Hunter (Romero)

"It is ape-like... and lizard-	like. With ferocious eyes that glare from beneath an insect-	like carapace. This thing is an amalgam of all the nasty	creatures that have pursued us in our nightmares. It's	called... A HUNTER."

- Creature description on page-66 of Romero's script The Hunter was a B.O.W. developed by Umbrella for military applications.

Biology
As described by Ada Wong, the Hunter B.O.W. was the product of splicing human DNA with various carnivorous animals and insects. The resulting creatures were then armor plated before a new layer of cultivated skin was placed over top. The hunters were then injected with a lethal dose of poison so the T-Virus in their bodies would reanimate them, making them more efficient as a bio-weapon that cannot die.

Physically, these creatures appeared very similar to both the Hunter and Tick B.O.W.s that appeared in the original game. They would also tend to use their large metallic claws to crawl about on ceilings to surprise unsuspecting prey, not unlike Chimeras that also appeared in-game.

History
At least six Hunters were developed in the Arkley Mansion, all of which were encountered by Chris Redfield and the remaining S.T.A.R.S. alpha team deep within the underground laboratory. As the S.T.A.R.S. opened fire on the creatures, they quickly found their weapons to be near ineffective, as the armor plating beneath their skin repelled any bullet that struck. In haste, the team began shooting at the joints in their legs and arms, attempting to cripple the monsters instead of killing them.

As a Hunter striked down and killed Speyer, an Umbrella scientist activated a floor trap inside the room. This trap caused the floor beneath the Hunters to shift into a grinder, grounding up the Hunters on the floor as well as Speyer's remains. The scientist then unlocked a security door for the S.T.A.R.S. team to escape into moments before the final Hunter could reach them. The scientist them revealed herself to be Ada Wong, one of Umbrella's scientists tasked with developing bio-weapons. She then explains to the S.T.A.R.S. team the potential of the T-Virus as a bio-weapon, with the Hunter being one of their intended B.O.W.s.

The surviving Hunter was later encountered by S.T.A.R.S. as they fled the Mansion via an elevator lift. It halts their progress in doing so by grabbing the chain-drive for the elevator, forcing it to stop. As the survivors are left with no other choice, they attempt to climb to the next floor as the Hunter would jerk the chain in an attempt to make them slip and plummet towards it. Just before Rosie fell into it's reach, the creature was impaled by the Tyrant, who then dropped the limp Hunter down the elevator shaft to its demise. The remains of the Hunters were subsequently obliterated when the Mansion self-destructed.