Takuventra
| Takuventra tah-koo-ven-trah pl. takuventri | |
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| Fact File | |
| Classification: | Reptilia |
| Frequency: | Very Rare |
| Size: | Medium |
| Lifespan: | 28-35 years |
| Domesticated?: | Yes |
| Diet: | Carnivore |
| Biome(s): | Freshwater, Wetland |
Appearance
The Takuventri specie are mostly seen as a muddy green colour to blend in with their habitat of the swampland, but some mutations do rarely take place. In the terms of 'mutated' colouring, Takuventri can be any colour from a rusty brown to a dark blue.
The colour of the Takuventri covers most of their body, except the stomach area is almost always black or grey. Rare cases of a white stomach are said to be around in the mutation cases, but these are extremely rare.
For many animals, moving the body from one place to another is one of the most important everyday tasks. If the animal cannot move, then all the resources it needs to live must come to it. Most animals, though, have retained the ability to move around to best perform a number of essential behaviours.
Most Takuventri have a marking of dark circles around their snout that makes them look as though their mouths are bound. To their prey this makes them seem unable to attack, which is clearly not the case. The manipulation of the prey may be the reason why these markings have appeared over the years.
The average Takuventra are seen as being quite small and stocky, growing up to five feet during the period of the late teenage years, and weigh less than one would think a freshwater carnivore would.
The Takuventra in plural are called 'Takuventri', while their young are correctly called 'ventra' or 'ventri' depending.
Reproduction
The exact process of mating between the Takuventri is unknown. However, limited information is known about the process afterwards. After mating, the female Takuventri lays about 20 to 30 eggs in a nest she makes near a river bank. She covers the nest with leaves and other vegetation. The rotting vegetation keeps the eggs warm and the nest moist. The female stays and guards the nest for 90 days until the eggs hatch.
When the hatching babies call out, their mother opens up the nest and carries her babies to the water, where they immediately start feeding on small animals and insects. About half will not survive the first year as they are hunted down by other swamp creatures, occasionally even eating by their own mother lacking the maternal instinct.
Takuventri communicate with each other by using various different methods. Threats are confirmed with either a low cough and growl, growing to a high pitched hiss and a bite if the threat does not leave the territorial area of the Takuventri. It is more common for a male Takuventra to use these kinds of calls, but the females do also use them.
Distressed calls are most commonly heard from youngsters. These are obvious with seven very high pitched chirps which alert the parents if they are nearby. Older Takuventri using a distressed call use three sharp chirps, which are often deeper than the youngsters.
The Takuventri specie make it hard to single either gender as being more or less effective than the other. If you look at a group of Takuventri, you'll see many similarities in the way they hunt, but each gender is capable of making the best use of available resources - including food.
Most Takuventri, be they male of female, are generalists - they have broad requirements and can adapt if their environment changes. The ability to adapt equals the ability to survive, which we know Takuventri are particularly good at! Their hunting behavior is no exception, and most species have broad tastes in their food (everything from insects and gastropods to birds and mammals).
However, each gender is better suited to certain types of prey - males have strong, broad jaws ideal for crushing snails, mussels and turtles; females, with their slender snouts, have needle-sharp teeth and jaws that sweep effortlessly through the water to snare slippery fish.
These differences develop over thousands of years because subtle environmental "pressures" each gender to evolve so they can better exploit available resources.
For example, if there were high densities of snails but low densities of fish, a species would be better off with strong crushing jaws rather than graceful needle-like noses. So overall each gender is very effective at hunting in its own environment.
Seeing a female pluck several hundred kilos of prey from the bank and flip it into the water like a rag doll is certainly pretty spectacular, and very effective! Females are famous for taking large prey, more so than any other species in fact.
One thing Pendragons don't often realize is that females normally eat much smaller prey like fish - land animals are occasional "treats" for most individuals, yet their availability has probably ensured females developed the means, size and behaviour to tackle them.
During the cold season, a Takuventri may be seen doing a small moving practise to a warmer part of the swamp. This is confused as hibernation, as they spend a lot of time underwater during this progress in dens.
Takuventri may be hunters, but they are also hunted. They also fight among themselves about territory and - particularly in males - mates. They defend themselves thanks to their armour-like scales, but - like the crocodiles of the now destroyed earth - the stomach is incredibly vulnerable.
The birth of a young Takuventri, is one that is typical in all reptiles. They are born from eggs. Once they hatch, the mother carries them to the water for them to begin their life as young Takuventri.
It is an interesting note that temperature effect the gender of the young ventri. If the temperature is, say, somewhat below 80 degrees, the hatchling would be female. If it was higher, then the hatchling would be male. Why this happens is another mystery not yet explained.
The lairs of the Takuventri are not very complex, but do well for the beasts. They are known to live in lairs dug out of river banks and, when they have young, are covered by moss.
Takuventri have amazing senses that allow them to hunt by stealth. An interesting fact about them is their eyesight is as good as an average Pendragon's and even better under water.
Their sense of hearing is acute and they actually have vibration receptors at the base of their teeth that allow them to sense the minutest vibration in the water. A Takuventri may be under water not far from the bank and these receptors will pick up an animal such as a canine drinking at the water edge.
The Takuventri's strength is well recorded. A Takuventri will think nothing of attacking a fully-grown Pendragon, dragging it into the water, drowning it and then tearing pieces of the animal off by performing the "death roll". Most animals don't get a second chance if attacked by a Takuventri.
Being cold-blooded, Takuventri exhibit heat-seeking and heat-avoiding behaviour. They bask in the sun in the morning and spend the afternoon in the water. Takuventri prefer calm and protected waters, because it's difficult to breath and hunt in rough waters. While hunting, a Takuventri waits for the prey to get closer and rushes with a single fast movement. Then it takes the prey down. Takuventri's teeth are designed to seize and hold, to crush larger prey, and to splinter the shells of crabs and turtles. Takuventri can make sounds in courtship and hiss at intruders; babies make chirping sounds.
The typical Takuventri lives for around 30 years, more or less depending on the healthiness of its life, and are not easily killed by illness due to their strong immune systems.
Takuventri as Pets
Takuventri are not the best animals to keep as pets; however, smaller youngsters (spectacled mostly as female) are now available through the pet trade.
But due to lack of information most Takuventri are neglected and dumped after a couple of years of their lives - when they start to bite hard. To avoid abandonment potential Takuventri owners should read as much as is possible about Takuventri and their keeping requirements. Takuventri need a large enclosure, divided into land and water areas; warm temperature at all times and places to cool down; furnishing, such as rocks, logs, and gravel; and a well-balanced diet.
Those who keep Takuventri say that they are truly intelligent and learn simple routine rapidly. They become tame readily and take part in shows. There are documented stories of home-raised. Takuventri that have lived in the houses and have played with children.
However, to many Pendragons, the Takuventri specie don't appear to move around very much and therefore are seen as a 'boring' pet to keep.
While Takuventri do spend much of the day motionless, or moving very little, it is a mistake to think that they are not very active. In fact, they are capable of surprising speed when required, and they can also move considerable distances overland and in water.
Terrestrial locomotion is of interest in Takuventri because it gives us some idea of how their ancestors might have moved around - most of which were primarily terrestrial. Many of the ancestral crocodile forms were thought to be mostly active on land, but specializations in the palate and limb morphology promoted a shift to a more aquatic mode of life. On land, most people tend to think of crocodilians as being somewhat ponderous. They are certainly more efficient at moving in water, but locomotion on land is actually very well developed and can be adapted to suit the situation. If they need to, Takuventri can move at remarkable speed on land, belying the image they portray in quite often.
Takuventri are, however, far better at swimming than they are at moving on land - it is far more efficient, and it is the form of locomotion that they perform most frequently. One of the more spectacular things that crocodiles can do is leap out of the water to capture prey.
