Horrane

The horrane, Phobocebus hamungulus, is a large, predatory, carnivorous, almost feline-like hominine great ape from the tropical grasslands of Africa, from After Man: A Zoology of the Future. It evolved from the common chimpanzee. This is a fact indicated by the way that the animal walks on the knuckles of its forefeet.

It leads a totally ground-dwelling carnivorous mode of life. Lying in the long grass, where it is camouflaged by its stripes and mane, it waits for its chief prey, the gigantelopes (namely tropical gigantelopes). As they pass by, the horrane leaps out on to the back or neck of its quarry, using its sickle-like claws to rip deep wounds around the neck and throat. Severely wounded, the gigantelope soon dies, providing a meal for the whole horrane family group.

As predators such as the horrane eat only the softer tissues and muscles of a gigantelope's belly and anal regions there is always plenty of meat left for the scavengers, such as raboons, gholes and birds of prey.