Gaffear

Gaffears are rather odd bear-like creatures that are quite furry and large but stay close to the ground. Their greenish blue tinge makes them difficult to spot.
They find each other by way of a long howl. It can be quite disconcerting to hear one go off right next to you when you didn't realize they were there. They don't typically bother humans, but they have been known to go after weinadi if hungry enough. Otherwise, just about any kind of animal is fair game to them.
Their oddest practice is that they like to store their food, and have been known to soak their meat in salt pits and store it in caves. If you ever find a stash of salted meat, run away.
When they run, they look rather like a carpet surging across the plains. Watching this "carpet" surge over an Ortono Goat is almost surreal. It kills, divvies up its prey, and either eats right then and there or else begins the arduous process of dragging the bits to a salt cache. All that an outside observer might see of this would be a roundish bulge of fur suddenly cause another animal to vanish entirely.

Basic Information

Growth Rate & Stages

The gaffears raise their young in pouches, held close under them. This is meant to protect them, since they start life extraordinarily small in comparison to their adult size. They grow slowly, not physically mature until they're about 10 years old, and unable to leave the pouch for long until they're four years old.

Ecology and Habitats

They tend to be found in the spaces on the plains near but not in the oases and little valleys found all around. Their low-to-the-ground form means they have difficulty traversing height changes, but can move very quickly on the flat plains. They also need to live near salt water, since they use pockets of dried salt to preserve their kills.