Lifeforms · Fauna · Tundra/ Arctic
Polar Horror
The Polar Horror is one of the most feared predators of the Northern Polar Icefields, because of it's speed and because it has no fear whatsover of Man...
Full Description
A fullgrown Polar Horror is a real sight to behold, a mighty worm up to ninety feet long and six feet wide, covered in thick white fur, with claws all over it's body with which it pulls it's way through the snow. The head end is armoured, with several small eyes and a large mouth packed with leeching tongues and razor-sharp teeth and fangs, and except when asleep, it is almost constantly hungry, or collecting food for it's young.
These alpha predators live only in one region, near a chain of dormant volcanos.The heat from these has created a small stream with a temperate area on each side and it is here that the Horrors lay their eggs. Three months later they hatch into little furry snakes. Their first meal is the yolk for their eggs, their next, each other. When the hundered or so babies have dwindled in number to ten, they stop eating each other and feast on what their parents bring them, chomping through it like gigantic maggots.After two years, by which time they have reached the size of a full-grown anaconda, they slither off into the snow to hunt for themselves.
The Horrors burrow through the snow searching for living prey. They have hairs and special flattened ears on their back as well as a clear sense of smell, which can pinpoint any prey by either smelling them or listening to the sound they make when they move. They *target* them and then rise below them, bursting from the snow and biting. One bite is normally enough to kill most prey, which includes polar bears, penquins, birds where possible, and humans.Even a fully grown woolly mammoth can fall victim to one of these, in which case the Horror bites a large chunk out of it, then submerges into the snow and waits, vulture like, for it's victim to die.
They need to eat a lot to provide the energy which warms their bodies and their armoured heads above zero, enabling them to melt their way through the snow and to avoid perishing in the cold.A Horror who does not eat for more then two days at a time will get ill and if it does not get food soon,will die. If two Horrors of the same gender meet, they will fight bitterly over territory and the loser is often killed and eaten.If two Horrors of a different gender meet, they will either fight, retreat, or court and mate. They mate for life and will hunt together and bring up their young together.If they escape a violent death, or starvation, they can live for up to a century, in which case the one who dies first will burrow to the surface just before death, so that it's mate may eat it's body, it's final gift.
Additional Information
One thing the Horrors do fear is fire, as even small burns, should they hit an eye, can cripple it, and a large enough burn wound will not heal because of the way they move through the snow and may lead to death. Their fur, which thick enough against many weapons,is not proof against fire, and whilst they can shed it if it starts burning before the flames can affect a large area, the skin underneath will face tearing and frostbite from the snow and ice.
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Kinda reminds me of a arctic form of the Tremors grabboid. Presentation is good, and the idea of the horror molting out of it's fur to escape flame like a snake shedding its skin was interesting.
It's not easy to be a Horror these days:)
Me like. Nice presentation, there is a few holes in the information abput the Horror.
Almost like you rushed a few parts a little. Anyways, this is a good solid post.
Good - I like the idea and it's well-presented, particularly some of the facts about its young. From the ecological point of view there are at least a couple of flaws:
a) There is no way an arctic environment could sustain such a predator. There is just not enough food. Whilst normally we can say, 'oh well, OK, it's fantasy', the fact that it has to eat every two days meant I really couldn't ignore it: most top predators can go a long time without eating and, in general, the bigger the creature, the longer they can go (though they can gorge themselves when they do eat, e.g. eating a couple of mammoths).
b) Coupled with this, it would need an absolutely enormous range. This would just get worse if two of them were hunting together. Perhaps, if they mate for life, they do not always hunt together, but just for a short period; however, every year when they return to the volcanoes, they seek out the same partner and hunt together again as part of the mating ritual.
Finally, a question. When you say it burrows through snow, can it go through solid ice too (e.g. a polar icecap)?
Ian, you're right. In real life they would either need to eat far less, or they would starve.
And I do see them as tunneling through ice too.
Living next to artic volcanoes, sheer brilliance. Okay, shameless self congratulations aside, I like it. There are some problems, but none I canât work around.
Reminds me of the Remorhaz!
I really liked this one, I imagine them having huge ranges and constantly moving like 'snow sharks' ? Do they venture into the sea? How long do they live?