Cazador

Creatures & Mutants · Source: Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues

Cazadores — Spanish for 'hunters' — are perhaps the most feared insectoid predators in the Mojave Wasteland. These enormous mutated tarantula hawk wasps were created through experiments at the Big Empty research facility (Big MT) using a combination of genetic manipulation and chemical mutagenesis. Dr. Borous, one of the Think Tank scientists, is credited with their creation, having bred them from specimens of Pepsis grossa, the tarantula hawk, which even pre-war was known for its extraordinarily painful sting — rated among the most painful insect stings on Earth.

A mature cazador possesses a body length of approximately four to five feet, with brilliant iridescent blue-black wings that produce a distinctive, deeply unsettling buzzing sound. Their most dangerous attribute is their venom — an intensely painful neurotoxin that causes rapid systemic shock, disorientation, and in many cases, death. Even a single sting from a cazador can incapacitate a grown human within seconds. Cazadores are astonishingly fast in flight and highly aggressive, attacking anything that enters their territory with coordinated swarm tactics.

Cazador venom glands and eggs are extremely valuable to wasteland alchemists and chemists. When properly processed, cazador venom can be used to create hybrid antivenoms and high-grade combat stimulants. Groups of cazadores are commonly referred to as a 'legend' among wastelanders, a grim acknowledgement of their lethality. They are concentrated primarily in the Mojave region and the Big MT crater, though containment breaches may have allowed isolated populations to spread.

Tags: Insect, Mutated, Venomous, Genetically Engineered, Big MT, Mojave, Apex Predator, Aerial