Dino Dossier - Megatherium

Hi guys! Revealed in ARK Digest #12 was this cool beast! Megatherium is a giant sloth, but it looks more like a humongous bear!

This is actually one of the more interesting Dino Dossiers that have been revealed, so I decided to feature it in this Dino Dossier post!

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Basic Information

Common Name: Megatherium

Species: Megatherium formipavor

Time: Late Pliocene-Early Holocene

Diet: Omnivore (primarily herbivore)

Temperament: Passive, but aggressive to insects

Wild

Megatherium formipavor is one of the larger mammals on the island. This is most shocking because it is essentially a giant sloth... if you crossbred it with an elephant and a bear!

Domesticated

Megatherium is an incredibly useful creature to tame, so long as you don't intend to fight other tribes. Its enormity, high resistance to torpor, and voracious attitude toward insects (and arachnids) makes it ideal for farming large quantities of Chitin from the bugs of the island, or simply defending against them.

Others

Because of its size and girth, the Megatherium is uncommonly resistant to being knocked unconscious.

Despite being primarily a herbivore, a typical Megatherium is very intent on consuming the island's many insects. It is particularly adept at removing their insides without damaging the shell, maximising extraction of Chitin. The otherwise slow and peaceful Megatherium becomes faster and more aggressive in the presence of these creatures.

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[all information below to be updated once creature has been released]

Behaviour

Megatherium is a very interesting creature. It is normally a slow-moving and peaceful animal, but becomes especially hostile when it sees any insects or arachnids.

I wonder if this instinct still applies after the creature has been tamed... I would hope so!

Resources From Harvesting

Megatherium's size leads me to expect that it would drop a huge amount of Raw Meat and Hide. It is also possible that Raw Prime Meat could be obtained from it.

Taming Methods

Megatherium is extremely resistant to being knocked out. Survivors who wish to tame one should be prepared for a big challenge. Perhaps it would be easier to tame it by hand-feeding it?

Food

Megatherium is one of the few omnivores on the island. It is mainly herbivorous, grazing on plants, but it is more than willing to consume the meat of insects and other creepy-crawlies.

Being omnivorous, it would likely be possible to feed it a variety of foods from berries to meat.

Utility

Megatherium is likely to be able to harvest resources from dead bodies. Unlike many other creatures, however, it is possible that it would also be capable of harvesting resources from bushes and trees.

I do not expect it to be able to harvest rock-related resources.

The obvious combat use for the Megatherium would be to soak up damage and possibly dish out equally vicious attacks as well. Its huge size, thus large health pool, as well as high resistance to torpor makes it an effective choice to engage enemies in open combat.

Apart from combat, Megatherium is possibly best known for being able to completely obliterate insects, eating their insides and leaving their shells intact. This leaves more Chitin harvestable, thus maximising its yield! Megatherium would be an efficient way to obtain large amounts of Chitin.

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I'll be posting the Highlights for Digest #12! The Q&A will be pushed back till the weekend, so the post will be significantly shorter as compared to others of its kind!

-Skyhawk :D