Sabretoothed cats, Elk AND Woolly Mammoths... You cannot include these extinct beasties wihtout their good buddy Coelodonta antiquitatis, think about how awesome it would be to stumble across the territory of an advlt male Woolly Rhino and have him charge at you and try to tear you a new rectum!!

It needs to happen! Sabretooth = 3/5 awesome pineapples on the extinct animal scale, Elk = 2.5/5 and Mammoths = even a 4, but Woolly Rhinos are freaking awesome and top the lot with a 5/5 awesome pineapples!!!

And where are the Buffalo, Camels, Giant Short Faced Bears, Giant Ground Sloths, Great Auks, Paraceratheriums (largest terrestrial mammal ever) or mega sized eagles like Haast's Eagle of New Zealand? And not to forget the smaller animals: Cavies, Mongoose, Water Dragons, Water Rats, Stoats and Boars? Hell even put in a freaking Duck-billed Dinosaur (7/5 awesome pineapples)!!

Ok so there is a piont to this madness! An open world game where one can explore the open lands needs a good atmosphere to engage a player, so getting that "realism" into the game is essential. For example having a functioning ecosystem in play, where you can come across a Sabretooth or Haast's Eagle (seriously check it out this thing is awesome - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haast%27s_Eagle) hunting an Elk or Vultures scavenging on a dead Rhino carcus, really makes the world feel alive. ie. you being a part of the world rather than the player feeling like centre of everything happening. Red Dead did this really well with mountain lions attacking travellers or random birds flyring around or scattering when you come near. So anyway i hope Bethesda can include all this to make Skyrim so much more engrossing.

Morrowind's unique wildlife really captured my imagination, so i hope Skyrim's is unique too! Like some crazy hairy Buffalo-Komodo Dragon-Elk hybrid or Vulture-Bear-Sloth hybrid, i dunno but it needs to be unique after the borefest of Oblivion!

SO i was wondering what experiences other prospective Skyrim players are hoping to enjoy in the mountains and valleys of Skyrim come 11.11.11?? I'm thinking of things like hunting a little furry critter and then following it into cave only to be confronted with a big Mofo furry critter that didn't like you chasing it's kid: Things that will drag you deeper into the world.

Discuss!

If there are Hasst's eagles can I throw heated river rocks at them, so that they eat it and explode?
(I was probably thinking of a different extinct bird from New Zealand, but my point still stands.)

We can hope. On a similiar note: if i can't light a Woolly Mammoth on fire there will be hell to pay!

Giant Sloth>all

Point of interest, Elk are not extinct. Unless you are thinking of a specific species. I've got megaloceros in mind or the Great Deer with gargantuan antlers, heh. But yes I agree with you. I'd like to see large ravens myself. And of coarse creatures derived from prehistoric animals but that don't or didn't exist in this world, and are unique to Skyrim.

Aurochs to that :frog:

I Still want a Mudcrab army anything else is just is just trying to stray me away from my idea. <_< ..... But a Woolly Rhino wouldn't be so Bad i Guess....

It'd be awesome but thats just to many darn animals. I mean it'd be awesome to see more pleostecene era mega fauna, but I doubt there going to put that many animals in as they have so much else to do.

I have avoided reading this thread because it didn't sound that interesting to discuss to me, but I must say your original post was funny and made me laugh. Whooly Rhino eh? Here are a few screenshots to help stir up discussion:

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/06/rhino.gif

http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/biodiversity/karen/images/pic032.jpg

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs22/f/2007/348/a/0/Lummox_the_Woolly_Rhino_2_by_kyoht.jpg

I'll see your woolly mammoth and rhino and raise you a giant chameleon centipede with tiger claws for feet, wings of a bat, and face of a baboon that breathes lightning, climbs trees and flies at night...

I don't think any of that is necessary..especially considering the eagle isn't even an arctic creature.

I'd have to say that that's just too many creatures, especially with TES-specific beasties to add to it. But you took initiative, mate. I can see sheep being replaced by llamas, or maybe just mountain goats. And who knows how much inspiration Bethesda drew from those animals while they made the ones for Skyrim? Just don't get your hopes up for Megatherium.

Wooly mudcrab would be pretty cool.

Birds, like mammals, are found in almost every climate, so while not specific to the Tundra, there many birds of prey who exists there, and some species which do so exclusively. Having the ability to cover great distances and have great eye sight are two huge advantages in a nutrient poor environment.

Anyways, I always believe that prehistoric creatures are the #1 source for fantasy creatures. They have that perfect mix of realism and yet unfamiliarity. Doesn't hurt that most of them were huge, covered in scales or fur, and had dozens of horns, claws, and teeth. The very definition of "monster."

If we're talking extinct species I want to fight dodo birds... Not Wooly-Dodo-bears, notflying-fire-breathing-dragon-dodos... Just plain old regular dodos. I want to fight them... with fire and sword.

Giant crab: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z2d4IxltHJI/S3RjIXwUP5I/AAAAAAAADE0/aWrRv0VmuRc/s400/GiantCrab!+copy.jpg

Is that how the defense of Ald'Ruhn during the Oblivion crisis played out? I'm going to believe so from now on

http://www.fossilmall.com/EDCOPE_Enterprises/vertebrates/vfossil4/Hipparion3.jpg

Wishc I had a better pic that showed their toes more pronounced.

Clik-Clik-POW!!!!



That's crabulous. Got any more???

I see your wooly rhino and raise you a http://www.abc.net.au/science/ozfossil/megafauna/fauna/fauna.htm

Or, if you want something really monstrous, how about a http://blogs.crikey.com.au/firstblog/2008/10/13/gigantic-long-beaked-echidna-zaglossus-hacketti/ (which are normally roughly kitten-sized)?

I think i ..... FOUND IT....

http://img28.imageshack.us/i/skyrim03.jpg/sr=1

http://www.harbormercantile.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SP30514%20Brass%20Blue%20Crab.jpg
And I demand that there be one random one which is also a merchant.....

Also, I would really like to see this amount of wildlife in the world. I like seeing a functioning ecosystem and not all animals should hostile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Elk

I'm sure the wildlife will be much better than Oblivion was but probably not nearly as good as you are wanting it to be.

There will be mods to make it as good as you have described, just like there was in Oblivion.

I demand an undead version... that would be the coolest undead ever!

Haast's eagles used to hunt Giant flightless birds in New Zealand called Moa, think 12 foot Ostriches weighing about 500 pounds. According to our (Maori) folklore, these gigantic Eagles also preyed on my ancestors and did inhabit some of the forest/alpine regions in the South Island.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moa

And we usually hunted and killed Moa first before cooking them in pits covered with heated rocks (Hangi).

I don't know if anybody was brave or stupid enough to try hunting Haast's Eagles though, we wiped out their main food source the Moa which lead to the demise of the largest bird of prey known to have lived.

Giant Eagles would be cool though, almost as cool as woolly Rhinos.