The Bone Bandit

Some Cryocene animals struggled to adapt to the Thermocene, as the climate warmed rapidly from its previously cool average and the chilly polar regions blossomed into lush and more vegetated subtropical plains and forests. But the boarbird - itself a highly opportunistic omnivore with a penchant for eating the young of its own parent species the canaribou - has managed just fine. Over the last 35 million years, these vivas continued down their novel route as increasingly small and cursorial carnivores. During the late Cryocene, their ability to run for long periods, freedom from dependence on grazing and opportunistic ability to scavenge whatever they came across allowed them to cross seasonal sea ice across the northern ocean, reaching the island continent of North Anciska. They thus survived the explosive and devastating burst of volcanism that occurred in Striata, kickstarted the Thermocene, and caused the extinction of the other canaribou species. And though the new and unusual line which would be known as gruffs remains isolated upon North Anciska today, they face few competitors here and so thrive as the dominant predator guild there. They are now highly cursorial, with nothing left of the wings but small stumps but very long hind limbs, and their jaws are still sharply cusped and well-suited to grab prey and tear flesh. Mostly solitary, they represent a remarkable shift of form and function from their early Cryocene ancestors that lived in herds and fed upon low-growing plants.

There are a few species of gruff on North Anciska today, the largest being only two hundred and fifty pounds, paltry compared to its ancient half-ton ancestors. But gruffs' size reflects a trend across this island continent, where all of the available prey today is relatively smaller too, no longer needing such massive bodies to keep warm in a milder climate. Additionally, gruffs must be lightly built, as they are pursuit hunters, capable of following herds of other flightless birds long distances until the weakest falls exhausted at the back and can be captured. As individuals invest so much energy into a single kill, they do not like to share and all gruffs are territorial, though it is not rare for them to chase prey outside territorial boundaries and run into conflict with each other.

Not all gruffs are active predators though. The hooded bone bandit is the smallest of all, weighing only sixty to eight pounds and standing just three feet tall. Closely related to a slightly larger species known as the common bone bandit, the hooded is nonetheless the most specialized member of the gruff lineage, for it is a nearly obligate scavenger. The quickest and most agile of all its group, it is able to supply most of its caloric needs simply by running in and stealing scraps from under the nose of its relatives.

The hooded bone bandit locates carrion with a powerful sense of smell, and runs along the plains wherever it smells another gruff has made a kill. The rightful owner will invariably be protective of its meal, charging the bandit if it approaches, but so much more nimble is this small and sneaky animal that it returns again and again, having the advantage of being fully rested with all its endurance available while the hunter is already exhausted from its prolonged chase. Once the hunter relents, the hooded bone bandit snatches a mouthful and runs to a safe distance to consume it, repeating whenever the predator lets down its guard for just a moment. The feathers on its face are very thin and sparse to prevent soiling with the entrails of the carcasses it feeds on but also to let it radiate excess heat; feathering has also been reduced or lost on the breast, stomach, and the legs from the hip down for this purpose in not just this species but all gruffs, to better stay cool when hunting during the middle of the day.

Even when the rightful hunter has its fill and leaves the kill, though, the bone bandit can still find use to the remains, for it is now the best adapted of all the gruffs to consume the hardest and least desirable remnants. The beak cusp closest to its face is now especially prominent and adapted to hold and splinter the thick leg bones of the local herbivores in order to access the nutritious marrow. This allows the hooded bone bandit to function as the clean up crew of the northern grasslands.