Snow Stalker

The Snow Stalker is a large maritime predator present in Subnautica: Below Zero. It is a relative of the aquatic Stalker native to the Crater. The player can interact with it with the Spy Pengling to get Snow Stalker Fur.

Appearance
The Snow Stalker has a broad snout filled with long sharp teeth that stick out even when the mouth is closed, giving a snaggle-toothed appearance. Two pairs of the teeth are greatly enlarged to form tusks that protrude upwards from the bottom jaw. In addition to these two pairs of tusks, a single, smaller tusk is borne on the lower jaw, positioned in the center and pointing forwards.

On top of the head is a fin-shaped crest that appears to be a modified dorsal plate. The crest is grey in color aside from a small cyan strip towards the base that glows in the dark, these strips are likely for the purpose of looking like eyes to intimidate, however the real eyes lie behind the mouth. Oddly, the Snow Stalker's tongue glows the same bright cyan color as the stripes on its head and the tip of its tail.

The animal's body is almost entirely covered in shaggy white fur, with horizontal grey stripes along the back. Areas of the body that are exposed show smooth grey skin. A row of grey, sharp dorsal plates runs from the neck to around one third of the way down the tail.

The Snow Stalker has four squat limbs covered in fur, each limb ending with four long claws on the feet. Additionally, the forelimbs possess a dewclaw on the inside of the ankle. The body ends with a long tail that tapers to a point, the very tip of which glows cyan.

In size the Snow Stalker is comparable to the very largest polar bears, standing around 10-11 feet (3.05-3.35 meters) on its hind legs.

Behavior
When idle the Snow Stalker can be seen pacing the area and on occasion standing upright to survey its surroundings.

When the player is within distance the Snow Stalker becomes aggressive, stalking the player by crouching and slowly approaching players while snarling. When close, it will speed up and leap at the player and proceed to attack them. It is not dissuaded by failed attack attempts and will continue to chase the player down immediately, not stopping until it has inflicted damage upon them. If it successfully attacks the player, it will deal 35 damage, but if the player's health is less than 35%, the attack will be an instant kill with a cinematic showing the player getting attacked and eaten in the creature's jaws. However, the player has a certain probability to avoid an immediate death attack. If the player avoids an immediate death attack, the Snow Stalker will deal only 8 damage.

The Snow Stalker can be scared away by a lit Flare. It will shake its body after being hit by a Snowball, presumably to keep warmth.

The main source of food for the Snow Stalkers, include Arctic Peepers, Bladderfish, Noot Fish, and even Penglings and Pengwings which are shown by animations of them being consumed by the Snow Stalker.

The Snow Stalker can be fed when it crawls to a player that holds a Preston's Delight. Unlike an interaction with a Snow Stalker Baby, feeding it will trigger an animation. After feeding, it will not attack the player for a while.

Marguerit Maida will note that Preston, when she feeds it, will regurgitate half of the meal. This could possibly be a method of feeding their young, as many species of mammals and birds do this same behavior.

Design
The Snow Stalker's design is heavily inspired by the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), sharing its thick white fur.

The snout of the Snow Stalker greatly resembles that of a Stalker's hence it's name. The broader and shorter snout design allows for greater bite force on a smaller area, useful for creatures hunting larger prey.

Its long claws also resemble the claws of anteaters.

Gallery
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