Sabre-Tooth Bear

One of the largest land predators, the sabre tooth bear is around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall at its shoulder, but when rearing back onto its hind legs, these animals are nearly 2.2 m (7.5 ft) tall, making them tower over just about every sentient species in Aversia. Their upper canines are around 15 cm (6 in) in length, and slightly curved and serrated. They generally weigh in at around 363-453 kg (800-1000 lbs), with females being a little lighter than males, though it's never easy to tell just by looking at them. Their lifespan is around 20-25 years.

While they are bears, they have an almost hybrid appearance; they have larger ears, long tails, and more wolf-like faces than other bears, making them look like they are some sort of wolf-bear hybrid, though that is, of course, not the case. Their coats are usually a light brown color, with dark brown stripes along their bodies to help break up their shape when moving through the trees. They have long, sharp claws on all four of their paws, which they use to hold prey, and mark their territory on trees.

Sabre-tooth bears travel in small family groups, usually consisting of a male, and one to three females, along with their young. Male cubs that reach a year will leave the family group, and will sometimes join forces with other young males to form bachelor packs. These packs will often challenge older males to take over their females and territory, and it's around then that the bachelors will spit up. Female cubs will stay with the group until they are around two or three years before going off on their own.

What makes the bear unique, is a sealing enzyme in their saliva. When wounded, the bears will lick their wounds, and effectively seal them shut with a sticky substance that mixes into their saliva when needed. This helps to stave off infection, or blood loss, though it's only effective on smaller wounds. Deep, large wounds can be sealed somewhat, but not entirely, and still often leave them at risk for infection. The substance does help to heal the wound, but it doesn't instantly heal them, or increase the rate of healing substantially.

Distribution

Sabre-Tooth Bears are commonly seen inhabiting broad forests. They don't like the mountains, or the open plains, but they will travel there if food is hard to find in woodlands. They are considered to be rare.

Habitat

They sleep in dens dug out underneath the roots of trees, or tucked in small caves. Young cubs will often stay here with their mother until they are a little bigger, and strong enough to keep up with the rest of the pack. They return to the dens each night to rest, even if there are no cubs in the pack.

Diet

They are omnivores, though they are mostly predatory. The bulk of their diet is meat, and they favor antelope, though they will also eat smaller predators if their ideal prey isn't readily available. They will also eat berries and fruits, though this is only a small portion of their diet.

Relations

Sabre-tooth bears are highly aggressive animals, and this is double when there are cubs in the pack. A mother bear who has been separated from her cubs will do anything to get back to them, and this includes killing something or someone if they don't heed her threats. Males will also get aggressive towards other animals and people if they perceive them as a threat to their pack. This aggression is seen in cubs as young as six months, and as a result, the bears cannot be tamed or domesticated.

Mechanics

• Highly aggressive
• Saliva can seal wounds and help kick-start healing
• Live in packs
• Good low-light vision
• Naturally resistant to flame

Material Properties

• The Sabre-Tooth Bear hide is an extremely thick piece of material, and as such is naturally flame retardant and is great at temporarily protecting someone from the dangers of fire, if worn where it comes into contact with it.

Alchemical Properties

• The glands that produce the substance in their saliva can be harvested for a good regenerative effect. The glands are found underneath their tongues, and below their eyes, and require the bear to be killed to harvest. This saliva can further be refined to not only affect external wounds, but also internal ones.

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