About

Common Names: Steirure (Waejir), sea-cat
Classification: Mammal; Small amphibious carnivorous mammals who dwell on shorelines, and riverbanks.

Description

Size: 10 kilograms (23 pounds), up to 1 metre (3 feet, 4 inches) in length nose to tail
Appearance: Long lean bodied, with short legs, webbed paws with semi-opposable thumbs. Medium thick tails, medium neck, forward facing eyes, and small ears on a pointed face. They have a short haired fur with a water repellent undercoat. Colours range from sandy tones, through darker earthy red-browns, some grey of black markings dependant on sub-species.
Sexual Dimorphism: Adult females average about twenty percent larger.
Variance: there are a number of subspecies which vary significantly in size and general colour or patterning of their pelts.

Habitat: Sub-Arctic to Tropical wetlands, sea shores, and riverbanks. They dig dens in the muddy banks above the waterline, with one or more entrances below the water surface.
Diet: Carnivores eating a variety of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, insects, small lizards, amphibians, mammals, or birds.

Social grouping: Small groups of 3-9 animals
Temperament: Curious, Friendly, Playful.
Intelligence: Clever animals capable of problem solving and coordinated activity in pairs or groups.
Reproduction: Steirure pair up and mate in the autumn, with females live-birthing up to four kits in their den over winter. These young will remain with their parents for up to one year before seeking mates and forming their own family groups.

General: Sailors and fishermen sometimes capture and train steirure as a means of shipboard vermin control, or a fishing partner..
Resources: Pelts, Meat