Gantor

These enormous, ox-like beasts of burden once found ubiquitously throughout Hesper. Though their usefulness has declined somewhat in the modern age and their natural habitat is gone, gantors are still present in great numbers by those communities who rely on them.

Distribution and Habitat

The gantor’s native habitat was located on Kumari, where they ranged throughout grasslands and steppes that stretched from the coast to present-day Syllva Cirros, The Frozen Jungle. When the planet became tidally locked, this biome disappeared. Gantors are now extinct in the wild, though their numbers are not in any great decline because of their use as food and draft animals. Gantors can mostly be found in most inland sedentary settlements on the Hel-side of the planet, with the second-largest concentration being located in the The Eternal Desert. They are less common in all but the largest settlements on the Sky-side of the planet, though they are still numerous.

Characteristics

Though there are two distinct strains of domestic gantor, both “breeds” share some similarities. They are heavily-built, quadrupedal mammals. Though ox-like in conformation, they do not possess hooves, and instead walk on broad paws with thick, blunt claws. All gantors have a short tufted tail, a distinctly hunched back, and a shaggy mane running down the length of their long necks. Gantor also possess a single horn on their heads, though these horns vary greatly in size. The largest of the gantors stand at about 7 feet (1.1 ya/2.1 meters) at the shoulder, not including their hunch. There is some variation between various breeds and strains, with the smallest being truly miniature beasts, at only a little over 4 feet (.6 ya/1.2 meters) tall at the shoulder. Coat coloration varies wildly, though most gantors have fur in various shades of brown. Pure white and black gantors are not unheard of, and piebald gantors are quite common around the Eternal Desert. The traditional phenotype of a gantor is relatively heavily-furred, with very long manes that extend down over their neck and across much of their hunched back. They are also typically darker in coloration. “Desert” gantors, the strain most commonly seen in use in the Eternal Desert, tend to be paler in color, as well as more lightly-furred, with a greatly reduced mane. Their “hunches” are also often much more pronounced, as these contain large fat deposits similar to that of an earth camel’s hump, which allow them to easily withstand the grueling conditions of the desert.

Ecology and Behavior

All surviving gantors come from domesticated stock, and they share a generally universally docile temperament. Not much is remembered about their wild habits, aside from the fact that they were migratory and gathered in herds. They had few natural predators, but populations that ranged near the Dark Wood and the jungle that became Syllva Cirros were known to fall prey to occasional tharban attack. Gantors can live to nearly 30 years in captivity, depending on their treatment. Gantors with more strenuous jobs tend to last about 20 years, and this is the case with most gantors that are employed in the Eternal Desert. Females can breed up to once every fifteen months or so, and typically give birth to one calf, though twins are not unheard of. They possess an uncanny ability to navigate back to their "home" when they become separated from their handlers, whatever they consider that home to be. More than one ill-fated expedition into the Eternal Desert has ended with a silent procession of gantor making their steady way back to Stone's Throw. The exact methods they use to navigate in this way are unknown, but it's been hypothesized that it is linked in some way to the mineral composition of their horns.

Utility

Gantor are used in everything from travel, to hauling, to powering crude mills. They are also edible by all species on Hesper, and occasionally used for food. Humans would compare the taste and texture of their meat to be closest to bison. In the Eternal Desert, gantors are primarily used to cross vast stretches of desert, as their endurance and ability to go long periods without water make them uniquely suited to this task. They are also occasionally used in mining operations.