The Owlbear

The owl bear, (sometimes compound "owlbear") is one of D&D's most iconic creatures. More dangerous then an ogre, many low level characters have met their demise in it's arms. According to Wikipedia, "The owlbear is among the earliest monsters in Dungeons & Dragons and like the bulette and the rust monster, was inspired by a Hong Kong-made plastic toy purchased by Gary Gygax for use as miniature in a Chainmail game."

The Frank Mentzer Basic D&D manual describes the owlbear thusly:

An owl bear is a huge bear-like creature with the head of a giant owl. It stands 8' tall and weighs 15,000 cn. If both its paws hit one opponent in one round, the owl bear hugs for an additional 2-16 points of damage. Owl bears have nasty tempers and are usually hungry, preferring meat. They are commonly found underground and in dense forests.

Owlbear's are almost always pictured with a large beak and bear like body. Alternately sometimes they are pictured with primarily a bear body and an owl head fastened on. Sometimes the body has feathers sometimes it does not. The traditional explanation for the owl bear is that it was the work of a mage who gruesomely combined the traits of the owl and bear. According to the first edition AD&D Monster Manual, "The horrible owlbear is probably the result of genetic experimentation by some insane wizard."

Here's how some other artists have rendered the owlbear.

What I don't get about the owl bear is, why the large beak? Why not have a broad face and large eyes of the owl? If you we're going to combine the features an an owl and a bear why not take their most unique and powerful attributes and combine them?

If I we're designing an owlbear it would have a flat face and the large eyes of the owl to give it superior hearing and eyesight. It would not have the beak of an owl. It's too small. My creature would have the muzzle and body of a bear so it could bite, claw, and maw it's victim's to death. And it would not have a tail. Here's my quick thumbnail: