What are the meanings of the various symbols near a monster's icon on the map?

Question

This question asks about a specific symbol, which looks like a heart rate monitor. The monster icon and the heart rate below it are to the right of the minimap. On the minimap and the large map, if you can see the monster's icon, other symbols may appear, including:

• A flashing skull
• A monster head with drool running out its mouth
• A U- or eye-shaped icon that can be white, orange, or red (depicted on the minimap, as well as the ally's health in this picture)
• Green numbers with a plus-sign
• Red numbers with a minus-sign

I know the skull generally means "it's close to death, and probably capturable" and the drool probably means "it's hungry", but even then, I don't know all of the implications of these icons. An explanation of the above, and any others I may have missed, would be very appreciated.

Answer 1

The flashing skull icon means that the monster is weak enough to be captured and will likely head back to its nest to rest.

The drooling monster head icon indicates that the monster is exhausted and will likely look for food to regain some stamina.

According to posts here, the "U" icon indicates the monster's temper (it's actually an eye). White indicates the monster is not aggressive towards you, yellow means it is aggroed to you, and red means that it is enraged.

The green numbers with a plus indicate that the monster is above you by X distance units(?) where the X is the number. Conversely, the red numbers indicate that the monster is that many distance units below you.

Additionally, there will sometimes be a black X on the map and an arrow leading from a monster to that X. This indicates that the monster is heading to that location, so you can just go there instead of directly following the monster, as sometimes monsters can go through paths that are unavailable to players.

Answer 2

A skull means the monster is weak enough to limp.
A drooling mouth means the monster is exhausted.
The "U" is actually an eye, and displays the monster's aggro status. White means it is not in combat, yellow means it is in combat, and red means it is enraged.
The green arrows indicate that the monster is at a higher elevation than your current position.
The red arrows indicate that the monster is at a lower elevation than your current position.
The +/- numbers show the monster's altitude from your current position.