Tunifa

"When you see a body on the bottom of the pond that is writhing about, leave it be - it is possessed by a Tunifa." - Tāngata teaching

The Tunifa is a species of carnivorous amphibious eel from the island of Atu Motu. It inhabits freshwater ponds and streams, and is known for killing and consuming prey much larger than itself. It waits in its pond, hiding in the murky shadows near the shore. When an animal comes to drink, the tunifa will strike, latching onto the prey with its sharp teeth. The mouth of the tunifa is filled with venomous mucus. Soon, the prey collapses. Only then does the tunifa let go and begin to tear at the body with its teeth. As soon as it has a large enough hole, it slithers inside and begins to feast. It is a vigorous feeder, and it causes the body to writhe and move while it eats. When it has eaten its fill, the tunifa will exit from the corpse. Sometimes it will lay eggs in the cavity - when the infant tunifas hatch, they devour the remainder of the body.

The tunifa will travel from pond to pond several times over the course of the year, either for mating purposes or to seek better hunting grounds. It is no less dangerous when encountered on land. It is also opportunistic, and will slither into the body of any dead animal it finds. Sometimes a hunter will find a tunifa inside the body of a freshly slain animal, and more than one hunter has been killed when the startled eel lashed out.

Legend says that killing the Tunifa carries a curse with it, and that it draws the vengeance of all other Tunifa on the island. They will leave their ponds in the night and converge on the killer, instinctively knowing where to find them. They wait until the accursed person lies down to sleep, and then strike to kill. The stories claim that as many as a dozen Tunifa may appear to claim vengeance, and leave nothing but slime-covered bones behind.