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Greater Sludge Panther: Proposed Color Submission

Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:41 pm
by Iakimo
The diverse Talusian ecosystem gives rise to a number of rare and fascinating creature types. High on the list of any field biologist's \"must-see\" creatures must be the rare and elusive Greater Sludge Panther.

These cats are physically quite imposing. An adult human will typically stand only shoulder-height to an adult panther, and their heads are of sufficient size that, were they of a mind to do so, they could easily engulf a person's head in their powerful jaws.

Fortunately (and quite surprisingly), these cats also exhibit a peaceful personality, even to the point of tolerating the presence of brave (and somewhat foolhardy) biologists in close proximity to their lairs and young! This ease in field observation well compensates the dedicated scientist for the difficulties involved in finding the lairs of these rare and elusive beasts. Once a suitable lair is found, it is an easy matter to approach the lair closely and make highly-detailed observations.

Greater sludge panthers exhibit a very un-catlike disregard for their grooming. They habitually roll around in the muck of the swamps of Talus. This appears to offer them an advantage in hunting their prey by effectively masking their natural scent. As a result, it appears they only give their grooming only the barest, most cursory attention. This pays off for them by allowing them to employ a low-energy stalk-and-pounce mode of hunting, rather than having to resort to lengthy, exhausting chases. In general, they seem to dislike running for any significant distance.

Greater Sludge Panthers are quite playful and highly social. They seem to favor firm, rising ground in the midst of the swamps for their lairs, where they can be seen sunning themselves, rolling and playing on the ground, or rubbing cheek-to-cheek with their lairmates.

Ambitious scientists are cautioned not to grow complacent in the presence of these magnificent cats, for they [i:1168c6459b]can[/i:1168c6459b] be provoked. And when they do, they fight with great agility, leaping high into the air to engage their opponent with all four claws while striking from above with their powerful jaws. These slashing attacks are quite capable of crippling a careless scientist.