<b class="green">Garguan - ADDED</b> http://shadowlack.com/life/fauna.php?id=108http://shadowlack.com/life/fauna.php?id=108</a> Category: Mammalian Biomes: Tundra Frequency: Uncommon Active: Diurnal Diet: Omnivore Lifespan: 70 years Size: 9-10 feet at the shoulder Weight: approx. 5 tons Description: Garguans are furry white beasts, approximately the size of an African Elephant. They have long neck which has similar proportions as the horse, and a large head, with shape similar to a llama. Males have thick horns on their head, similar to that of a ram, but less curved. Both genders have a thick mane that goes down their spine and partially covers their eyes, though the mane of a female tends to be longer. Their bodies are similar to a yak, having a straight back, with a hump around the shoulder region. They have thick legs, like that of an elephant, with wide, cloven hooves that act like snowshoes so they can travel through snow with ease. Their cloven hooves are extremely hard, and they can use them to break thick ice so they can drink the water beneath it. Stiff furr grows through the hooves to provide traction on ice. The Garguans have two layers of fur that help insulate their bodies, and is very similar to the fur of a polar bear. The thick fur allows them to survive in the cold water of their homeland for hours on end, so they can fish for food whenever they need to. Their fur is transparent, though it does appear pure white. Beneath their fur, their skin is pitch black. Habitat: Druv Reproduction and Social Life: Garguan herds consist solely of the females (cows) and their young(calves) that are all lead by an older cow called the matriarch. The herd works together to take care of the calves, protect eachother, and find food and water. If a member of the herd dies, the others will cover it with twigs and snow, and will mourn their loss by staying at the gravesite for hours on end. Males(bulls) live alone, or in bachelor herds that only meet females during mating season, (which is between March and April) but otherwise act the same way as the herds of their female counter-parts. A cow will remain pregnant for 20 months, and gives birth to one calf. Multiple births are extremely rare, and the chances of the calves and mother surviving such a case are nearly non-existant. Calves nurse on their mother's milk for up to two years, though will eat solid food as early as four months. Females usually stay in their herd for their whole lives, but if the herd becomes too large, four or five of the youngest adults will break off to form their own herd. Male calves are usually chased off around the age of 10. The males are forced to wander alone until they find a bachelor herd that will accept him. Garguans have been tamed by the northern tribes of Yki, and are used for transportation across the cold northern continent of Druv. They can carry up to four passengers and a driver at a time in the large baskets that are tightly secured to their back. In early times, the Yki rode the Garguans bare-back, as the material used to make the baskets and the straps that secured them weren't available. Today, these baskets are imported to them from regions south of them.
This looks good. Great thinking. However, I believe that you should avoid comparing a Ramathian creature to an Earth creature if at all possible. I'll give Jodie the final say though.
I actually like when the animal is compared to an earthen one, just because itÂ’s hugely helpful in picturing it. And since she used so many different animals it gives it more of a creative edge in my opinion. Like sure, In Character the 'dragons wouldn't make the comparisons in conversation but it's helpful for us players.
Ja, just going to second Lautir here. I find it pretty helpful for OOC purposes as well. It's just when people create an animal and go, "Oh, it looks like a mouse." that they get slapped with the unoriginal stick. :] For size comparisons and the like, it's cool though. Wee, sounds pretty good.
I'm going to third everyone here =p I got images of Manny from Ice Age for a moment when I read about the longer mane in front of the eyes. *Ahem* Yeah, good job on it ^^ It was very vivid. I do have a bit of a question, in so far as reference to cows, calves and bulls. Well, Jods hasn't said anything so it's not a problem, but I'm just wondering, would they by Ramathianised ICly, or stick as is?
Yeah, I realise I went kinda overboard with the earth animal comparisons, but as people said, makes it easier to picture xD Well, while the appearance is based on several animals, the Garguan's social/reproductive behavior and such is heavily based on that of the elephant. A male Elephant is a bull, female is a cow and an infant is a calf. But if it would make more sense, you could ramathianise it if you want O_o.
I was only remarking rather than picking on it. I'm cool if you want to stick with the names you've got already. Ramathianating (© that's so mine, lol) the words would simply be for aesthetics. In the end, no matter what you call them, it's a darn good animal =D
