Hyaenodon

***Hyaenodon*** is a large dog-like predatory xenocreodont native to the Arctic Sector, or Borealia, of planet FMM UV-32. It is featured as a huntable animal on the Far North Tour.

## Biology

Comparable in size to the wolves found elsewhere in the Arctic Sector, the alien *Hyaenodon* of the dinosaur planet is one of the smallest predators available to hunt on the Far North Tour - yet this does not this lessen its ferocity. This small but robust predator specializes in bringing down herbivores larger than itself that prefer to flee rather than fight, such as *Macrauchenia* and *Diprotodon*, which it will dispatch using its bone-splintering jaws and teeth. *Hyaenodon* will usually target the vulnerable necks or heads of their selected victims, preferring to crush the skull or snap the neck with their powerful jaws for a quick and clean kill.

This hyena-like carnivore sports a thick coat of deep brown shaggy fur, which enables to survive in the frigid environment of Borealia, especially in the horrendous blizzards brought about by winter's wrath. In the summer months, however, these mammals shed their dense winter coats in exchange for a lighter and much more sleek fur coat - only to grow it back once more in the weeks before winter sets in again.

*Hyaenodon* are typically solitary hunters that prefer to keep their distance from one another, though these robust predators will occasionally form small, unorganized packs in order to bring down much larger prey than themselves, such as ailing or wounded adult *Megatherium*. Nonetheless, this behavior is very rare in the wild and has only been witnessed by human eyes on at least three separate occasions. Male and female *Hyaenodon* do mate for life, however, and will raise several litters of pups together in a single lifetime. Mothers and fathers alike are extremely devoted to the protection of their offspring, and will not hesitate to attack anything that even comes close to harming their defenseless pups until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

*Hyaenodon* are notorious for being among the stealthier predators on the Far North Tour; they have known to utilize their dark brown hides to camouflage themselves against the landscape to stalk human hunters virtually undetected. Once the time is right to strike, they will hastily charge seemingly out of nowhere and leap onto them, brutally tearing them apart. DinoHunt Corp therefore advises hunters in the field to stay extremely cautious and remain ever alert for even the slightest sign of a prowling *Hyaenodon*, especially novice clients on the tour.

Cranial scans have revealed that the *Hyaenodon* of FMM UV-32 possesses a similarly-sized brain in proportion to its body to the domestic dogs of Earth. Because of this discovery, there have been talks among a certain DinoHunt Corp subdivision about the future captive breeding and subsequent domestication of *Hyaenodon*. Potential uses for domesticated *Hyaenodon* would involve search-and-rescue missions, assistance with hunting quarry in the field, fending off predators, and perhaps even as just simple pets.

These talks have been rather controversial among the higher-ups of the intergalactic corporation, many of whom fear that they could potentially become an invasive species in another region of the planet if kept unchecked if domestication were to occur in the future, in a similar instance to what has happened with the illegally-introduced hounds in the Triassic Sector.