Trichter

Made in Spore
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Trichter
(Male shown)
Size: 38–58 cm body length + 30–47 cm long tail =68-105 cm total length,
Weight: 2.5 to 7 kg (average 3.8 kg)
Diet: Herbivore- leaves, grasses, flowers, and fallen fruits.
Habitat: Temperate forest edges, scrub-land, farmlands, woodlands, grasslands with at least some bushes for cover.
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This fast hopping nocturnal herbivore is also active during the day but only foraging in groups. During dusk and night, they will forage in forest and woodlands by themselves and heavily rely on their excellent hearing. They have four ears, and two are immovable and always faces backwards. The two mobile front ears allow them to pinpoint the direction and source easily, and each these ears can move independently. The back two ears as mention previously are immovable are very sensitive to noise and used to detect any suddens sounds that could mean danger. This allows the Trichter to easily hear even the slightest sound and then pinpoint quickly the direction of the source and type of sound even in loud and noisy nights. Still it is rare to see them out during such nights, and if they are out due to hungry. They are still extra timid during loud and noisy nights as it still a challenge to focus on a possible dangerous sound of a predator, and thus any sudden noise easily causing them to dart for cover. They spend a third of their time foraging, and will forage in grasslands during the day. Ultimately napping in bushes and shrub during the day for a total of 5 hours. Still during the day, they will forage in groups for mutual protection as at least one of Trichter is on the lookout for predators. Their eye sight is good in daylight, they will detect predator from the sky and ground easily in the open during the day. Once a predator is spotted, then lookout makes loud couple of peep. Upon hearing the alarm call, all of trichter will dart for cover. When a trichter runs, it is really hopping using the tendons in their legs for power than muscles. So it can hop away really fast for a long period easily if caught in the open, and against a terrestrial predator this is very effective as it easily simply keep ahead of the predator until it escape into cover or the predator tires out. Also this feature allow them forage over long areas with far less energy during especially during leans times such as winter. However, they walk on all fours and use their tail for balance and even at times support, and thus it walks clumsy. During the day, they are non-territorial and very social. Grouping together in a common territory. Often they will smell each other and even communicate with clicks and body language to tell what trees are fruiting and what predators have been around. Even grooming each other, but this behavior that improve friend relation is often reserved to family expects males with strange females only. Often times, they will social more with family and blood relatives than strangers expect for males as they will actually social more with strange females than family but be hostile to strange males even driving them out during mating season. At night, they will search and patrol their home territory not only foraging but defend their home territory against other trichter. Also marking as they forage, and they often start from their nightly forage and partol their home cover ,which normally a large thorny bush, and move outwards around in their home territory. So ultimately, the closer to the home cover as some key nutrient, food and water sources the heavier marking and aggressive the Trichter will be to invaders, and the more outer range and poor spots such rock clearings of the home territory are far less marked and aggressively defended.  During the fall, they will be most active and reduce sleeping to only 2 hours as they forage from 1/3 of the day to 2/3 of the day. Feeding intensely on fruits, berries, leaves, grass, and even bugs that normally not eat in order to double their weight. This gained weight is mainly winter fat meant to insulate and act as energy reserve. In addition to the weight, they will molt and their coat become white and gray instead of the normal brown and black as well much thicker and fluffier. They will groom their fur during fall and winter in order maintain it insulation properties. Often it is only other thing than foraging, sleeping and defending against any invaders that it will do during winter. They will not forage in groups and become complete solitary staying strictly to their home range. Any toxic plants they find during fall, they will hid in their home cover and stockpile with making sure to keep several different degree of toxicity. Since posion act as a preservative, and they will long in the winter. A Trichter's stockpile is so important that it often means when the stockpile runs out, a trichter is forced to search for a new territory for more food a very risky gamble as it will depend solely on its winter fat on it search. During the winter, other than their food stock they will feed on bark, tree sap, young saplings, evergreens bushes but requiring to find exposed clay to digest, feces of larger herbivores,  and any snow buried edible plants and remaining fruit. They are poor diggers and have a hard time digging even snow and inable to dig thru hard snow and ice. This is due the fact that despite having sharp claw and strong nimble fingers, they have relatively weak forearms that are only strong enough to hold food and support this front end when walking. It will try sometimes and clumsy dig with it very powerful hind legs and large sharp toe claws. Ultimately they cannot dig deep or thru hard material enough to make burrows or unearthed buried food by other animals. During winter, they are will forage during the day and very timid often darting for any cover over the any sudden noises. However, they can often become desperate in searching for food during the harsh parts of winter in order to maintain the metabolism to not become hypothermia, and they will more and more bold as they forage longer and further. This often leads them open to predators, and most death occurring during winter either by predator, starvation or hypothermia. If caught or cornered by a predator, they will kick with legs and try to dig in their claws. This can easily prove lethal as claws are sharp and can cut flesh.If not careful, a predator can be easily killed by a Trichter and some young predators are killed by an adult Trichter in the struggle. Trichter's lifespan is 12 years, but often live for 3-6 years.
Reproduction:
Breeding season is early spring to mid summer. Females will mate several times a year and give 1-3 litters normally 3 for fully grown females. Also normally females only produce 1 litter their 1 year old, then 2 litter their 2 year old, and 3 litter their 3 year old and venture on. Females will venture into several different common territory until she finds a suitable male to mate with. A female whom is fertile never ventures into the common territory of any blood relatives, and they prevent inbreeding by smelling the razorback hair. A female whom interested in a male will allow them to groom them. A male will notice if a female is fertile by her sense as he grooms her. Then he will raise up his razorback hair and make himself look even bigger. Therefore he look even more attractive to a female since bigger males get more females, and also this signal the female that he wishes to mate her. If the she is then interested in mating with the male, she will groom him mainly along his back and his razorback with pressing her nose into his fur to also get a good smell of the male to get a sense of fitness, health, and to make sure he is not blood related. Female will then nibble his tail to signal that she approves of the male and to mate with her. If a rival male appears on the scene, the two rival males will fluff up their razorback fur to make themselves look even bigger with the bigger male winning, but if that fails due being of nearly equal size then they will attack each other with kickboxing using kicks and punches. This sometimes results in injuries and even death, but often these result in minor cuts and scars all over the body, and damaged still functional ears. Gestation period is 41 days, and 2-6 babies are born. They are born only weighting 100 grams, have a light fur, and unable to run but only crawl. During the nursing period, the newborns will cling the mother's chest tightly and not let go. After birth, the babies quickly crawl to nipples on the mother chest and lock on with thier mouth on the nipple and dig in all of their claw in her chest. The mother will also help by picking up the newborn and put them on her chest. When she is running, she will be pressing with her arms and hands her young to prevent them from getting drop. Nursing last less than 2 weeks, and young will feed on solid food, and walk and run on their own. Still the young will remain with their mother and learn from her what is good to eat and learn survival skills such as predator avoidance. However, a mother can become easily fertile again after weaning, thus a mother may seek out a mate while still taking care of her young. It is not uncommon for the young to get hurt as a male tries to get closer to their mother due to young being so close to the mother and not realizing to get out of the way. A Trichter become complete fully mature at next spring and breeding season, but males generally do not successfully mate until 3-6 years old.
Humans:
A popular game, it is hunted for food and sport. Normally hunted during fall because of high level of activity and increased fat content. Still it is a staple diet for many farmer as many killed it also as pest that known to feed on crops and gardens. However, it is poor in fat content and several key nutrients thus leading to malnutrition if a person eats only Trichter and not other animals as meat. A trichter is well known it speed, and to the point that message of "Only fools rushes without looking" and "Arrogance shall be your downfall" in story of  Fastest Trichter vs. Cleverest Vupleraptor. The story goes that there was Trichter was so fast that no one could catch him and the Trichter would boast and brag to all the animals how uncatchable and fast he was. One day a Vupleraptor challenge the Trichter, and claimed that he could catch him. The Trichter laughed and accepted the Vupleraptor challenge. All animal come to watch the chase, and the two soon became the chase. At first the Vupleraptor was close and at the Trichter's tail. The Trichter then said "You think you can catch me. Just see this." and run faster. Soon the Trichter was soon a meter ahead, and the Vupleraptor said "I can still catch you that not fast enough to get away from me.". The Trichter run faster and was now several meter ahead. "Still can catch you that not fast enough." said the Vupleraptor as he laughed loudly. The Trichter become enraged by this and run as fast as he could, and he was now just barely in clear sight. The trichter laughing as he look back at the vulperaptor and yelled "IS THIS FAST ENOUGH YOU SL...." before he could finish his setence he ran into a tree full speed and died. The Vulperaptor found the dead trichter and said "You were the fastest animal, but I was the cleverest." smiling as he eat the dead trichter. This is story is part of manys tales by Taly.