One of my favorite monsters, the owlbear. Maybe if you have a nice GM ( who can make some small adjustments) it can be a ally as well. This combination of both a bear and a owl. The owlbear is very strong and it might not be very intelligent but his wisdom is not bad.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/91c49a_b9aea038834c47bb97fb0f0f05d0ffe1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_213,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/91c49a_b9aea038834c47bb97fb0f0f05d0ffe1~mv2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/91c49a_57e182c496c848cb95b86b6d1d0e27d7~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_49,h_18,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/91c49a_57e182c496c848cb95b86b6d1d0e27d7~mv2.png)
Source of the stats: https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16975-owlbear