Large carnivorous lake-dwelling creature with dog-like face, large tusks, sturdy webbed feet, short otter-like fur, and bear-like body

A Bunyip is a large carnivorous lake-dwelling creature, with a dog-like face, large tusks, sturdy webbed feet, short otter-like fur, and a body much like that of a great bear. It may be found in lakes and rivers in the remote wilderness, and also in underground pools and lakes. A bunyip is very aggressive and will usually attack anyone who wanders into its territorial waters.

The bunyip is a fierce and avid hunter, possessing a primal ruthlessness that seems almost evil in its rapacity. A bunyip typically inhabits large freshwater inlets, marshy sloughs and bayous, or sheltered coastal sea caves where food is plentiful-the bunyip is equally at home in fresh or saltwater.

It prefers feeding on animals of Small size or larger, though it isn't averse to eating humanoids when presented the opportunity. Bunyips are quite territorial, and readily attack when intruders threaten their hunting grounds. Bunyips mate annually, during the late spring. During this period, bunyips become even more aggressive. After mating, couples split, with the female wandering off to find a place to birth a small litter of four to six pups. Females watch their pups for a few days, until they become independent enough for the mothers to move on.

Adaptable. Reports of bunyip sightings come from every end of the map. Though the accuracy of all such reports remains doubtful, enough reliable accounts exist to confirm their widespread adaptability. The species thrives in numerous ecological climes, from frigid polar fjords to idyllic tropical lagoons. The bunyip is not a deep-sea creature, and even avoids larger freshwater lakes, as it prefers to lurk near shorelines where its favorite food is more common.

Bunyips vary in appearance as much as they do in their habitat. All possess a similar physical structures to a large seal, with an oversized mouth filled with sharp fangs. All bunyips have at least a thin layer of hair, generally longer and shaggier in freshwater bunyips, and usually in shades of pale gray, brown, or black.

While bunyips can survive equally well in fresh or saltwater, those dwelling in the ocean have developed somewhat differently from their cousins that live close to land.

Oceangoing bunyips usually have a thick, muscular tail ending in wide flukes and jaws that seem almost shark-like.

Their flippered forelimbs are strong and sharp-edged, while their rear flippers are vestigial and weak.

Freshwater bunyips by contrast have vaguely canine heads, often with large fangs or even tusks. Their tails are long but much slimmer, with very small flukes sometimes covered in a tuft of hair. However, they retain four strong flippered limbs, splayed like webbed fingers and tipped with stubby claws, and have proven to be surprisingly clever and dextrous in using them.