Carnivore (Shakespeare's Planet)

Carnivores are a sapient predatory species which hails from an unknown planet. Their culture revolves around hunting the most challenging prey they can find.

Biology
Carnivores are bipeds, comparable in size to an adult Human. They are covered in fur, with the exception of their heads, which are naked like a vulture's head, with skin stretched tightly over the skull. They have a long snout with powerful jaws and fangs so long as to be comparable to a sabertooth tiger's. Their ears are likewise long and pointed, with bright red tassles at the tips. Their arms don't end in hands, but in clusters of tentacles.

Carnivores eat raw meat and see no point in cooking it. They drink by scooping up water with their tongues like a cat, and can run on all fours when pursuing prey. Their vocal apparatus is capable of producing Human speech, even though the reverse doesn't seem to be true.

Although they can survive in the same environmental conditions and eat the same food as Humans, Carnivore physiology is distinct enough that cryogenic procedures that work harmlessly on Humans would probably kill a Carnivore.

Culture and society
Carnivores are wholly dedicated to the art of killing, which is treated with a religious reverence by them. Rather than hunting indiscriminately, they restrict themselves to the most dangerous and challenging prey available, and consider everything else unworthy of their time and skills. To kill a helpless creature would be extremely shameful, while to slay a much larger opponent in hopelessly mismatched combat would bring a Carnivore much glory, even if the Carnivore dies in the attempt. In fact, they consider this the only worthy kind of death for a self-respecting warrior. Individuals who travel from world to world hunting the deadliest native prey become celebrities in their culture.

Carnivores wear no clothes and have no sense of aesthetic beauty, seeing no value at all in objects such as gems. They believe in ceremonial magic.

Appearances

 * Shakespeare's Planet, by Clifford D. Simak (1976)