Anatomically Correct Baku

In the mythological stories of the Baku, they eat the nightmares of those who call upon it, but if not satisfied they will eat the hopes and dreams of their summoners.

Since the visual portion of an anatomically correct Baku kind of already exist (basically a tapir with tusks), then how would the dream-eating aspect work?

How would this work realistically? I imagine it would have to do with lots of hormones affecting the person asleep, but why would this need to happen?

Some things that might help could be that they were domesticated and then used for a sort of therapy, and again the use of hormones/pheromones.
Here are the basic questions I'm trying to ask questions:

• How would a Baku evolve (by selective breeding or naturally occurring)?
• Why would it need to "feast" off of dreams/nightmares?
• How would it "feast" of dreams (extra organs and such)?
• And if this is even possible in our world, whether we could've done it in the past or the future.

• Also if you want how would they become more accurate to the classic depictions of the Baku? (elephants trunk and tusks, tigers stripes, bear claws, etc.)

  Note: It doesn't need to feed off of dreams nightmares per se, but it does need to gain something from making dreams/nightmares to essentially disappear.

I do have a basic idea of how and why but I need more to work off of, to be more in-depth, or even an entirely different explanation not relating to anything I've said.

posted over 4 years ago

foul fowl‭

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