Chalauran

Intergalactic Terran Initiative

Hercules V Ship Log - Expeditions

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Earth Date [2768]
Universal Galactic Date [5307]

Digital Signature [LIEUTENANT LYLE EVANS]
Digital ID [HERC-V LIE-LENS-73439]

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Saw these giant beasts while we were unpacking our kit into the temporary homesteads on Chatau’s Landing. A good 9 or 10 feet tall, scaled (such a deep, dark purple in colour that they looked like a shadow, by the way), and pure muscle. If they didn’t have scales, or six legs, I might have mistaken them for a jaguar, just a little bigger.

Oh! And their eyes. That’s how we noticed them - two pairs of silver orbs peaking between the rocks. They were so still the entire time. Sizing us up, I think. Probably deciding whether or not we were worth the trouble, which is saying something considering we had them outnumbered twenty to one.

We asked the Ulmaatan ambassador about it afterwards - he told us the beasts were called ‘chalaurans’. Very curious creatures and very, very deadly (which is expected - seriously, some of the muscles on those beasts looked almost as big as me).

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[FILED UNDER Expeditions]

The chalaurans are xenofauna native to Chatau's Landing. On average, they grow to lengths of 9 or 10 feet, but there are records of larger chalaurans roaming the Plains of Chatau. The largest recorded chalauran to date was 13 feet 4 inches.

They are muscular creatures, built for strength rather than speed, and have very high levels of endurance. Covered in dark purple scales, they are often described by locals as shadows or ghosts, preferring to hunt at night whilst they can blend in to their surroundings. Each chalauran has six legs, three on the left side of its body and three on the right. They rely heavily on all of their legs working in tandem in order to walk, run and hunt, so losing any sort of movement in even a single leg will prove to be fatal for them.

Lifecycle of a Chalauran

UPA - Wildlife Research Division

Xenoflauna Logs - Terrestial

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UGY 5177

T'Praxis, UPA Iyankor
Association ID IY-GID-137441

CLASS 1 : ephna

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Chalk

Chalks (a term originally coined by OF-Scientist-Name) are the first growth stage for newly born chalauran. This stage lasts for the first 1 and 1/2 years of the animal’s life. Most of the early stage development of the creature’s internal systems occur during this stage.

Newborn chalks are born with their eyes closed. On average, their eyes open 6 days after birth. Chalk scales tend to be a lighter shade of purple than their adult counterparts and they look remarkably pudgy considering what they grow into.

Juvenile

Juvenile chalaurans are the second stage in the lifecycle. They are considered to be juvenile until they reach sexual maturity, which is usually within 1 and 1/3 years. During this stage, they continue to develop and grow.

Physically, their scales begin to darken. Juveniles are easy to spot amongst a chalauran pack because they will often have patchy light spots coating their scales, an indication that they still have some growing to do. They also look slimmer than their adult counterparts as their muscles are still developing.

Adult

Adult chalaurans are the last stage in the lifecycle. They are considered adults from the moment they reach sexual maturity until the day they die. By this stage, they will have ‘grown into’ their more muscular form and all of their scales will now be that familiar dark purple.

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Forming a Pack

Chalauran packs are usually family affairs. For most chalaurans, the pack they are born into will be the one that they stick with for their entire life. There is also intermingling between packs as there is a certain necessity for chalaurans bonding and mating outside of their familial gene pool. In these instances, chalaurans will still visit their old pack.

Weaker packs - those with few numbers, or with their age skewed towards a juvenile average - may be taken over by other packs in the area. This can be done peacefully. Most chalaurans will recognise the strength of the over pack and, as pack oriented creatures, will happily accept their new life as a means of survival. Often it is when adult chalaurans are added to the mix that difficulties arise. These adults may act overly territorial towards the new pack, causing in-fighting and oftentimes death for the offending adult chalauran(s).

Pack Life

Chalaurans move in packs. Usually, their numbers range from 8-10, not including any young chalks. Lone chalaurans are extremely rare due to the fact that they are born and bred to hunt in pairs. As the locals say; 'a lone chalauran is a dead chalauran'.

Packs are not split into a hierarchy. As long as a chalauran pulls its weight amongst the pack it is considered equal. If a chalauran fails to pull its weight, it will be given a rather merciful and swift death, typically at the claws of its hunting partner.

When hunting, chalaurans split up into pairs. One of the pair - the tryval - lures their prey into a trap by pursuing them towards their hunting partner. The second of the pair - the kilnire - lies in wait, attacking their prey with a powerful, deadly strike once it has drawn close enough.

Though they prefer to hunt at night, under the cover of darkness where it is easier to enact their cunning hunting plan, they have no qualms about hunting during the day as well. chalaurans will eat just about every living creature on Chatau’s Landing if they believe it's worth the effort to hunt.

Hunted food is gathered over a couple of hours. Typically, 3 or 4 Terran sized prey will be gathered by each pair. The gathered food is then brought back to the pack where they will often participate in a couple of communal meals.

… Accessing video file ...

… Unable to play video file: accessing alternative transcripts ...

-- shush, shhh, look over there --

{the camera pans left, blurs, then refocuses on a figure lounging upside down on a rock}

-- what do you think, juvenile or? --

-- definitely juvenile. It’s barely bigger than we are --

{the camera zooms in. Seemingly unaware, the creature stretches lazily, extending its two front legs and paws. Dark purple scales shimmer under the sunlight}

-- how awesome is this? A chalauran, out on it’s own, during the daytime! Good job we’ve got a camera. Don’t think anyone would believe us without real footage --

{the chalauran stirs. It tilts its head to the side, one eye peeking open. Sunlight catches the open eye, illuminating it like a star against the night sky}

-- oh shit --

-- shut up, johnny! --

{a roar is heard off camera. The camera men can be heard screaming. There’s a blur of motion before the camera falls to the ground. It continues filming as scaled paws move past, coated with a thin layer of red liquid}

Bonded Pairs

Most chalaurans are born into a pack first. They will bond young (whilst they are still chalks) with another chalauran that will eventually grow up to be their hunting partner. Usually, this will occur in the first year of their lives to allow the bonded pairs to get used to hunting with each other. By the time they reach juvenile age, the pair will have agreed upon their hunting roles - so one of them will act as the tryval and the other will act as the kilnire.

If a chalk does not bond with another in its pack, it does have a couple of other options before the pack gives it a merciful death.

The first alternative is bonding with a chalauran from another pack. Chalauran packs meet other nearby packs every 8 months or so. For 1-2 months - a period dubbed ‘prowling season’ by the Terrans - these chalauran packs will hunt together and create inter-pack bonds. During this time, it is possible for chalks of different packs to bond with one another. Usually, once the chalks have grown into adult chalaurans, they will fall in with the tryval’s pack.

Packs that hunt together during prowling season will sometimes meet up between seasons, though it isn’t a very common occurrence. Most of the time it will happen because a chalauran from one pack bonded with a chalauran from another pack. Terrans liken the occurrence to ‘family gatherings’.

The second alternative is if a juvenile or an adult chalauran’s hunting partner dies. In this case, the juvenile or adult chalauran may potentially bond with a chalk. On extremely rare occasions, an adult or juvenile chalauran may bond with a chalk from another pack during prowling season, although they are likely to face a lot of resistance from the other pack and may even ruin the relationship between the two packs.

Communication

Many think that these stalking predators are silent. On the contrary, chalaurans do make quite a bit of noise when communicating with each other. The average person is just unlikely to hear it because it is so difficult to get close to a pack.

The sound itself is a low pitched ‘rumbling’ formed from the lower throat. It has been likened to the sound made when firing up a spaceship, only a lot quieter.

Chalaurans can alter their pitch to convey different meanings. These alterations are so miniscule and precise that is very difficult to pick up on without specialist equipment recording the sounds.

Mating & Reproduction

Chalaurans reach sexual maturity at around 2 1/2 to 3 years old. They can reproduce from the moment they reach sexual maturity to (on average) 5 years after.

A female’s estrous cycle lasts for about 35 days. Often, they try to get this cycle to overlap with their prowling seasons so that females can find mating partners outside of their familial bonds, thereby strengthening their genepool. Female chalaurans will return to their pack once they have mated with a suitable male partner in order to give birth in a familiar environment. (This alleviates potentially stressors, helping to make the birth smoother.)

The gestation period lasts for 87-100 days. chalks are born in litters of 1-3 chalks, with a mortality rate of just 12% within the first year (in part due to the protective nature of the pack). The father of the chalks will have little to no involvement in their lives, outside of further prowling seasons or occasional solo visits.

The Hunting Partner

During pregnancy and the first 8 to 12 weeks post birth, the mother is unlikely to do any hunting. This means that her hunting partner (if she is a bonded pair) will have to pick up the slack. Not that they seem to mind. Whilst the mother takes care of the chalks, her hunting partner will retrieve food for both themselves, the mother, and the chalks. The hunting partner may even be observed working in tandem with another bonded pair - an extremely rare occurrence.

Sleeping Habits

by Devin Kaselnak

Chalaurans sleep in secluded areas. Under dense foliage, deep within the heart of the jungles on Chatau’s Landing. They will sleep during the twilight hours, awakening later on to begin their hunts.This is even true for the [INSERT-SUBSPECIES-NAME-HERE] subspecies; just replace the jungle for a snow-covered forest.

For the chalaurans, required sleep is minimal. They can survive on 6 hours of sleep per day as long as they have the proper amount of nourishment throughout the day. Their sleep can be a full 6 hours or broken up throughout the day.

Chalks and Sleeping

The exception to this rule are chalks. They can require an extra 3 to 6 hours of sleep depending on how old they are. Longer sleeps (and uninterrupted sleeps) are best for chalks to help with maximal growth.

They have been observed to cycle through a watch, where one or two members of the pack will remain awake and alert whilst the others sleep.

Demonyn

Chalaurans

Scientific Name

Chalaurus Dygnis (abbreviated to C. Dygnis)

Lifespan

18 years (male) or 19 years (female)

Average Length

9 ft to 10ft. Males on average are larger than females. However, the largest recorded chalauran was a female.

Dietary Needs

Chalaurans are a carnivorous species. They hunt, kill, and eat their prey, mainly feasting on the muscle and fat tissues. They have even been known to devour the bones of smaller animals.

Some chalaurans have been observed eating plants; in particular, the grass and leaves found within their native habitats. Scientists believe that this is done when a chalauran is sick, as a way to ease feelings of nausea.

Subspecies / Variations

There have been a number of subspecies of chalauran observed over the years. The most common species (as described throughout this article) is the Perlathi Chaulauran (scientific name Chalaurus Dygnis Dygnis or C. D. Dygnis).

One subspecies has been found in the far eastern regions of Chatau's Landing, where the land is plagued by snow storms and persistently cold weather. This subspecies, known as the Perlathi Chaulauran (scientific name Chalaurus Dygnis Simir or C. D. Simir), have white scales instead of the typical dark purple, allowing them to blend in with their snowy environment.

The Encanta Chalauran (scientific name Chalaurus Dygnis Rosc or C. D. Rosc) subspecies, whilst closer to their more common counterparts, tend to average smaller and slimmer sizes. They have been observed to be more docile than other chalauran subspecies.

Colour Tones

Borava Chalaurans and Encanta Chalaurans -

Perlathi Chalauran -