Ancardia's Unusual Animals--the Leucrotta
Classification: Beast (hyena)
Habitat: Shrublands, dense grasslands, and various highland forests concentrated in the Southern Heartland, Southern Akimmia, and the Fallar region.
One of the largest members of the hyena family, the Leucrotta does not have the pack dynamics and efficiency of the Spotted Hyena or the sheer hulking strength of the Crocutta, but still possesses bone-crushing power and a unique and intelligent solo hunting strategy. Weighing between 250 and 450 pounds, the leucrotta emerges from its den at dusk and follows various animal trackways and footpaths used by humanoids. While hyperbolized by folktales and legends, the leucrotta does indeed use its strategy to hunt humanoids alongside various other species; this animal can remember and mimic short refrains of many different creature’s voices, including that of humanoid speech, and one of the surest ways to know a leucrotta is stalking a roadside is to listen for repeated, insistent calls for help or greetings coming from the dense brush. The beast is known very well for mimicking the calls of deer and antelope as well, sometimes fooling hunters stalking the same types of animals and resulting in nasty incidents when they unintentionally sneak up on and corner the leucrotta. Despite the common misconception, leucrotta do not exclusively target humanoid species, and the actual percentage of humanoid prey that the average leucrotta pursues tends to be only about 10% of all creatures it stalks.
The leucrotta is fairly territorial, and tends to have a wide range. Within roughly 25 miles of the leucrotta’s den, competing animals such as spotted hyenas, savannah lions, crocutta, and silver wolves will be unwilling to go, and the leucrotta will actively drive these other predators away (especially if it is a mother leucrotta with cubs). The male leucrotta typically has a slightly larger territory, overlapping with two or three of the females’ territories, and will father multiple broods in one season with all of these females. The females take care of the 1 to 3 cubs for the first four months of their lives—or until they are completely weaned of milk and on solid food—and for the next four months the male will return to each of his mates’ dens and lead the now large group of half-grown leucrotta cubs on a migratory trip through his territory, generally being responsible for teaching them how to dig their dens, how to hunt, and how to mimic voices. After about 8 months of life the young leucrotta are lanky but to their full height, and they will disperse into the surrounding area to try and stake out their own territories.