or documentable way. Besides this they a keen sense of smell and excellent hearing over distance, though it does seem their hearing is not tuned to be sensitive to the lowest of volumes when it comes to sound. Instead they seem to have a strong distance of hearing, able to pick up and pinpoint direction of noises such as a moose or elk call, even whilst sorting the echoes of the mountains and valleys, over distances in excess of 2-3 miles.

Sword-Tooth Base Stat Sheet

Scientific Name

Felidae Pantheria Bladeria

Lifespan

25-35 years is thought to roughly be their lifespan, though there are some claims of specimens as old as 40-45.

Average Height

1-1.2 meters (3'3"-3'11") tall at the shoulder

Average Weight

160-440 kgs (350-960lbs) The weight of these animals varies noticeably based on environment, the frigidness of the climate and the sorts of prey most commonly available.

Average Length

1.5-2 meters (4'11"-6'6") from nose to tip of tail.

Geographic Distribution

• Continent of Durol