//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Dowman // Story: The Big Cats of Bakula // by PantheraMan //------------------------------// Once again, it was time to go get something to eat. However, Banda and Rainbow Dash, due to their injuries, couldn't come along, and this was a new region for them to be in, so someone had to stay at the cave to stand guard. "So...who's going to stand guard here?" asked Sunset Shimmer "Don't look at me, I can guarantee that there's at least one hunter out here that could kill me easily!" answered Tulu "Perhaps Applejack and Rarity and stand guard, after all, Applejack has that strength, and Rarity can just block anything attacking." Suggested Kama "I agree, now we'd better get going, the food ain't gonna get itself." Ordered Tulu As they were on the move, they were able to get a good look of their surroundings, wide open spaces, many trees, and then Tulu found a very peculiar hole. "Hey look at this thing!" "Tulu don't.." said Twilight However, she was too late when the hole turned out to be a geyser and hot water shot from the ground and Tulu went with it. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" When he fell back down and landed in the hole, he quickly got back out of the hole before he was in the air again. Later on, they managed to find a herd of elk grazing close to a huge river, they all crouched down, stalked the elk, however, this hunt was once again going to be ruined as they heard the sound of something big. Once the elk heard the sound, they ran off. "Wait, thunder? but there's no cloud in sight!" said Sunset Shimmer "It's not thunder silly! it's a bison stampede!" replied Pinkie Pie Pinkie ended up being correct, as a huge herd of bison was on the run, and right towards them. "RUUUUUUUUNNN!!!" shouted Kama They ran for their lives, and quickly climbed the nearest tree, and waited out the stampede. As for what caused the stampede, they saw a group of five big cats bringing down a bison. These cats were the size of tigers, had long tufts at the ends of their tails, had round ears, were light brown in color, and had faint leopard-like rosettes. "Oh of course, we try to get a meal, and these guys just had to get in the way!" complained Tulu who was still on the ground. As the cats were eating, it became clear that they would not make good dinner guests, as they swiped and roared at each other. "RRRAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH" "Well that's not very polite." Said Fluttershy "We could try to wait until they're done eating and take any leftovers." Suggested Sunset Shimmer However, the rest of the group cam to the kill site, and now the bison was covered in big cats. "On second thought, it'll take them a while to stop eating, we should head somewhere else." "Agreed" said Kama After they got out of the tree, they went east, and when they got to the river, they found a dead bull elk right next to it, but they also found another of the same cat species at the carcass, however, it was chased off by a huge brown bear that came charging from the woods, and the cat ran off. The gang decided that they were going to try to get the bear off the carcass, but of course Fluttershy offered to simply ask the bear to allow them to take some meat. However, the cat came back, and this time it brought two friends. When the bear realized it was outnumbered, it ran off, but the cats went after it. While the battle was going on, the gang quickly butchered the elk, got enough meat to satisfy everyone, and left. Meanwhile, the bear tried to fight with all his might, but he was no match for a trio of powerful big cats, and the battle resulted with the bear retreating. When the group got back to the cave, Applejack and Rarity were pleased to finally see some food, the meat was cooked, eaten, and everyone was satisfied. On that night however, the spear glowed again, and took them to a new cave in a new region, and on this night, a new killer was on the prowl. DOWMAN Height: 4 ft tall at the shoulder Length: 5-10 ft long Weight: Males are from 300-570 pounds while females are from 130-370 pounds The Dowman is the apex predator of the region it inahabits. Their diet includes elk, bison, pronghorn, deer, moose, and coyotes. They live in groups like lions, with one or a coalition of males defending the hunting ground while the females do the hunting. Groups can be anywhere from 2-20 members, and when it comes to competition, wolves will stay out of their way at all costs, cougars stick to the woods so they can make quick escapes up into trees from these cats, and brown bears will fight single Dowmans, but will avoid groups, and groups of Dowmans have been known to attack and kill both brown bears and black bears. Females can have anywhere from 2-4 cubs in a litter, and these animals really love to hunt at night, but will occasionally hunt during the day.