#half proofread

Bear in mind that this isn’t really biologically feasible - they were reimagined a few years ago for a speculative cryptozoology art show I did, and I haven’t revised many things since.

Equanthera were originally created by some scientists in a lab to be candidates for xenotransplantation donors (putting animal organs/parts in humans). Mixing different animals together and adding in human DNA allowed the recipient’s body to better accept the new part. Being surrounded by human DNA, the organ will take the shape of the human organ and stay that way until pulled out of the body.

But some equanthera escaped, as things often do. Over the years, the equanthera evolved into something much larger and more aggressive. They were found and shot on sight by anyone adventurous enough to hunt one down. Those that weren’t shot were captured and sold as pets (often juveniles) on the black market, and were bred until the fancy equanthera came about (a much smaller version with more fluff.)

Equanthera quickly found that if they ate human flesh, they could take on a more human form. The human DNA merged with the already present human DNA in their bodies, and allowed them to physically change their bodies (note: there is a transfer of mass that doesn’t make sense…) They could take on the human’s form and blend in. Especially useful when hunters were around. The form would only last a few days to a week, depending on how much they consumed. They would often stash the body and eat it as needed. When the body decomposed too much, the equanthera would go in search of another human.