Muttation List

Sabertooth Bat- (Dead Trees, Pillars) At first glance, Sabertooth Bats appear to be regular bats. They come in various shades of black, brown, gray, and even reddish-orange, and dwell in similar types of places. If you saw one flying at you, though, the difference between the two species would be immediately apparent: protruding out of the mouths' of these Capitol muttations are two poisonous fangs that grow up to six inches in length. The Capitol combined the genes of large fruit bats, long extinct Sabertooth Tigers, and even a particularly venomous species of viper to create a creature with a wingspan of up to 6 feet with superior night vision, perfect for tracking rebels who may try to run under the cover of night. Their one weakness, though, is that somewhere in the mix they acquired glowing eyes; if you spot a luminous pair of orbs in the darkness, you may just have a chance to escape. (8 hp. No food classification.)

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Deadly Stallions- (Fall Trees, Oak Forest, Lake, Creek) Larger than your average horse, these mutts can travel at an extremely fast pace. Deadly Stallions were originally created by the Capitol as a mean of quieter transportation during the war. Their hooves are far stronger than that of a regular old steed, created by the Capitol so they could gallop over nearly any terrain. When rebels had began sneaking into Capitol areas and killing the mutts mercilessly, the Deadly Stallions' minds were configured to attack anyone who didn't fight for the Capitol on sight, posing as a potential threat to tributes. They are most likely found in shaded areas or near drinking water, ready to attack anyone who comes near. (35 hp. Classified as large game.)

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Hellhounds – (Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Creek, Pumpkin Patch, Grain Fields) Though they’re called hounds, these nasty little creations aren’t just canine. They were created for one purpose- to shred- and the jaws are all alligator, with sharp teeth and the muscles to slam their jaws closed on a piece of prey and toss it around until enough pieces fly off to kill it. The name did come from somewhere, though, and the majority of this mutt is in fact canine in origin. The creature looks like a monstrous wolf- strong fighter, enduring runner, and so dark an earthy green as to appear black. Just to add to the disturbing color factors, the eyes are more vein than sclera, turning them red. (That, like the green tinge to their fur, was actually a defect caused by trying to use such specialized alligator cells; it was originally going to be bred out, but enticed such fear in the Hounds’ prey that it quickly came to be regarded as useful.) The ears are long at birth and need to be cropped to keep from flopping dangerously close to the teeth; that trait is from the bloodhound genetics that allow the Hounds to track their prey even when it seems impossible to do so. (35 HP. No food classification.)

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Name of Mutt: Sleep Gliders / Snatchers of Heaven (5 HP. No food classification.)
Species of Animal used:
- Hooded Crow
- Bandicoot Rat
- Black Rat
- Common Raven
Habitat: Dead Trees, Pumpkin Patch, Pillars
Description: These ugly creatures only look like normal but larger crows or ravens from a distance, even cawing like them. Many a time, one can find them in the trees with their mostly black feathers (the bits of white body taken from the Hooded Crow); however, once they start to swoop in, Tributes could see the nuzzle sharpened by the Bandicoot Rat and curved to resemble the beak. If hidden in darkness, this ploy is perfect. Underneath the wings are the Black Rat's limbs, which the scientists have made sure to make big enough to be able to grab things. The bird's tail has been replaced by a very long rodent one that can be compared to as rope or a monkey's: able to tie objects up. The main color - of course - is black with spots of white. The mutt tries to remove suspicion by always turning to approaching Tributes - should they spot them - and straightening their tails horizontally. Their eyes are inherited from the rats; and, given they are supposed to blend like birds, they have no visible ears and talons are kept in check.

The birds used to be trained to steal food from rebel camps and, possibly, eat some to lay blame on any poor individual and cause civil war within the shelters. When the rebels caught onto their thievery and could spot them by the tails - one rebel would be in one direction and the other in the opposite - they began tricking them by poisoning bits of their food and having the mutts partake in them. The Capitol ceased the project; but, for the Games, they still continue their pilfering but can now also asphyxiate Tributes by - with their strong rat limbs - partial choking. Should a Tribute try to fight back, their long tails will wrap up the arms, immobilizing weapon usage and unarmed combat. Their only weakness would be to try distracting them with food, as was their original purpose.

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Name of Mutt: Black Curtains (4 HP, no food classification)
Species of Animal used:
- Black Widow
- Jumping Spider
Habitat: Pumpkin Patch
Description: The once former deadly Black Widow - fused with their jumping and less dangerous counterparts - have been gifted with two types of weaponry - one of the lethal kind and one of the blinding kind. Either way, their name encompasses what either does - shutting vision (permanently or temporarily) of the victim. One can tell which one does by the hourglass-tattoo on the abdomen. The brown hourglass denotes blindness; the green means death, which may seem misleading if one might think green means 'life' and brown/orange is defined as 'danger'. The rest of the body has retained the black widow's structure, with the eyes and fangs borrowed from the jumping spider.

By abusing the jumping spider's namesake ability, they jump or tether themselves to the future-victim and climb towards the eyes. While the person can easily kill these spiders, they tend to come in swarms, wanting to take out those that destroy their beautiful and succulent pumpkins. It seems like millions live in each squash, as, once they are broken open, a skitter of black dots the orange food. They - reaching at the eyes - dig their fangs anywhere at the eyeball - hopefully, to the Tribute, not anywhere on the pupil. The venom/poison takes about ten seconds to work in the system; and, if the venom was picked, the effect lasts for approximately three hours.

During the rebellion, they were used to do their thing towards the rebels foolish enough to cut open pumpkins, squash, and other produce in a surprise assault. Quite effective, the Capitol once took pride in these creatures, watching the chaos between death and blindness rob the rebels lives - as the Capitol would then send in soldiers to kill off the blinded, if the blinded didn't accidentally kill of their own cohorts in madness. One exploitation, however, brought the downfall of the Black Curtains: their susceptibility to water. While this is an old-fashioned weakness of any bug, the Black Curtains' web - used to tether to the victim - and their feet cannot keep a grip on skin if wet. When a rebel got soaked in water, the spider mutts would slip off almost instantly and be susceptible to a good foot stomping. It was not like their fangs - sharp and fine enough to pierce organs of sight - could penetrate rebel boots, and thus they met their demise to the rebellion, now only serving a purpose as Hunger Games mutts.

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Name of Mutt: Pounds / Trippers (2 HP. No food classification.)
Species of Animal used:
- Black Rat
- White-Throated Woodrat
- Brown Rat
- Polynesian Rat
- Giant Pouched Rat
- Laboratory Rat
Habitat: Pumpkin Patch (inside the pumpkins) or anywhere else.
Description: Pounds - or also Trippers - are what they are suggested to be: obese rodents weighing at around seven pounds per. Their fur and traits are mish-mashed from having so many inheritances from various rats, bearing weird patches of colored fur and a tendency to have one pointed ear and one rounded ear. Limbs are weak and stubby - in comparison to the overly-large body - but the teeth have been sharpened to pierce fabric and hook onto it. Tails are much like a whip's thickness, and they prove to be valuable to remain stuck to anyone. From the Laboratory Rats, red eyes exist in their sockets.

The Capitol used to have an idea that if the rebels couldn't move, they couldn't fight as well and be distracted to remove what added on extra poundage. This was the concept behind the Pounds; they would grip onto legs or arms (if somehow a rebel was stupid enough to want to swat at them) and latch onto them. The nickname of Trippers was derived from when rebels would literally trip due to trying to exert force to immobilized legs. As they come in much like an army invasion, the Pounds were hard to take out by single-shot bullets by themselves. The cunning rebels, however, got the upperhand on the Pounds by manipulating their stupidity and slowness in mobility: they had no idea which was enemy or ally. The over-sized rodents would latch onto anything that got in their way, even the Capitol's forces as the rebels ran past them, and thus ending some of their creators' allies' lives. They still hold their original purpose in the Hunger Games and are still just as stupid and slow.

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Pathfinder Bugs – (All areas) Pathfinder Bugs exist in swarms of hundreds. They are no bigger then a speck of dust and in daylight look almost identical to a swarm of gnats. The main difference is the sticky slime covering there entire bodies that gets left behind on anything they touch. The slime isn't toxic, but glows bright violet in the dark. Pathfinder Bugs are very attracted to the smell of sweat and will follow around a large mammal around for days feeding off it.
"Real World" uses: Not only do Pathfinder Bugs cause any human they're attached to to glow brightly in the dark, they also leave traces of their slime behind on anything around them they happen to touch. This creates a clear path to any human target. (N/A hp. No food classification.)

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Sheepish – (Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Pumpkin Patch) A dastardly blend of fox and sheep DNA, the Sheepish are as sly, quiet, and elusive as a fox. They have a very thick, fluffy orange coat, with the tail, snout and ears of a fox protruding from the woolly mass. Their teeth are incredibly sharp, although the cunning animals conceal them quite well, looking innocent and cuddly. The Sheepish were attempted to be bred as a food source; however the far too little meat that they produced was far too gamey for the Capitol people. The Sheepish continued to be bred for their bright orange wool, which is prized by Capitol fashion designers. (20 hp. No food classification.)

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Tree Rabbits - (Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Creek) Suprises of surprises, here we actually have a mutt that did what it was supposed to. These critters were bred as convenient food sources, and have done a phenominal job of living up to their expectations. Mostly rabbit, but with wings and hollow bones from the blended DNA of several birds, they live in or under trees. They are completely docile, allowing their breeders to kill them without fuss. However, their breeders must all but hand-raise them, as it takes some time for them to become accustomed enough to someone to allow close approach. When faced with strangers, especially loud ones, they are easily scared and will run or take flight, whichever gets them away faster. (N/A HP. Classified as Small Game.)

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Pygmy Cattle – (Oak Forest, Creek, Grain Field) One crazy Capitol scientist was working on a project attempting to develop cows that produced lactose-free milk, frustrated by his own lactose intolerance. On the front of it, his work seemed like a complete failure: the resulting cows produced no milk whatsoever, and, to top it off, were roughly the size of a house cat. However, the meat they produced was not only delicious, but the Pygmy Cattle were easier to keep in smaller spaces and produced much less in terms of byproducts. Unlike their giant counterparts, the miniature cows, however, are very skittish and actually burrow, much like rabbits. (N/A hp. Classified as Small Game.)

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Demo Deer – (Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Grain Field, Creek, Lake) The term "Demo Deer" --short for Demolition Deer--is actually a misnomer in the fact that these 'Deer' are not actually deer at all. Instead, this large species is actually a blend of moose and rhino DNA. These were developed to clear forests, fences, buildings, and the etcetera. They have giant antlers by their ears, as well as a large pointed horn in the center of their face. These 'Deer' have leathery gray skin, though have slender legs and a thin face. (35 hp. Classified as Large Game.)

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Alarm Owls: (Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Dead Trees) A blend of different owl species that, once it sees someone, will give a mournful, haunting hoot every five seconds. It follows the person around and hoots, while more alarm owls flock to the area, and all begin to hoot. They don't actually attack... but they can lead other predators to the area. These were initially developed to find rebel spies, soldiers, and the like and trail them until the owls made enough racket for them to be found.

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Mutt Contest Winners

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Name of Mutt: Hyord (Semper) (20 HP. No food classification)
Species of Animal used: Fjord horse; striped hyena; bloodhound.
Habitat: Fall Trees
Description: The Hyords that live in the fall trees are much like everyday fjord horses that live in the Districts -- the only thing different, however, is the the coloring, teeth, ears, and vocals. Along with the sandy color of a fjord, there are faint -- but still noticeable -- scraggly black stripes running vertically. There is a sort of black "mask" on its face, and its ears are wider than normal and also black. Their teeth are sharp and jagged like a hyena's, hinting at their love for flesh.

Hyords were created solely for the purpose of tracking down resistance groups, which is where the bloodhound comes in. Because the mutts travel in herds, the Capitol was sure that the mutant equines would keep the number of uprisers down; they circle around their prey, "dancing" -- or more like prancing -- giving eerie cackling laughter before shrinking the ritual-like circle. Hyords, though, prefer to track at night for unknown reasons.

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Name of Mutt: Tree Pecker (Greenbeads) (8 HP. No food classification.)
Species of Animal used:
Wood Pecker - The beak strength
Hawk - The size- the wingspan- the braun
Woodcock - The thin delicate beak for small "drilling"

Habitat: Oak Forest, Fall Trees, Dead Trees
Description:
The Tree Pecker is an advanced form of a Woodpecker. Like woodpeckers, they can peck holes into wood and so on. However Tree peckers are large and strong enough to "peck" entire branches off trees. In a flock they could peck at a tree and take it down. However the Woodcock's thin beak allows it to make very precise holes too. The Tree Peckers in a flock use the stronger blunter pecks while alone they tend to use the smaller functions.
They also have been gifted with strong talons that grip wood well, and can crush smaller branches.

They are able to fly long distances to reach their destination given by the Capitol.

These Tree Peckers are brown in color, though they come in many different shades. The females are usually lighter in color but bigger in size. One trait that separates the Tree Peckers from normal birds found in nature are the red markings. They have red feathers at the base of the beak and in a ring around their neck. Red runs along the top of their wings and colors their talons.

During the rebellion, the Capitol dispatched these mutts mostly in the District 7 region were rebels would hide in the trees to take their attackers by surprise. They can peck a hole in a branch someone is sleeping on and never wake them up and send them to the forest floor before they know what happened.
With those powerful beaks these babies can do a number on someone face.

After getting a rebel out of a tree the bird(s) would swoop in and peck at their face and dig their talons into their limbs. Most of the rebels died of blood loss from these attacks, those who lived were scared and there are cases of people even losing limbs.

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Name of Mutt: Ouroboros (Xeniaph) (15 HP. No food classification.)
Species of Animal used:
Anaconda
Porcupinefish
Armadillo

Habitat:
Grain Fields, Pumpkin Patch, Lake, Creek

Description:
Created after the alchemical symbol of the Ouroboros, a serpent which bites its own tail, the Ouroboros muttation is a serpent about the size of the average Anaconda. It's skin is a rich yellow—you could even called it gold—and made up scale-like structures called scutes, the same type of plating on the backs of armadillos. The entire shell of a turtule is actually one large scute.

When the scutes come into contat with certain oils on the surfaces of organic matters such as human skin, the hair of certain animals, and multiple types of wood, it causes an allergic reaction that spikes the skin of the ouroboros into hundreds of spines which quickly excrete a poison called tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin is a powerful neurotoxin. It's powerful enough to kill, by paralyzing the diaphragm or, alternatively, the muscles that pump the heart. This method is also how they catch food. Moreover, certain psychological implements cause them to coil up around objects in a way similar to the actual legend. However, because of the weight of the ouroboros, due to older genetic engineering, it rarely moves move than a few feet every day.

Real Life Use:
When the cost of labor became incredibly high during the Panem Wars, it was hard to afford guards and labor. Therefore, the ouroboros was created: it's deadly allergic reaction to people, messenger animals, and other material was invaluable. They were positioned everywhere. Simply because they became to expenisve to mass-produce and the inexpensive costs of other, more effective traps, they aren't commissioned for anymore. However, certain biologists and many, many geneticists still keep specimens and samples.