Craguar

Southern sky islands on the continent of Serinaustra, without repanthors to stalk them, host griffons instead. Fearsome sharp-beaked skuorcs with wicked claws and powerful legs, these nimble predators leap nimbly from one perch to another, aided by something that their foxtrotter equivalents must envy: a long, balancing tail. Eagle-like talons find a secure foothold in the stony surface of the mountain, as the graceful craguar, a relative of the earlier sphinx and contemporary fanguar, descends from comfortable resting places in thickets at the peak to stalk its giraffowl prey down on the steep crags.

Sleek and feliform, the craguar, which can weigh up to 100 pounds but usually tops out around 80, is not a heavyweight, but it is an agile and skillful hunter that can use its environment to its full advantage. It prefers to let its prey come close to it before lunging. It lies in wait at the top of the island, hidden behind plant cover, as a herd of scrucks ascend to the summit to browse the overhanging branches of its trees. The predator prefers to sneak up close to its victims and then strike by surprise, yanking them up from the drop-off and dragging them into the bushes. Once it catches one, the kill is easy; its beak crushes their throat, and the fragile prey is instantly subdued. But the tricky part is grabbing one; the skruck, its favpored meal, is rarely so abiding. Usually shy and wary, it more often sticks far down the cliffs, hanging in the most difficult to reach places. 

The craguar thus changes tactic. It descends headfirst, turning its hind feet around with flexible ankle joints and effectively hanging from the rock by its toes. It tries to remain out of sight, climbing alongside outcrops that block it from its prey's line of sight, and trying to sneak past them to get to a lower vantage. If startled from below it, the skrucks will flee down the mountain more easily than up, and fleeing on the cliffside, they scramble faster than their enemy can keep up. But if it can strike from below, they will find themselves more or less trapped on the summit, where the craguar is much quicker in a straight line. If circumstances simply don't line up in its favor, a hungry craguar may make a bolder choice to drop onto its prey from above and push it off the ledge with the force of gravity behind it, taking the chance that it may also be flung from the cliff itself. Its long tail and more flexible body mean it more easily rights itself in free-fall and can angle itself back toward the cliff before hitting the ground, while its prey is far less able to correct itself before crashing. If successful, the craguar then need only follow its victim down the cliff at a leisurely pace to collect its prize.