Ursuch
"We saw the creature lying completely still, none of us saw it breathing, so we figured it was dead. Garok got close, and the damn thing sprang up and ripped out his guts in seconds! Didn't take long before the beast came for the rest of the troop, ripping through us like I've never seen before. I booked it out of there faster than I've ever run in my entire life. Pardon me for cowardice, sir, but it was either flee and warn the men back here to stay clear or get ripped to shreds like my comrades."
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Ursuch has a body like a bear, with four long limbs set beneath it, and a long muscular tail.
Genetics and Reproduction
The species reproduces sexually, and the females lay a clutch of five to eight eggs, which take approximately three months to hatch.
Growth Rate & Stages
They grow in spurts early in life, experiencing rapid growth from hatching, which slows after they have reached five feet in length. The next spurt comes around the age of six months, and lasts until they reach eight feet in length. Finally, once they have reached ten months in age, they begin their final growth stage, where the largest was documented at an impressive fourteen feet in length, though the average sits around twelve feet.
Ecology and Habitats
This species prefers hot, arid climates, though some subspecies are adapted to the more moist coastal and riverside territories of Barakum.
Dietary Needs and Habits
The species is strictly carnivorous, and will eat just about any prey item it can catch, including humans and other sapient species. They are largely ambush predators, but are able to chase down prey over short to medium distances with surprising speed for their size. It is also not unheard of for this species to consume carcasses, however, and they will chase lesser predators away from their kills. Females caring for offspring have been documented regurgitating food for their young in their early development.
Biological Cycle
In its natural habitat, there is little change between the seasons, but individuals have been known to lay dormant during times of great duress, such as a particularly harsh scarcity of food or water, for months at a time. One documentation described a situation in which an adult Ursuch was found, apparently dead, that suddenly awoke, and devoured an entire company of Baraki scouts, with only one survivor escaping alive.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Largely solitary, but the females raise their young for the first ten months of their lives, and Ursuchi that are blood related are less likely to attack one another, and two or three at any given time have even been reported cooperating to take down larger prey.
Domestication
Baraki have tamed a smaller, more docile subspecies that lived in the river valley near their capitol. The process involved taking eggs from their nest and raising the young from birth, as this was a more communal variant of the species as a whole, and the domestic breed has been selectively bred for a more pack-oriented lifestyle.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The hide is widely prized by leatherworkers and collectors, and their teeth are used by the Baraki to ward off evil spirits. The domestic breed is used by the Baraki as hunting companions and mounts.
Facial characteristics
Laterally narrow head; large, protruding teeth; yellow-green eyes that face forward
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Southern regions of Anglëa: Rhäumnaria, Barakum, Nagashar, and Südhland.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Ursuch hearing is not particularly acute, but they are capable of detecting a wide range of sounds in both pitch and frequency that cannot be heard by sapient species; they can hear the heartbeat of an animal several feet away, but not that it is, in fact, a heartbeat. Their eyesight is quite good, able to see well in both daylight and in the dark, and they seem to be able to see in the visible colour spectrum. Ursuchi have a highly developed sense of smell, and are able to detect a rotting carcass over a mile away. This species is sensitive to magick, although lacking any magickal abilities.
Image credited to: By Smokeybjb - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19431927
Scientific Name
Örsë'Tëri'Sychilo
Lifespan
70-90 Deian years, though the domestic breed has been known to live well beyond 100
Average Height
4'-4'5"
Average Weight
170-200 pounds
Average Length
10-13 feet
Average Physique
Thick with muscle
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Desert tan, with dark olive green stripes; some subspecies differ, being darker in color in more moist areas of the South.
Ooooh it's like a crocodile but spookier! :D I liked the article, because while it is a fantasy species, it could well be a real animal. So, good job on keeping both a realist and fantastic feel to it :) What do you mean, when you say:
I think that the article would look better if the first quote, by the Baraki scout, used the quote formatting. You can use it like that: [quote]TEXT OF THE QUOTE|AUTHOR OF THE QUOTE[/quote]. The result will be like the quote I left in the paragraph above! Also, you can add the cover credits in the image configuration page and they will automatically be displayed at the bottom of the article. This way, immersion is not broken. Great job with the article, though! :DFunny how you say it could be a real animal, because it is based off of an extinct species of Crocodylomorph, the Baurusuchus. The biology is generally adapted using modern crocodilians as a base, relying mostly on saltwater crocodiles as they are the largest extant species. Also, thank you for the advice on the quote, I only recently discovered I can do that.
And by "sensitive to magick" I mean they can sense when magick is being utilized, can sense Arcane or Elder objects, and some older or specially trained individuals can identify people who wield magick. They, however, are not capable of themselves wielding magick as they lack sapience.