Monster Hunters Incorporated: The Truth Behind the Myths

MHI-004: Felisapiens

Though not many creatures have been known to be able to combat reptilians, a few species have been able to try. One of these species is the felisapiens.

MHI-004, also known as felisapiens, are a race of humanoid, cat-like creatures that occur on every continent except for Antarctica. They closely resemble a cheetah walking on its hind legs in appearance though there are some significant differences between the two. Felisapiens have hands where their front paws should be and the claws are almost twice as long as the average big cat. The body is also more robust and strongly built than a cheetah's though the head, face, and coat pattern are strikingly similar. It's this physical similarity, later combined with genetic evidence, that led scientists to believe that felisapiens and modern cheetahs shared a common ancestor.

Felisapiens usually only grow to the size of an average man but some males have been found to top off at a bit higher than two meters tall. They are voracious carnivores, able to strip a carcass clean in just half an hour. Their jaws are as powerful as a lion's and their sharp canines ensure a swift death. The claws are semi-retractable and can tear through skin and muscle easily. Felisapiens are remarkably strong, able to lift almost 1500 pounds, equivalent to five times its own weight. They're also extraordinarily quick over short distances, able to hit speeds of 90 km/h in just a few seconds. It's important to note, however, that felisapiens cannot run fast for long. If they haven't caught their prey in about twenty seconds or so, they call off the chase in an effort to preserve energy for the next hunt.

Like most cat species, felisapiens are completely solitary. Each felisapien has a home range of about thirty square miles but will usually only patrol an area about the size of ten square miles. The outer parts of the range overlap with the outer range of other felisapiens in case they are ever ready to mate.

When a male comes across a female, the male will sniff the air around her. The female secretes pheromones from her skin that indicate her age, size, sex, and reproductive status. If the male determines that she is a viable female he will attempt to impress her with a show of strength, usually by lifting something heavy above his head. If the female isn't impressed, she hisses at him and may even roar to show dominance. If she likes what she sees, she leads him to a small den where they will mate several times over the course of a few days. At the end of those days when the female's hormones tell her she's pregnant, the female will kick the male out of the den. This is where things get violent. The male never willingly leaves, so the female must wrestle him out of the den to keep it. Scratches, bites, bruises, and fractures are common but in this battle of the sexes the female always wins.

In about nine months, the female will give birth to a little furry cub. The baby will stay on the mother's milk for about a year before it starts to learn how to hunt on its own. Only two years after its born, it's the same size as it's mother. At age three, the mother finally leaves the cub to its own devices. Finally, at age five, they get a chance to repeat the cycle. Afterwards, life is usually short-lived for these animals. Felisapiens are tough animals that are regularly injured during their hunts for big game and fights with other top predators. This fast and furious lifestyle might be the reason that most of these animals don't live to see their tenth birthday.

Because felisapiens are found all over the world except Antarctica they do face plenty of competition from native predators. Wolves, bears, hyenas, and other big cats are usually their top competitors. Nowhere is the competition more intense, however, than in the wilds of North America. Humans, having evolved alongside felisapiens, have always known they existed and were accustomed to seeing them exactly the way they saw them. When the first settlers journeyed to the Americas for the first time, however, they came across quite a shock. There were felisapiens here too but they were twice as tall and far more muscular than their Old World cousins.

Until the late 1800s, no one knew why they were like this in North America. European and African felisapiens could easily take the big game there so people believed there was no need for the ones in America to grow bigger. The answer came with the renewed discovery of the reptilian species. This variation of monitor lizard also walks on two legs and lives in large groups called dwellings and, according to Native American tales, they often clashed with felisapiens.

Physical evidence for these encounters came when a wildlife ecologist out on a field expedition saw a large felisapien feasting on its kill. A pair of reptilians were attracted to the kill by the smell. According to the ecologist, he reported that the felisapien pointed its ears backward and snarled to indicate aggression. The reptilians hissed vehemently at it before all hell broke loose. The cat attempted to grab and kill one of the reptilians before the other latched on to the animal's arm and almost took a small chunk out of it. The two lizards attacked the cat again and again as it tried to fight back until it was finally driven off of its kill. The ecologist confirmed that this normal fighting behavior from reptilians would have killed an Old World felisapien but this New World felisapien was able to shrug this possibly lethal encounter off. The felisapiens in North America were stronger and tougher as a means of survival. Digging into the past also helps to reveal a trend.

Apparently, all felisapiens used to be this big because reptilians were just as widely distributed as they were. When the Ice Age allowed for the Bering Land Bridge to open up both species brought their conflict to the Americas. When the Ice Age ended, the bridge closed and the reptilians died out everywhere but in North America. No longer pressured by such intense competition elsewhere, felisapiens around the globe began getting smaller and more compact to take on smaller prey. The ones left in America, because reptilians had not died out there, stayed larger and stronger as a result.

The interactions between the two species are common and extraordinarily violent. Reptilians and felisapiens are both apex predators and clash constantly over food matters. Both will steal kills and, if they can, attempt to kill the other. Felisapiens have even been observed attempting to kill reptilian hatchlings and eggs and reptilians will take any chance they can to kill felisapien cubs. The winner of these bouts usually depends on the number of reptilians that show up to fight. One on one, a New World felisapien could easily kill a reptilian. In a group of two or more, however, the big cat would have more trouble. It's even been theorized that the social structure seen in reptilians may have arisen as an evolutionary response to the pressure from felisapiens.

Despite being found worldwide, felisapiens are facing extinction in some places. Human encroachment on their habitat coupled with competition from other native predators is beginning to signal their end in Africa and they have been completely pushed out of Europe. Australian felisapiens have been particularly hard-hit by the recent bushfires that plagued the outback. South American animals face another obstacle: deforestation on behalf of humans. The Amazon serves as a prime hunting ground for smaller varieties of felisapiens and their loss would represent a significant loss of biodiversity.

Indeed, it's only in North America where felisapien numbers are on the rise. This is believed to have something to do with the attempts made by the government to ensure civilians aren't attacked by reptilians. Usually when a reptilian dwelling is discovered, all civilians within a fifty-mile radius are evacuated and the borders to this zone are strictly protected. It's usually in these "safe zones" that felisapiens will attempt to set up new territories. This of course leads to more intense interactions with reptilians but seeing as the population in North America has remained steady since instituting the program it's believed that not much needs to be done.

Felisapiens are classified at Danger Level 2 in most places due to their avoidance of humans but are still able to pose a serious threat. The only exceptions to this rule are the felisapiens found in North America. It's believed they evolved to be bolder and more aggressive as a response to reptilians. Either way, New World felisapiens are classified at Danger Level 4. Most human interactions with New World felisapiens end up with someone in the hospital. For this reason, if any reports are made of one in the area, special forces are to be immediately sent to the location in an effort to capture, subdue, and inevitably transport the creature to a location where it will cause minimal harm to humans.