Monster Hunter When Fantasy Comes To Life

Blos

With so few food options, Diablos must regularly travel long distances to find their meals. Of course, this exposes them to the sun, putting them at risk of overheating and dehydration. But this is where their burrowing abilities becomes helpful. By digging below the earth, Diablos are able to travel between cactus patches without exposing themselves to the heat.

Unfortunately, there is one major drawback to this method of locomotion. It consumes a lot of energy. Even with their blunt, shovel-shaped claws, powerful limbs, massive horns that are capable of breaking and removing obstacles, and efficient respiratory systems which prevent them from suffocating even while closing their nostrils and holding their breaths when burrowing, Diablos continuously use up their energy to get for one area to the next.

To retain as much energy as possible, Diablos have wide mouths that allow them to maximize their intake when eating, as well as large wings to shed excess body heat, despite being useless for flying or digging. These animals will also travel above ground during the night when temperatures are cooler, and specifically target areas with looser soil, as it consumes less energy.

Although Diablos primarily burrow to travel, their actions can actually change the physical property of the soil. They affect how water is filtered through the ground, what type of plants can live in the area, and where nutrients can be found. In addition to this, the tunnels and caverns that criss-cross their territories act as highways and microclimates for other species.

Even plants benefit from these subterranean catacombs since Diablos who travel from one point to the next after feeding disperse the plants' seeds over a wider range than if the animals stayed above ground. However, even with this unintentional gardening, Diablos can still have a hard time getting food.

Due to the rarity of large clusters of soft vegetation in the area, Diablos will ferociously defend their patches from rivals. Even other species aren't safe from these territorial animals who will charge at anything that looks like a threat to themselves or their food source.

Anything that's unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of the Diablos' meter long horns is sure to be gored and/or sent flying. There have even been reports of these animals throwing creatures of similar sizes over their shoulders.

Of course, this brings up the question of how these behemoths are able to perform such incredible feats of strength. The answer actually lies in the large, singular humps located over their shoulder blades. Similarly to the bisons, these humps act as the muscle connection point on the spine for multiple anatomical features.

One of these muscles, the nuchal ligaments, connects skull and spine and permits vertebrates to keep their head up. In the case of Diablos, these tendons have to be massive to allow them to carry their heads. In addition to this, their humps also act as important connection points for a multitude of muscles which joins their scapulas and forelimbs. Depending upon their sizes, this will determine how much power and how long the forelimbs' strokes will be. All together, these seemingly innocent features are what makes Diablos so immensely powerful.

It's also this strength which helps Diablos settle territorial spats, with the combatants regularly charging into head-on collisions, hitting each other with their clubbed tails, and locking their horns together in pushing matches. Despite being quite violent displays of strength, it's uncommon for Diablos to severely injure each other and incredibly rare for them to kill their opponents. Most of the time, damages that are received will only consist of bruising and scratches, though on rare occasions, the duels can end in one of the participants loosing a horn.

The reason why these fights rarely cause notable damage to the participants is because of the horns themselves. Because of their position and how they point forward, it's hard for Diablos to deliver a killing blow to their rivals' neck. In addition to this, the tips are blunt because sand and dirt wore them down, making it even less likely that fatalities would occur.