I signed up for this forum specifically for this post! I'll do an intro post another time, but I'm Jim, and I live in upstate NY.
I'll do two lists: one, what would be realistic or likely for me to be able to acquire, and one that would be the ideal
Realistic list
Primary Battle morph: Black bear
Secondary Battle Morph: Bobcat or Fisher (edge goes to bobcat)
Tank: American Bison (There's a bison farm 30 minutes from me)
Flight morphs: I'd have a BUNCH. I'm a falconer, a former wildlife biologist, and I've worked for a bird rehab clinic. I could have just about every raptor species around, along with some exotics. That said, 3 raptors would fill my combat needs well, with a couple others for recon and distance
Fighting flight morph: Golden eagle
Night morph: Great horned owl or Eurasian eagle owl
Standard flight: Northern goshawk or red-tailed hawk. The edge there goes to the gos for maneuverability and speed, but the gos can't soar worth a damn. Likely I'd have and use both anyway.
Distance: Canada goose
Recon: Pigeon would be useful, but I'd also likely use a sharp shinned or coopers hawk for that role as well. They are everywhere, but inconspicuous and rarely noticed.
Freshwater aquatic: Northern pike or Muskellunge
Saltwater aquatic: Sand tiger shark (I could pick one up from a touch tank at an aquarium or go fishing and reel one in....)
Ideal list
I'm within driving distance of the Bronx zoo. Ideally I'd break in at night and acquire damn near everything I could. That said, if I have to limit myself:
Primary battle morph: Large cat. Tiger or Jaguar. Lions are big but honestly a little clumsy, but I could pick one up. I want something lithe and agile. Jaguar wins if I have a choice due to versatility (can't remember if the bronx zoo has those or leopards).
Secondary: I use the term "secondary" loosely, but I'd grab a grizzly. I think I'd operate better as a big cat but sometimes you just have to be an unstoppable death machine.
Tank: African elephant
Birds: Access to a zoo or anything else honestly wouldn't change my bird selection for flight. I could fairly easily acquire any north american raptor without a problem. BUT, if I could have anything I wanted? I'd get a Cassowary. If the zoo didn't have those (again, can't remember) I know they have an ostrich. Ratites are bad news.
Freshwater: Wouldn't change
Saltwater: Tiger shark
Both: Bull shark, if I could get one, to function in both environments.
For both lists, I don't have any ideal bugs. Dragonflies and spiders seem to fit the bill and would be easily acquired.
