Olost

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Olost - "Sebastian Romu" © 2019

About

Pack hunting carnivores of northern pine forests and tundra.

Common Names
Bush hounds

Description

Classification
Mammal
Size
80 kg (176 pounds), 1.6 metres (5 feet/ 3 inches) nose to tail
Appearance
Olost possess antlers used in territorial displays, marking trees with scrapes, and in fights for dominance amongst the pack hierarchy. The antlers are shed in early winter.
Sexual dimorphism
Females tend to be 20% smaller in size and mass. Both males and females grow antlers, although the females tend to develop smaller racks.
Variance
A few sub-species exist generally separated by geograhic barriers such as mountain ranges, or large bodies of water.

Ecology

Habitat
Tundra, plains, and northern forests.
Diet
Olosts eat a variety of terrestrial animals, and shallow water species of fish. They work in coordinated groups to hunt larger prey animals. If hunting is difficult they will resort to scavenging from corpses who died from other means.

Behaviour

Social grouping
Olost form packs from a small number of family groups. usually no more than three mated pairs with their offspring, totalling a pack of approximately two dozen members.
Temperament
Olost are territorial and will patrol their range to detect and deter other predators from encroaching on their hunting grounds. When on the hunt, the entire pack will stalk prey and use persistence hunting to out last their prey, with individual olosts forcing the prey to keep moving, while the pack conserves energy for the final kill once their chosen prey becomes exhausted from the pursuit.
Intelligence
Olost are fairly intelligent, and will communicate across great distances with barks and howls. The are able to coordinate tactics through visual body cues during hunting behaviour to great effect.
Reproduction
Mated pairs will couple in the early winter, with the female entering a den for the majority of the season. Between four and six cubs will be live birthed in the spring, and will be sexually mature by their second autumn season.

Notable Sub-Species

Forest Olost

Stocky and broad shouldered, the forest olosts tend to dark grey and black hides. They form smaller packs on average, and range throughout temperate and subarctic forests.

Plains Olost

Leaner of form, and possessed of a dusty brown coat. This subspecies is often found in grasslands, light woods, or scrubland.

Tundra Olost

Near white or silver-grey in colour, with shaggier coats. These olosts hunt on the northern tundra and icepacks. They have the largest ranges of any species and have been known to hunt aquatic mammals such as seals whom come ashore for whelping pups.

Domestication

General
Most attempts at domesticating olost have been unsuccessful, due to their wild nature they tend to be uncontrollable, and will return to a feral state if they can escape captivity.
Resources
Fur, Antlers

Stories

See Also