Dural:Fauna

Bobcats

Also known as Bay Lynxes or Wildcats. The bobcat is a shy and stocky cat with a bobbed tail.

Size: 30 inches, 15-35 lbs.

Description: Bobcats have bob tails, short powerful legs, and a sturdy body. The ears are large and tufted. The coat color is tawny brown, fading to white on its underbelly. The coat is mottled or barred with black on the legs, flanks, and sometimes underside. The backs of the ears are black.

Habitat: Bobcats inhabit temperate to sub-arctic regions in all terrain except for desert.

Diet: Small game, such as rabbits, gophers, rodents, and lizards.

Habits: Bobcats are very territorial and strictly nocturnal hunters. They hunt both on the ground and from the trees.

Cats (domestic)

The domestic cat, a versatile mouser and friend of humanoids.

Size: 4-8 lbs, 12 inches

Description: This is your standard housecat. They come in a variety of colors and fur lengths.

Habitat: Domestic cats live the same places that their owners do. Humans are fond of keeping cats, and sometimes you can find them with elves. Dwarves NEVER keep cats. It is also not uncommon to find feral cats living in the wilderness. Feral cats are usually of no concern to adventuring parties, but they do sometimes make a nuisance of themselves to farmers/ranchers in that they kill small livestock (chickens and the like).

Diet: Cats are carnivorous and adept hunters of small game. Mice, rats, lizards, birds are all fair game to supplement whatever diet (if any) is being supplied by their owners.

Habits: Cats are solitary as a rule, but can be rather affectionate.

Cheetahs

The fastest of all cats, and arguably the fastest land animal, the cheetah uses its speed to hunt its prey.

Size: 65-110 lbs, 48-60 inches

Description: The cheetah is tall, slim, and built like a greyhound. They are tawny yellow in color with solid black or brown spots. It also possesses a long white tipped tail. The cheetah is the only cat that cannot retract its claws.

Habitat: The cheetah is found in the open grasslands in sub-tropical and tropical environments. Sometimes they may be found in forests close to grasslands, but its natural home is in the open.

Diet: Cheetahs eat antelopes and other grazing animals.

Habits: Cheetahs are the fastest cats, capable of reaching speeds of up to 80mph. Cheetahs are strictly daytime ground hunters, and rely on their superb speed to run down their prey.

Cougars

Cougars are also called Mountain Lions or Pumas. The largest of the lesser cats, the cougar is a graceful animal with a chilling cry.

Size: 100-200 lbs, 48-60 inches in length.

Description: The cougar is the largest of the lesser cats. They are powerful and graceful, with a narrow body and powerful legs. Thier coats are a uniform tawny color, with a white underbelly, chin, and throat. Several often sport a white mustache as well.

Habitat: Cougars inhabit all terrains in temperate and sub-tropical regions.

Diet: The cougar is carnivorous. Cougars eat deer, sheep, goats, capybaras, wild pigs, and will often take livestock when other game is scarce.

Habits: Cougars are amazing jumpers, in that they can jump 30 feet laterally and up to 18 feet straight up. Cougars are very territorial and stake out large territories. They are solitary even by feline standards, keeping company with their mates only during mating season. Cougars will avoid contact with humans and other intelligent races when staking out their territory, but are often unafraid to confront them when a previously staked out territory is invaded.
Cougars are by nature ground hunters, often springing on their prey. However, they will sometimes jump from a cliff or a tree to secure a meal.
The cougar cannot roar (therefore it is not a greater cat), but it has an eerie cry somewhere between a scream and a snarl.

Comments: Cougars are often incorrectly called 'panthers'. 'Panthers' are actually leopards.

Coyotes

Resembling an underfed guard dog, coyotes are cunning and opportunistic cousins of dogs and wolves. Also known as "Plains Pup" to some of the settlers of the outer regions.

Size: 20-35 lbs, average being about 30. Females are about 5 lbs. lighter than males.

Description: Coyotes look like skinny brown dogs, but have a keener sense of smell and larger, more upright ears. They have bushy, black tipped tails and yellow eyes.

Habitat: Coyotes mainly inhabit plains and lightly forested areas, and they also can be found in the arid desert regions. Anywhere that has an abundance of small game can support coyotes.

Diet: Coyotes eat a variety of small game, everything from rabbits and mice to even birds and lizards. Summertime diet is light, consisting of the small game and invertabrates, and even the occasional plant. Wintertime brings about a reliance on larger game, including deer (prey or carrion), rabbits, hares, and even small or young livestock.

Habits: Coyotes are the most vocal of the canine breeds. They make a variety of sounds, including yipping, barking, and high pitched howls.
Coyotes can be observed throughout the day, but are mainly active at dawn and dusk. Highly cunning and adaptable, they can be found living in close proximity to settlements and cities, but they are somewhat shy and will avoid crossing paths with humans and other intelligent races if at all possible.
Coyotes are pack animals, although they usually travel around as mated pairs. When packs form, its usually a mated pair and the young from a generation or two, so its rare to see a Coyote pack of more than 6-8 members.

Dingos

Dingos are wild dogs that have managed to establish a breeding population.

Size: 35-40 lbs.

Description: Dingos look a little like sheepdogs.

Habitat: ...

Diet: Dingos have quite the same eating habits as Coyotes. Although they travel in larger packs, they still don't eat that much large prey.

Habits: Dingos are pack animals as well. Packs can grow rather large in number, consisting of 3-4 familys and numbering more than 20 individuals. They are diurnal by nature, but are really active at dusk.

Comments: I know little or nothing about the actual Australian dingos, except they came from domestic dogs gone wild. Anyone care to elaborate upon or correct the above fabrication? I just think we need to have wild dogs somewhere... :)

Dogs

The domesticated dog can be found living with just about all of the civilized humanoids of Dural.

Size: Varies quite a bit. Toy breeds (only common in the most opulent of civilizations) only weigh about 1 pound, but some guard mastiffs weigh in the upwards of 150 pounds.

Description: Dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Most common in the land of Dural are the sheparding breeds, which tend to be small, stocky, quick, and very intelligent. Color for these breeds is usually black and white, with some chocolate brown mixed in every now and then.

Habitat: Dogs live anywhere there are people, being defined as intelligent races that will have dogs around. For some reason, dogs and humans often are found together, but they are also frequent the company of Elves. It is rare to see dogs with Trolls or Dwarves.

Diet: Dogs are carnivorous, like all the canines. However, do to their domestication, they will eat just about anything (table scraps, etc), but they prefer meat.

Habits: Dogs are incredibly loyal to their masters, no matter the breed. This, combined with their amicable nature (in most breeds) makes them frequent pets and working animals. They are by nature diurnal creatures.

Garneth

Garneth are large canines that are often found in the company of Orcs.

Insects

What kind of world could one have without insects? Though small, they are a vital part of the ecosystem of Dural.

Bees

The honeybee can be found both in the wild or in the care of beekeepers. Beekeeping is considered a strange art among most of the populace of Dural, but nobody can argue that bee honey isn't an expensive product.

Flies

The housefly is found just about everywhere in Dural, but can be found in large quantities around dumps, outhouses, and dead bodies.

Roaches

Roaches are the survivors of the insect kingdom. Like humans, they live just about anywhere and eat just about anything. Most often found in the dirtier sections of cities.

Leopards

Leopards are also known as panthers. The leopard is a medium sized spotted hunter that lives in the jungles and savannahs.

Size: 48 inches tall, with a 24 inch tail. Weighs anywhere from 90-150 lbs.

Description: Leopards' coats are pale brown to yellowish brown with brown spots in rosettes. Sometimes Leopards are dark brown or black, producing the famous 'black panther'.

Habitat: Leopards inhabit semi-tropical and tropical regions in forest, jugle, or savannahs. Some 'snow leopards' even inhabit the mountains.

Diet: Leopards are carnivorous and eat anything from small to medium game. Lizards, birds, antelope, deer, etc.

Habits: The leopard is an intelligent and graceful hunter. It hunts by day, by night, during twilight, from the trees or on the ground. Leopards are also remarkable for their incredible jumping ability: they have no trouble leaping 10 feet high or 22 feet laterally. Leopards are one of the few cats (aside from tigers) that will voluntarily enter water.

Lions

The only social cat, the lion lives in large groups called prides. The male has a characteristic mane and terrifying roar.

Size: 300-500lbs, 96-108 inches

Description: Lions are very large, evenly proportioned cats with heavy heads. Their coats are tawny brown or yellowish in color with black trim on the ears and black tipped tails. Male lions also possess a brown to black mane.

Habitat: Lions inhabit tropical, sub-tropical, and even some temperate areas. They live in most all terrain from forests to grassland, but prefer savannahs and light forests.

Diet: Lions hunt just about all kinds of game. Antelope, zebra, grazing animals, etc. They have also been known to scavenge.

Habits: Lions are the most social of cats, living in large familial groups called prides. Prides consist of one full grown male and several females. The females do most of the hunting. The male often participates by roaring and flushing game towards waiting females.

Tigers

Tigers are one of the largest land carnivores in Dural. The beauty of their characteristic striped coat makes their hides rather valuable, but their size and ferocity makes it hard to obtain.

Size: 200-500 lbs, 60-72 inches.

Description: Tigers are large and powerfully built cats. They are the only truly striped cats (all others are tabbies). Their coats are orange with black stripes, and white underbellies. Some rare specimens are white with black stripes. The ears are black with white centers.

Habitat: Tigers inhabit all types of terrain in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate areas.

Diet: Tigers hunt game of all sizes.

Habits: Tigers are one of the largest land carnivores, with some specimens reaching almost 800 lbs. Tigers are nocturnal ground hunters, and are excellent swimmers. Along with leopards, they are one of the few cats that will voluntarily enter water.

Wolves

Mysterious and haunting, wolves can be found in many of the plains and forests of Dural.

TODO

Creature Compendium v0.2

This Creature Compendium attempts to catalog all the creatures we will have running around our world. Right now, its broken down by type, but there are several things left to decide. If you make any changes to this document, please update the version number.

Creatures

• insects
• rodents (capybaras, guinea pigs, nutrias (sp?), muskrats, beavers, rats...)
• felines (cats, bobcats, lions, etc)
  
• canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, dingos, etc.)
• rabbits
• wolverines
  
• swimming waterfowl (duck, goose, etc.)
• wading waterfowl (crane, heron, etc.)
• amphibians (frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, etc.)
• crustaceans (crabs, crayfish, lobsters, etc.)
• mollusks (snails, slugs, clams, mussels, etc.)
• songbirds
• raptors (hawks, eagles, etc.)
• scavenger birds (condors, buzzards, vultures, etc.)
• lizards
• snakes (land and aquatic, harmless, vipers, and constrictors)
• deer (deer, gazelles, antelope)
• bovine creatures (cow, ox, yak, buffalo, etc.)
• horse (zebra, unicorn, etc.)
• great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees)
• elephants (African, Indian, mammoths, etc.)
• marsupials (wombat?, kangaroos, possums, etc.)
• rhinos
  
• hippos
  
• alligators and crocodiles

PC (cursed, undead, or "magicked"):

• zombies
• skeletons
• vampires
• ghosts
• werewolves

Sub-intelligent NPCs:

• imps
• gremlins

Fanciful Creatures:

• dragons
• basilisks
• gorgons
• will o' the wisps
• dopplegangers
• demons
• slimes and puddings (someone care to elaborate?)
• giant unintelligent insects (beetles, ants, etc.)
• giant unintelligent arachnids (scorpions & spiders)
• griffons
• manticores
• chimeras
• carrion crawlers
• sea serpents