| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Magic | |
| Manticore | |
|---|---|
| Type | Magical creature |
| Features | Head of man, body of lion, tail of scorpion |
| First Appearance | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them |
Overview
The Manticore is one of the Wizarding World's most dangerous creatures. It is a sentient beast, capable of intelligent speech, but has not been classified as a being due to its violent tendencies.
Extended Description
A manticore has a human-like head, a lion's body, and a scorpion's tail with a ball at the end covered in venomous darts. When the Manticore flings its tail the darts detach. Manticore venom is instantly fatal. It uses this as a way to kill its prey, which it then devours while crooning softly. A Manticore's skin repels all known charms.
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione are researching legal precedents for Buckbeak's defence in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, they find a case where a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and was let off... but quickly find that it was because nobody dared to approach it.
In a scurrilous article, Rita Skeeter suggests that the Blast-Ended Skrewts that Hagrid has provided for his Care of Magical Creatures course in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire may be the result of a cross breeding of Manticores and Fire Crabs.