Griffon

"No finer mount can you have in the skies. More trustworthy than a dragon, more able , more noble. Surely these are the most beautiful creatures."

Calchedony of the Shyne Isles

Basic Information

Anatomy

There are several species of griffon, although all have the common traits of having the hybrid form of the forequarters of a great bird of prey and the hindquarters of a great feline. The most common and most domesticated of these are the Noble griffons which have the head and forelegs of a great eagle and the hindquarters of a lion. Other morphologies include the forequarters of hawks, ospreys, falcons and sea eagles, and the hindquarters of tigers, leopards, ocelots and their snowy counterparts. Whilst these are the falconiformes, and active during the day, there are also the night griffons, the strigiformes, with the forequarters of owls and nightjars with hindquaters of panthers, and dark jaguars, as well as the snowy counterparts of both owl and great cat as well.
This leads to a great variety of griffons in the wild, and also has a great deal to do with the culture of those that breed them to the point where each great house, be it elves or human have laid claim to a particular morphology of this spectacular beast.

Genetics and Reproduction

All falconiformes can interbreed, but not with strigiformes and vice versa. All, however, build their nests in eyries, usually in high mountainous places, or in tall forests with trees large enough to hold their nests. Nests are built mainly from a collection of large sicks with the inner part lined with furs and hides from prey. Griffons lay but a single egg upon reproduction and will raise the cub with devotion. Once it can fly, which takes around four weeks, the parents will teach it to hunt.

Growth Rate & Stages

The young are guarded for an entire year before being forcibly separated to make their own way in the world, a behavior capitalized upon by the noble houses of elves and humans. Griffons mature fully in three years and live for approximately forty to fifty years.

Ecology and Habitats

Griffons range all over the known world and thrive in mountainous regions and forests.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Being carnivores, they will feed on almost anything they can carry off, which is mostly anything less than half their own weight.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

As one would imagine, griffons have incredible eyesight and are able to see objects such as prey from amazing distances with superb accuracy and focus. Their sense of hearing is sharp, but especially sharp concerning the strigiformes, whose uneven ear slits are used to pinpoint the origin of a sound down to the size of a bullseye on a dartboard.
All griffons are amazing fliers, powerful and capable of long distances, even when mounted. On the ground they are capable of great leaps, but run seldom. The pounce is the killing blow on land, and the snatch is the killing blow from the air. It should be also noted that the stigiformes are also capable of silent flight and are incredibly stealthy hunters.

Scientific Name

Hybrid

Conservation Status

Although domesticated and bred by the nobility of most human and elven kingdoms, many of these creatures still thrive in the wild.