The megasiber Maraji in Mandurah, on the world New Dumont
Megasibers are immense, catlike marsupials of the frigid planet Kragliath. They are the genetically modified descendants of Siberoos who terraformed and colonized the planet in the early 3000s AT. According to folklore, the original Siberoo colonists wanted to create a clade that would not only adjust to the cold, but enjoy it. Megasibers are noted for their sharp senses, their elaborate (if not perfect) memory recall, their complex verbal language, their slow metabolism (including the ability to hibernate for at least a year), their extreme longevity (living up to 2000 years), and their impressive size and power.
Like their Siberoo ancestors, Megasibers are sexually dimorphic marsupials. A fully-grown female can weigh up to 30 tons and stand over 4 metres at the hips on all fours. The male weighs only 4 tons and stands 2.7 metres at the hips. Unlike the Siberoo, which has a forward facing pouch, the female Megasiber’s pouch faces backwards.
Megasibers travel in large Prides led by a female called a Queen. The Queen’s son, called the Prince, spends a great deal of his adult life mating with females in the Pride. Individuals within a Pride are always allowed (and sometimes encouraged) to join other Prides in order to prevent inbreeding. Being such a precious asset to the Pride, the Prince is fiercely protected by the Queen for decades, and for much of the time is almost literally a part of her. He usually rests in her pouch whenever he is not active - not just for his own comfort, but also for the Queen’s status.
After up to a century of leadership, most Queens and Princes are perfectly willing to step down to make way for other mother / son dyads to take their place. There have been rare exceptions of long-term dictatorial Queens leading cult-like Prides, and these comprise many myths and legends of Megasiber folklore.
Despite their somewhat deserved reputation for being isolationist, many Megasiber Prides have traded precious minerals and services (such as providing protection and transport for temporary settlers) in exchange for small technological artefacts such as implants. Following from this, a relatively small number of Megasibers (often retired Queens and Princes) have made arrangements to relocate to other polities largely out of curiosity. Such Megasiber immigrants are noted for their flamboyance, eccentricity, and eagerness to learn as much as possible about their new home and culture.