Yian Garuga Ecology

Disclaimer: This is merely a plausible explanation for the monster(s) in this article, and should not be considered canon.

In-Game Information
During the game, this creature will mostly be found in the jungle or the forest and hills. In MHF, the Yian Garuga is found in the forest and hills and has been already weakened by someone (or something) else. You can see this by how one of its ears is laid back. In MHF, there are known glitches such as collecting a special mushroom and just waiting for it to end (although this is only in the revenge of the Yian Garuga). In MHF2 and MHFU, the Yian Garuga is found in the jungle, with full health. unlike the kut-ku's, the garuga will rear up with its wings spread wide and create a high pitched scream, making all hunters cover their ears. The Garuga is also capable of launching a missile-like fireball that goes straight at a hunter instead of a small fire "bubble" that the Yian Kut-Ku fires from above, striking once. The Garuga's fireball will keep on going until it reaches the hunter, or hits the ground from far away. These fireballs can also be fired in a chain of three first firing in the middle, then the right, and then the left. The Garuga has a tail similar to that of a Rathian or Rathalos and has poison barbs on the end. Its tail can also be cut off. During rage mode, the Garuga will almost (if not always) be unable to be caught in traps. In all of these battles, if you fail the quest, the Garuga will carry the damage onto the next attempt, just like an elder dragon quest would, although the Garuga never flees.

Taxonomy
Avian (Bird) Wyvern. Yian Garuga is unique among bird wyverns as it shares traits with true wyverns such as a poisonous tail and a triple fireball attack. Yian Garuga could represent an evolutionary link between bird wyverns and true wyverns, but little is known about the elusive creature.

Habitat Range
Yian Garugas have only been observed so far in the Jungles and Hills, nesting high in mountain caves. Given Garuga is even tougher than its cousin Kut-Ku, it can most likely thrive in any area that Kut-Ku can. Being of light frame and with limited body mass, Yian Garuga can most likely not survive well in colder regions; its black shell would also serve as poor camoflouge in the snowy regions. It has recently been spotted in the great forest region.

Ecological Niche
Nocturnal Predator. Yian Garuga hunt almost exclusively at night, injuring its prey only to retreat back to the skies and wait for its deadly poison and blood loss to finish of its victim. It will commonly prey on Kelbis, Mosswine, and even hermituar, crushing the crabs shell with its immense beak. If hunting another predatory species such as a Velocidrome, Yian Garuga will first stun the creature with its roar before launching any attacks. Rathalos and Rathian are one of Garuga's only natural predators, often fighting Yian Garuga in the air where the fire wyverns higher speed and mobility give them an edge. An injured Garuga will usually crash to the ground, resulting in instant death due to impact injury. Yian Garuga males are fiercely territorial, even attacking young Rathalos when they invade Garuga's home territory.

Biological Adaptations
Yian Garuga posseses keen night vision and is added in its night time hunts by its dark purple/black shell, rendering the creature very hard to spot from below. Yian Garuga is far more proficient in lobbing fireballs that its cousin Yian Kut-Ku. It is nimble enough the perform backflips, whipping its foe hard with its spiked and poisonous tail. Yian Garugas has large ears, a standard of bird wyverns. These assist in both cooling the creatures head and in hear its prey from great distances. Yian Garugas beak and shell are especially hard for a bird wyvern, throwing some inexperienced hunters off guard as they are too accustomed to the much weaker Yian Kut-Ku. Yian Garuga's mane is only evident in males, where it is a sign of dominance. It is possible Yian-Garuga is descended from the Rathian as the have similar looks and attacks.

Behavior
Highly aggressive for a bird wyvern, Yian Garuga is known for attacking in a rapid, aggresive fashion similar to a Rathian. It enjoys combining its deafening roar with a ram of back flip. Yian Garuga is one of the few bird wyverns intelligent enough to avoid pit-fall traps. However, when enraged it often is far too distracted to notice such traps. Yian Garuga is described as "particularly evil" but this is infact due to the creatures lack of fear toward humans, causing them to be as violent toward man as they are toward prey.

Yian Garuga are very solitary creatures, going most of their lives without seeing another member of their species, with the exception of their mother. This behavior changes shortly during the mating season, when males will "sing" to attract females to their nesting sight. If the mating is successful, the male will abandon his nest, leaving it for the female to raise her eggs. The males will then enter a nomadic stage of his life, actively searching for a new nest while avoiding contact with other wyverns. This behavior leads some Yian Garuga to attack human settlements, usually starved for food due to conflict with local predators, the male Garuga may turn to human livestock instead of its usual prey.