smell

Hi. My fantasy series features a pack of nasty dog-wolves called the Crocotta which have the ability to imitate the sound of any human male that they hear. Throughout the story the Crocotta use this ability to lure men away from safety so that they can attack them and later eat them.

In the story the main character must enter the Crocotta's domain and before long he is caught by the Crocotta. The problem is that he must somehow be able to escape. For instance the Crocotta, being doggish, would have a higher sense of smell than any human therefore they can easilly smell out any human within their domain. This means that simply waiting for darkness to fall would be out of the question. So how would a person be able to escape in this situation?

 

If they were able to imitate the sound of human males (why just males?) this would mean that they would have to have the equipment to create such sounds. Besides a larynx adequate to the job, the mandibular arrangement would have to also allow for the creation of not just human speech, but also the highly refined imitation of particular humans which you have described. Baring magic as the method of imitation (if magic is the method then none of what I am saying matters) the creatures could not be terribly prognathic (long nosed). If they are not very prognathic, would they still have the same amazing sense of smell which dogs posses? A significant portion of what makes dogs such amazing smellers is the length of the nasal cavity containing the smell receptors.

 

Good points. I forgot to add that male Crocotta's can only imitate male humans and that female Crocotta's can only imitate female humans.

 

Sneaking past a sleeping dog isn't so hard.

If you mean that they will track him down once they wake up, then he could pass a stream or find some highly smelly mineral in the rocks that he uses to cover his tracks.

 

How about lathering himself with mud or another smell-masking agent? Maybe a root or herb?

 

Would mud work? because I actually considered that one since there is quite a bit of mud where the Crocotta live. I think it would be a fun scene to write to.

 

Especially if the mud also contained Crocotta scent, for instance if the Crocotta use wallows.

 

opposable thumbs

Just strike the creature in the jugular with a long weapon.

 

Just make sure that the its not female Crocotta scent, in the middle of mating season.

It would bring up a whole new list problems that you may not be ready to answer .