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The stage two was greatly improved. The working brief for it was to replaced and amend the stage one, and to make a creature that could function as a soldier proper. The uprates made to its body made it stronger, and a great deal more robust. The smaller ears and antennae show the commitment to this aim, and the lessening importance of their being able to intercept transmissions, which the advances in microchip technology had now superseded.
Note the claws on both hands and feet. The Stage Two could realistically have fought most humans hand to hand and walked away, its thickened stronger fur giving it increased resistance to sharp weapons like knives and swords, and even bullets, to a certain extent, certainly shrapnel, which was the original aim. Subcutaneous bony ridges gave more structural rigidity to the form of the Stage Two whilst this increase in weight was balanced by a considerable increase in the muscle strength and density, which was one of the main reasons the stage one was inefficient as a fighter.
The Stage Two would never make a good TV program in the same way the Stage One did. Its temperament was biased towards aggression, and when kept in close proximity colonies, the Stage Twos organized themselves into squads and fought guerilla warfare amongst themselves, after a very short period of inaction. For this reason they were considered too unstable for long term use. However, a small breeding stock of Stage Twos has been maintained by all major powers for the last twenty odd years.
They have now been replaced.

Stage Three