The Beast

The Beast
Originally uploaded by devastationstudios.

Another bird like the previous "animalistic" birds, this bird is actually quite large. Approximately the size of an elephant, this bird slowly marches along the desert in search of food. Its primary diet consists of cacti and camels.

This particular bird I encountered when I was trekking across the Sahara on a camel, when I heard thunderous footsteps in the distance. By the time I turned around, it was only 10 feet away, and it was charging at nearly 20 miles an hour. I was immediately thrown off the camel, breaking my arm and shoulder. The camel tipped over on to it's side violently, sending up sand in a blinding gust. By the time I had wiped the sand from my eyes and I could see, the bird had dislodged it's jaw like a snake and was devouring the camel whole. I stared in wonder as it ate, oblivious to my existence. After finally devouring it, it snorted and turned towards me, but didn't seem to take much interest. It slowly turned away, and began slowly walking back in the direction that it had come.

I would have thought that the body of the camel would be big enough to show some increase in size, but the creature was already so bloated I couldn't notice any difference whatsoever. I would have followed it, but I only had a small bottle of water, and with my camel dead and gone, I would have to use every bit of strength I had to get back to civilization.