Woodshock
“I’ve seen many beasts in my day. But few have such a combination of cuteness, mirth, and destructiveness as this one.”The Woodshock is a large ground rodent that has acquired much infamy for both digging up farmers’ fields and for entertaining small children. Often considered a nuisance, they can be found in almost every field and grassland across the continent. They remain easy to find, yet hard to hunt down. Continuing this duality, is its name that seems to originate from two places. One is from its ability to remain still and hide in the tall grass blending in and then suddenly surprising or shocking a farmer as he approaches. The other comes from its unique ability to actually generate a small static charge along its body that helps deter anything or anyone who touches it.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
Mating usually occurs in the first month of spring after they emerge from their winter hibernation. Females may mate with multiple males and will share a burrow through the month long gestation period. After the birth, the male leaves the burrow and the female raises between 1 and 8 pups. Typical litters will usually be between 3 and 5 offspring. Once the pups fur has grown in, the mother will bring them to the outside world to begin feeding on their own and the father may or may not reenter the family. By late summer, most if not all of the family separates to build their own burrows.
Growth Rate & Stages
These animals eat as much as they can, as often as they are able, in order to put on as much fat as possible before their winter hibernation. They are considered to be sexually mature and often breed in their second year.
Ecology and Habitats
These furry little animals can be found in all climates and areas that have agriculture, open fields, pastures, and abundant grasslands. They favor the wide open spaces where they can easily dig their burrows, see predators from a distance, and feed on masses of vegetation. Although they are typically an open county animal, they do occasionally enter small woodlots and forests, particularly their edges.
Dietary Needs and Habits
While many consider them to be vegetarians, they do occasionally eat small insects, grubs, larvae, and snails. However, their main food sources include many varieties of grasses, berries, clovers, and small flowers such as dandelion and buttercup. It seems that they cannot resist fresh agricultural crops, which brings them into conflict with many farmers. In late summer their metabolism slows down as they continue to eat and may double their body weight as they store up fat for the winters hibernation.
Biological Cycle
The Woodshock is most active in the early morning or late afternoon and spends most if its year feeding and looking for food, with a small break for mating and child rearing. However in the winter this animal will enter into true hibernation. They will often dig a second winter burrow in heavy brush or a wooded lot with protection and dig down below the frost line in order to keep a stable winter temperature. Most will hibernate between 3 and 6 months depending on their locations.
This species will have just spent the summer and fall feeding as much as they can in order to produce enough body fat to last them through the winter. When they emerge in the spring they will have used up over half of their body weight in fat and immediately begin their search for new food sources.
Behaviour
This species usually has low tolerance for others of its kind, but has been known to share burrows with mates or immediate family members for a short time. They often engage in upright play fighting to establish dominance and defend its territory.
While out feeding the Woodshock will often stand on its hind legs keeping an eye and ear out for any approaching predators. At the first hint of trouble, they will create a high pitched warning whistle and then run to their burrow or possibly climb a tree or even swim away if the danger is between them and their home.
Additional Information
Social Structure
The Woodshock is a very solitary and territorial animal when dealing with members of its own species. Yet despite this, they have a developed social network and set of behaviors that include communication, cooperation, and play fighting.
Domestication
These animals could potentially be raised as pets, but most people are content to just watch them from afar and let them live outside in nature. Children will often refer to them as their outdoor nature pet and may give them names and even pick clover or grass or leave vegetable parts near their burrows for them to eat.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
While most races have no commercial use for this creature, some such as orcs, goblinoids, and a few others will harvest these animals for food and use their skins as clothing and skulls and bones for ornamentation.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
These are very common and abundant animals that can be found throughout the major continents of the world. They're wide spread range places them from the Kese Dihan Forest in the north to even the outskirts of the Snowscape Barrens in the south, and can easily be found from coast to coast.
Average Intelligence
Woodshocks are considered to be very intelligent for an animal. They live in complex social networks and develop unique bonds with their offspring as well as being able to understand social behaviors and can work cooperatively to accomplish certain tasks and communicate through whistles, teeth gnashing, and other sounds.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Although they have limited eyesight, they do have excellent hearing that allows them to hear approaching predators and farming equipment.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Woodshocks that stray too far into the conifer forests may occasionally become infected by the mysterious white Pine Worm. Why these worms infect various mammals is still unknown, but without treatment the Woodshock becomes a carrier of these worms that multiply rapidly inside of the host body and eventually lead to organ failure and death.
Scientific Name
Marmota Monax Fulgur
Origin/Ancestry
Believed to have been an offshoot of an ancient lineage of Groundhogs.
Lifespan
They may live up to 6 years in the wild and double that in well cared for captivity.
Conservation Status
This species is not under any kind of governmental protection or conservation laws. While this animal does not pose a direct threat to people, it is often blamed for agricultural loss because of their appetites for crop plants, and machinery breakage due to their digging and burrows in the farmers fields.
Average Height
The average height at the shoulder ranges from 8 to 12 inches tall.
Average Weight
Typically these animals weigh between 7 and 11 pounds dependent upon the season.
Average Length
They may grow up to 27 inches in total length including a tail of about 7 inches.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Color variations among this species tend toward earth tones with most having light to dark brown colored fur with golden highlights. Other occasional colors include grey, black, beige, and even golden fur.
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