Future Predators

**Future Predators**, sometimes shortened to simply **Predators**, are a large species of bat which has traveled through time anomalies many times, being reported by the UK Anomaly Team more times than any other species. A mutated variation of the species, known simply as Mutated Future Predators, also exists.

## Physiology

DNA analyses have been taken of the Future Predators and have returned evidence that they are descendants of an unspecified or unknown species of bat, which over the millennia have grown enormous and hairless, with their wings atrophying to better allow for typical terrestrial movement. However, they have retained their ancestor's echolocation in order to find their prey.

Adults stand at 2.5 meters tall and weigh approximately 500 kilograms. Holding themselves in a great ape-like stance, they can briefly stand on their hind legs to use their fore limbs. Their mouths are full of vicious-looking teeth and their feet sport sharp claws, all of which they will use to slice into a victim's jugular and flesh during an attack. Unfortunately for their victims, they are also incredibly swift, able to run at speeds estimated around 125 kilometers per hour and are capable of leaping distances around the length of a tennis court. Likely due to their chiropteran physiology they are excellent climbers, leaping between trees and building walls with ease and at great speeds; they are even able to scale said walls. Despite all of these traits their species are not particularly muscular and are forced to rely more on speed, agility and acrobatics over sheer strength to take down their prey. They are susceptible to being crushed by something weighing about as much as a Gorgonopsid.

Surprisingly, unlike their bat ancestors Predators do not use their nose and ears to intercept echolocation sounds emitted, but instead have adapted a melon organ more akin to that of dolphins. Their head has elongated and due to a total reliance on their melon organ, their eyes have apparently completely atrophied, while their ears have rotated to the front and center of the face in order to give a more directed and precise interpretation of the signal delivered.

Sapient foes are able to scramble the Predator's echolocative abilities with simple cleverness. Examples of this is busting the glass out of a greenhouse to jumble its sonar echoes or amplifying iPod music through boombox speakers, causing them significant pain.

## Society

Unlike their lesser ancestors, Predators only live in partnerships of a mated pair instead of colonies. Offspring are kept in safe, abandoned areas until they mature while the female hunts prey to bring back to their ilk and the male protects the nest. If the young are endangered, both parents will ruthlessly protect their offspring at all costs.

The reactions of their young has varied greatly: When endangered, one reported group of young let out a high-pitched squeal in order to alert any nearby adult Predators, whom would then locate the sound, aborting whatever they were previously doing to assist the distressed youth. In direct contradiction to this however, another group would pursue potential threats, attacking anyone passing by. This group violently defended themselves by lashing out against victims. Why this variation in personality is not understood.

Despite no longer existing in colonies, they do share some degree of affiliation with others of their kind, though the level of this varies to a degree: They have been reported to work together in large groups, surrounding the prey before attacking it and ripping them apart and devouring the remains. There have been no known conflicts between "regular" Future Predators.

## History

The history of the Future Predators has been altered a number of times, yet have continued to evolve despite this, indicating that they seem to be "destined" to exist in the future.

## Trivia

The Future Predators are similar to a species of predatory bat showcased in Dougal Dixon's book, *After Man: A Zoology of the Future*.