Deathgleaner

The Deathgleaner is a huge, black, diurnal, highly predatory vesper bat, with a wingspan of 4 feet (1.3 meters), that lives in The North American Desert in The Future is Wild. It will hunt for live prey and even scavenge carcasses if it can.

High above the shifting sands of the North American Desert, deathgleaners can be seen hanging in the air, resting on updrafts of wind blown off the sandy ridges below. They circle like vultures, seeking an easy meal on the ground. Now and again, one wheels and banks, signaling to the others that it has found something. Soon, a large group will gather and prepare to feast.

In some instances, it is not food they will spot, but something on the ground that suggests food may not be far away. A deathgleaner's penetrating eye can note shuffling in the sand. It can be a desert rattleback on the move, looking for nourishment of its own. On occasion, deathgleaners will take a young rattleback, but this is not common - the rodent's armor is tough and unpalatable (they also will not risk tearing their fragile wings on an adult's sharp scales). Instead, the bat will follow the movements of a desert rattleback in the hope that it leads to an easier and more abundant source of food.