Jungle Demons

A group of predatory species that have been recorded to be native primarily to the lush jungles across Vikacion, with occasional sightings reported in other regions. They are highly active, and will hunt down their prey in packs of up to a dozen separate adult individuals. Due to their highly territorial nature, contact between them and humans or the other sapients native to the regions around which the Jungle Demons can be found. As such, this report is as much a product of speculation about them as it is from direct evidence.
The contents of this report are being sent out to every settlement close to regions where Jungle Demon populations have been confirmed, as well as regions where sightings have been reported. When new information is discovered that is of important note, the report will be resent to everywhere with the new information added and any outdated information removed.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Anatomically, Jungle Demons seem to combine traits found in a number of separate mammal and reptile species, including wolves, cats, apes, snakes, geckos, and marsupials. When seen from a distance, they would appear to look most like a mixture between a wolf with more ape-like proportions, and are slightly taller in their apparent height to that of an average human when standing straight on the ground. They are usually on all four of their major limbs when on the ground however, leaving them at roughly the height of a human's shoulder.
Their head is largely wolf-like, albeit with a thicker snout, slightly larger eyes, thicker looking teeth, and a much longer tongue. They have been seen to be able to open their mouth up to ~100^o, and observations of them hunting have seemed to show evidence of potential venom glands contained in or around their jaws. (Later autopsies of recovered bodies have confirmed this, with venom glands having been found near the base of the jaw, forward of the ear and behind the eye, below both.) Their eyes are capable of highly accurate night vision, similar to that of various big cat species.
Their body is heavily built, with thick muscles across their chest leading to their four arms. Their waist is similarly muscular, with thick muscles leading to both their legs and tail. Their skin is thick and covered in a dense coat of short gray-brown fur, with a patch of longer furs running down their spine from the base of their neck to their tail. On their stomach, the females feature a pouch, similar to that of several marsupials, in which they hold their young after they are born. They have two major arms, which have a shoulder structure similar in structure to that of various ape species, which are long enough to have end at their knees if they were standing straight up. They additionally have a pair of secondary arms emerging from their chest, which are much shorter than the main arms, only reaching to around their waist. These arms have a much more limited range of motion, and are significantly weaker than their main arms are.
The main arms are well muscled, and end in a four fingered hand-paw, with a fifth digit having been reduced to a dewclaw on the inside part of their arm. The outer two fingers are capable of rotating around to function as a pair of thumbs on either side of the middle two fingers. Each finger has a claw on their final segment, which is capable of being partially retracted into the finger itself. The hand-paws are proportionally larger in relation to their body than those of humans and many other sapients. The minor arms end in similar hand-paws, sized proportionally to the main arm hand-paws.
The legs are digitigrade in structure, and end in four-toed feet, the innermost of which is positioned slightly further back than the other three. This toe is capable of being used as a semi-thumb, allowing grasping of branches with the feet as well as the hands. Each toe ends in a semi-retractable claw, similar to the fingers. The feet are larger in proportion to those of humans and several other sapients.
The tail is long, densely furred, and semi-prehensile. The fur is patterned in a series of alternating stripes of darker and lighter fur. Additionally, the tail appears to serve as a place where excess fat is stored, similar to a number of other animal species, which is used in times where a pack has a string of bad luck in hunting to ensure that they don't starve.

Genetics and Reproduction

Reproduction of Jungle Demons occurs in a process that would be recognizable to most sapient species, with structures and activities involved in the process most resembling that of humans. The mother will have a gestation period of roughly 4.5 months, after which an average of two young are born. These exit her womb directley into the pouch on her stomach, where they will nurse and live for another 5-6 months. Once they are able to hunt and move about on their own, they are no longer held in the pouch. The mother still appears to care for the two offspring for another two years roughly, during which time she doesn't mate. After this, the young are typically either driven from the pack into the jungle if male, where they will either die or find a new pack, or accepted into their familial pack if female.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Jungle Demons are strict carnivores, and have been observed hunting numerous animals in the jungles that they inhabit. While solitary or young individuals will primarily target smaller or isolated prey items, packs will typically target groups of animals close to their own size or animals many times larger than themselves. They hunt by stalking through the canopy, before dropping onto their chosen prey and delivering bites to areas around the neck, face, or spine. They then will typically retreat as their venom takes into effect.
(Important! There have now been confirmed reports of Jungle Demon packs hunting and consuming sapients that live near their territories. It is vital that settlements near these areas take extra precautions from this point on, especially at night!)