Tomka

About

Large hunting cats similar to bob-cats or lynx in size and body form (with the exception being Tomka have longer tails. These beasts are found alongside sildaryn hunters as companions when out in the wilds of the Sildara, as their stealth, climbing, and speed make them ideal for hunting all sorts of problem beasts in the thick forests of Sildaryn homeland.
Common Names: Tomka

Classification: mammal
Size: <--number--> kg (<--number--> pounds), <--height--> m ( <--height--> feet/inches), <length--> as appropriate
Appearance: Long legged stout bodied feline with a medium length tail. their ears have the same tufted appearance of Stei. their pelts range in browns, grey and tans, with brindled or tabby patterns in black or dark browns.
Sexual dimorphism: Aside from the sexual organs like many mammals, the two sexes are roughly the same size as adults.
Variance: <--any other variance, include subspeciation-->

Social grouping: Solitary males or females, Female with 2-3 young, or small groups of juveniles (usually siblings from the same parents).
Temperament: Tomka are territorial, and very protective of their young or any Sildaryn within their territory.
Intelligence: Tomka are clever animals, showing a great deal of patience and planning in their behaviour.
Reproduction: Once per year in mid autumn mature females without cubs will go into heat, and mate with males whose territory intersects their own. They typically live birth 2-3 offspring in the late winter, and begin hunting in earnest to feed their new cubs. These offspring depart their mother's care during their second summer, and reach adulthood by their fourth.

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General: These creatures work with the Sildaryn to the mutual benefice of both. While the Sildaryn are exclusively vegetarian, they will occasionally kill animals which pose threats to their crops or the Sildaryn themselves; meat from such kills is given to the tomka. To an outside observer it seems less of a hunter and his trained animal, and more of two hunters working together. The relationship is more a symbiotic one, than a forced servitude. In fact the tomka do not seem to be owned by the Sildaryn, and will chose who they team up with according to their own desires. Tomka do not dwell within the Sildaryn hintas, but will form temporary dens nearby.; Tomka will also stay in ranges and not follow the Sildaryn hintas as they migrate around their annual route, but will accompany the hinta for the portion of the journey which crosses their range. During a one year cycle a hunter of the Sildaryn my pair up with as many as twenty different tomka for a few weeks each.