Manticores

Behavior: These creatures have been spotted in prides much like lions, but also in smaller groups and even alone. Manticores hunt much like mundane big cats, favoring stealth to sneak up on prey and then attacking without warning. As their teeth go for the jugular of their victims, their massive stinger upon their tail strikes wildly much like a scorpion's. Within the base of their tail are specialized organs which produce a paralytic venom to aid in subduing larger prey. It is not uncommon for members of a manticore pride to suffer wounds at the ends of their kin's stingers while taking down a kill.

Details: Although appearing soft at a distance, their fur is actually more bristly like that of a fine porcupine's quills rather than an actual pelt of fur. A manticore's teeth are also hollow, leading some to believe that there may be another form of poison incorporated into their hunting tactics than previously thought. Larger prides of manticore appear to be largely made up of males with a solitary female as the alpha, whereas singular roaming manticore are almost exclusively female. The distinction between male and female is that males grow a distinctive mane, whereas females exhibit sandy stripes along their body.(edited)