WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: The Owlbear

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures,

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<v Speaker 1>ideas and monsters in time. The owl Bear has a

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<v Speaker 1>long history in the world of Dungeons and Dragons, dating

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<v Speaker 1>all the way back to the gaming table of D

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<v Speaker 1>and D pioneer Gary Gygax, who was allegedly inspired by

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<v Speaker 1>the design of a Japanese Kaichu toy which he used

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<v Speaker 1>as a mini on his gaming table. You can look

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<v Speaker 1>up images of the toy, a slightly dirty beat monster

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<v Speaker 1>in yellow plastics, standing in the traditional stance of an

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<v Speaker 1>old school t Rex toy. Now you'll find various choices

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<v Speaker 1>of dedicated owl bear miniature today, as the creature has

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<v Speaker 1>become a standard of fantasy role playing adventures. A hulking,

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<v Speaker 1>flightless owl beast that stalks the forests, hunting anything that

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<v Speaker 1>moves and littering its layer with their bones. It is

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<v Speaker 1>not an evil monster, but rather a neutral denizen of

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<v Speaker 1>the fantastic forest. The fifth edition Monster Manual tells us

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<v Speaker 1>that while the exact origins of the owl bear are unknown.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two prevailing theories. Either a mad wizard spliced

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<v Speaker 1>an owl and a bear together into a single beast,

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<v Speaker 1>or it has simply always been a part of the

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<v Speaker 1>fay wild, which I guess is basically like saying it's

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<v Speaker 1>a naturally occurring organism. Fair enough, in the world of

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<v Speaker 1>dungeons and dragons, magic has an objective reality, as do

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<v Speaker 1>just about every god and devil you could possibly imagine.

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<v Speaker 1>But what fascinates me about the owl bear is that

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<v Speaker 1>none of that seems quite required. It feels highly probable.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a It's a whole different kettle of fish compared

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<v Speaker 1>to something like a beholder or even a fire breathing dragon.

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<v Speaker 1>It is, in essence, a large, flightless owl that has

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<v Speaker 1>come to fill the ecological niche formally occupied by a bear.

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<v Speaker 1>In the natural world, most bear species are omnivores, with

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<v Speaker 1>pandas and polar bears representing the dietary extremes on either

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<v Speaker 1>side herbivore and carnivore, respectively. It's implied that owl bears

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<v Speaker 1>are carnivores, but I think we can easily imagine them

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<v Speaker 1>obtaining nourishment. However, they can from freshly mald adventurers and

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<v Speaker 1>scavenged corpses to elvin combost bins, and maybe a few

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<v Speaker 1>fresh berries from freshly mald adventurers and scavenged corpses to

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<v Speaker 1>elvin compost bins, and maybe a few fresh berries. You

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<v Speaker 1>might counter that owls, on the other hand, are certainly carnivorous,

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<v Speaker 1>but the burrowing owl, which will chase its prey across

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, consumes fruit and seeds in addition to various

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<v Speaker 1>invertebrates and small vertebrates. The burrowing owl is still capable

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<v Speaker 1>of flight and will swoop down on its prey, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's scampering tactics make it perhaps the closest thing to

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<v Speaker 1>an actual owl bear in our world, despite its small size.

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<v Speaker 1>A more fitting match from prehistoric times, however, can be

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<v Speaker 1>found in the giant Cuban owl or orny megalonics, which

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<v Speaker 1>thrived on the island of what is now Cuba during

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<v Speaker 1>the late Pleistocene period. These owls measured three feet seven

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<v Speaker 1>inches or one point one meters in height and were

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<v Speaker 1>either flightless or nearly flightless. They are the largest owls

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<v Speaker 1>known to have ever existed in the natural world. The

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<v Speaker 1>giant Cuban owl and other large prehistoric birds, including the moa,

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<v Speaker 1>thrived on islands and continents that land mammals hadn't reached yet.

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<v Speaker 1>In these places, they filled niches typically filled by carnivorous

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<v Speaker 1>mammals and megafauna. So, as far as my thinking goes,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't need mad wizards to arrive at the owl bear.

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<v Speaker 1>We just need an ecosystem isolated from mammals in which

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<v Speaker 1>some manner of ground hunting owl can steadily adapt toward

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<v Speaker 1>filling the role traditionally occupied by bears. This would also

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<v Speaker 1>work if some previously dominant organism had been wiped out

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<v Speaker 1>and owls were able to move into that vacant niche.

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<v Speaker 1>But of course, in the world of dungeons and dragons,

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaurs and dragons coexists, so it's hard to imagine there

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<v Speaker 1>being too many opportunities for evolving organisms like this. So

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<v Speaker 1>maybe a mad wizard is required after all. Well, my

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<v Speaker 1>son Sebastian, who actually just gave me an owl bear

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<v Speaker 1>mini for Father's Day, suggests that it could have been

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<v Speaker 1>the work of druids seeking not to release a ferocious

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<v Speaker 1>monster on the world and challenge adventures, but rather to

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<v Speaker 1>bolster a challenged environment where perhaps Adventurers had wiped out

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<v Speaker 1>the bears, and there was this lovely niche that needed filling. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>why not the owl? Why not the Owl Bear? Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>to my son Sebastian for chiming in on this one.

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<v Speaker 1>Tune into additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week.

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<v Speaker 1>As always, You can email us at contact at stuff

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