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Description
Saw Trey's youtube video about the cryptid Mothman yesterday evening: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w07gB…
Didn't have anything else to do and hadn't drawn in a few days so...

Giant false bat - Pseudochiroptera giganteus

Not a moth. Not a man. And also not an owl. Not even a bird.
Turns out Mothman is a mammal and quite an unusual one. It's closely related to bats and shares a lot of features with them. The biggest difference however is that it lacks echolocation and is a biped when not in the air.
Their behaviour however is more similar to an owl: this animal sits most of the time on high spots such as branches from where it can search for prey. They use their huge eyes and mask on their face to locate them and when that's done, they simply glide or fly soundlessly towards their victim to catch it with their feet. The teeth are then used to deliver the fatal bite.
On the ground they have to be careful though: they are light build because of the hollow bones and slow because of their extremely long legs connected to each other by a membrane. A cougar, wolf or even coyote can kill them if they aren't scared off by the huge wings. The giant false bat can take of fast though because it uses the same squad launch as its cousins. They feel the most comfortable in trees or cliffs where they can climb around without having to touch the ground that often.

When encountering a wild Mothman one has not to feel treathened at all. Yes, they are big, but they only hunt small prey. The biggest recorded catch so far was a fox, but the usual prey isn't bigger than a hare. Besides, with their huge eyes and excellent hearing they have spotted you long before you see them and they will hide or pull their wings over their face in an attempt to camouflage. One has to be careful though if there are pups around: the mother, who takes care of the one or two young alone, will try to chase of predators that come to close. This happened sometimes with people in their car driving through the woods. The pups were probably nearby on the ground or trees. They can't fly and are therefore very vulnerable if it wasn't for their excellent camouflage. However, the mother won't take any risks.
The earliest sightings caused the idea that Mothman didn't have a head and its eyes were simply placed on the chest region, but that's not true: the natural stance of the giant false bat is an upright position with a lowered head and raised wings.

Obviously, giant false bats are nocturnal and come rarely close to civilisation. You'll have to do your very best to spot one, but if you're in ones territory, camera traps are a good help. They also seem to be attracted by the noise of rattling keys, but that's not properly investigated yet.

Description
Saw Trey's youtube video about the cryptid Mothman yesterday evening: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w07gB…
Didn't have anything else to do and hadn't drawn in a few days so...

Giant false bat - Pseudochiroptera giganteus

Not a moth. Not a man. And also not an owl. Not even a bird.
Turns out Mothman is a mammal and quite an unusual one. It's closely related to bats and shares a lot of features with them. The biggest difference however is that it lacks echolocation and is a biped when not in the air.
Their behaviour however is more similar to an owl: this animal sits most of the time on high spots such as branches from where it can search for prey. They use their huge eyes and mask on their face to locate them and when that's done, they simply glide or fly soundlessly towards their victim to catch it with their feet. The teeth are then used to deliver the fatal bite.
On the ground they have to be careful though: they are light build because of the hollow bones and slow because of their extremely long legs connected to each other by a membrane. A cougar, wolf or even coyote can kill them if they aren't scared off by the huge wings. The giant false bat can take of fast though because it uses the same squad launch as its cousins. They feel the most comfortable in trees or cliffs where they can climb around without having to touch the ground that often.

When encountering a wild Mothman one has not to feel treathened at all. Yes, they are big, but they only hunt small prey. The biggest recorded catch so far was a fox, but the usual prey isn't bigger than a hare. Besides, with their huge eyes and excellent hearing they have spotted you long before you see them and they will hide or pull their wings over their face in an attempt to camouflage. One has to be careful though if there are pups around: the mother, who takes care of the one or two young alone, will try to chase of predators that come to close. This happened sometimes with people in their car driving through the woods. The pups were probably nearby on the ground or trees. They can't fly and are therefore very vulnerable if it wasn't for their excellent camouflage. However, the mother won't take any risks.
The earliest sightings caused the idea that Mothman didn't have a head and its eyes were simply placed on the chest region, but that's not true: the natural stance of the giant false bat is an upright position with a lowered head and raised wings.

Obviously, giant false bats are nocturnal and come rarely close to civilisation. You'll have to do your very best to spot one, but if you're in ones territory, camera traps are a good help. They also seem to be attracted by the noise of rattling keys, but that's not properly investigated yet.