Teleraptor

The teleraptor was a type of telepathic bird-like animal native to the planet of Rigel VII.

A teleraptor was a bird of striking appearance, with dark brown feathers and a golden-brown crest, and many had faint gold highlights at the tips of their wings and in their tail feathers. Their talons and hooked beaks were also golden-hued. Their wingspans could reach up to 2 meters.

On Rigel VII, they usually inhabited wooded environments close to large streams and rivers, but could also often be found near villages, small colonies, and outposts. They constructed nests in tall trees and low cliffs, which they could defend and view their area. Teleraptors were solitary but mated for life; mated pairs hunted in unison and carried meat back to their nests. Offspring remained for six months within the nest.

Teleraptors were diurnal carnivorous predators and typically attacked at sunset, when they were camouflaged by dusk lighting. In particular, teleraptors were telepathic (though not sentient), and used their extrasensory perception to hunt for prey while flying widening circles around their nests. Upon detecting another mind, they dived and struck the prey with their claws, before stabbing with its beak at the face and eyes. They could even carry some prey up about 100 meters and drop it until it was dead. They preyed on fish, forest animals, and smaller birds, but were not put off by size; they occasionally attacked humanoids. This made venturing into the woods in the late afternoon and early evening hazardous.

Trained teleraptors could communicate basic needs like hunger, tiredness, or a wish to fly or hunt to their owners. Other telepaths could initiate limited communication with a teleraptor in return, and share a mental bond. They were a favorite pet of Orion merchant princes, who kept them as status symbols and employed them as psychic watchdogs against spies and assassins.