Greymane

About

A rare to the point of being legendary nocturnal hunter. These creatures are mistaken for or believed to be treahni suffering under some form of curse.

Other Names

Greymane, Shamblehound, Burrower

Description

Classification

Mammal

Size

48 kilograms (106 pounds), 0.5 metres (1 foot 8 inches) at shoulder, 0.9 metres (3 feet) long nose to rump, 1.6 metres (5 feet) including tail.

Appearance

Medium sized quadrupeds, with slim, almost emaciated appearance. Hairless with greyish pale skin, except for a thick mane of grey, white or silver hairs running in a crest ridge along their spine. They have long rough skinned tails ending in a tuft of stiff bristle-like hairs. Their limbs resemble those of a treahni, being about two-thirds as long, with elongated fingers and toes, tipped with short claws. They move about digit-grade in a semi squat, are capable of bipedal stance, and expert climbers. Their face looks almost like a treahni but with the mouth pulled forward into an elongated jaw and snout, and covered with bony plate resembling an animal's skull.

Sexual dimorphism

Males are slightly larger, and broader in the shoulders, than females. They have external genitalia similar to other mammals. Females in brood will develop six breasts.

Variance

Juveniles lack the pronounced mane of adults, but otherwise resemble them in body form and colouration.

Ecology

Habitat

Forests, Scrubland, Wastes, usually near existing, or abandoned, treahni settlements.

Diet

Carnivorous scavengers, and ambush predators, greymanes will attack people or animals if they have the opportunity to strike quickly, and escape with their meal.

Behaviour

Social grouping

Solitary or mated pairs, females with up to six young. Nest in dug burrows, caves, or abandoned buildings and ruins.

Temperament

Extremely wary, but can be aggressive towards potential prey.

Intelligence

Grey manes are very intelligent, and capable of cunning planning or trickery to isolate prey. Capable of making sounds resembling treahni speech, they will sometimes make mimicry part of their hunting behaviour.

Reproduction

Females mate once a year or so, and if they produce offspring, live-birth them in the following spring. Females will not mate for three or more years while rearing their young.

Hunting

Greymanes are nocturnal, seeking out carrion or live prey they can drag back to their nest to devour at their leisure. If they find potential prey they will usually wait in ambush, or try to lure or harry their prey towards their den area before making a kill. When attacking they use extreme speed to their advantage, usually moving quite slowly with determined stealth until they flash in with a bite, or claw to cripple and disable their prey.

Sub-Species

No known subspeciation.

Domestication

No efforts have been made to domesticate this species.

Stories

Cryptid (fifty word fantasy)