Tralikad
Summary
Huge, hulking juggernauts with a mean streak that just won't quit, Tralikads are among the more feared animals in the deep forests. They go out of their way picking fights with anything in their size category, and they aren't above a crushing sideswipe to the smaller creatures. Much of the destroyed terrain in the forests tend to be directly caused by them, and so is a clear indicator when one is in their territory. Solitary, unless a mated pair, they have some semblance of care over their young. They spend most of their time as adults sleeping, and so it is more normally the highly active juveniles and young adults that cause problems for people. Thankfully, these smaller and less powerful variants are not too much of an issue, but one's distress cry can rouse any number of adults. Regardless if they're the adult's actual offspring, the irritable tralikad adult(s) will wake up and start wondering what is going on.Basic Information
Anatomy
A hulking, quadrupedal beast, chiefly found in temperate and forested environments. The bear-like tralikad is adorned in reptilian scales across its body, giving it a degree of natural armor in between its entangling, thick fur. Its six-eyes sit atop a mouth of crushing teeth, meant more to utterly pulverize captured prey than any cute notion of cutting or chewing. Two long, fixed ears sweep across the sides of its triangular head. A sweeping tail counter balances its body, with a large, heavy bone growth turning the end of it into a club.
Its color ranges typically match that of its environment, being browns, greens, and other forested colors. The scales can be shiny, making them stand out against its fur.
Biological Traits
Apex Predator – Tralikad's are typically the top predators in their ecosystems, competing with each other and other extremely dangerous creatures on the regular.
Genetics and Reproduction
Males and females mate during the winters, with litters of offspring being born a year and a half later.
Growth Rate & Stages
Although born mostly functional, tralikads age slowly, and are reliant on their absentminded parents for protection in their infancy. The ever-curious youth spread out far and wide, picking fights and establishing an understanding of their environment. Lacking confidence, they tend to retreat and hide behind their parents until much later on in their lives.
Ecology and Habitats
Living principally in forests, tralikads can be found in warm and cold regions alike. They're specific about their woodland needs, however, and otherwise hospitable environments are avoided by them. Some scholars have noted a curious fact in that tralikads avoid open areas within their forests--that is, the canopy is open enough aerial predators can potentially attack. The theory that followed postulates they have a deep instinctual fear about such predators, but few known creatures could truly give the tralikad that kind of trouble. Whether they're weaker than is obvious, or their old enemies have faded away, the fear evidently remains all the same.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Everything; the tralikad has the disturbing ability to digest pretty much anything that goes into its body. With several stomachs filtering complex matter, it gets the most out of anything it eats. They do have favorites, such as meat, mana-rich rock/dirt/etc, mineral rich veltron, and so forth. They're often thought of an omnivore, in the truest sense of the idea.
Biological Cycle
Tralikads tend to synchronize their wakeful periods during times of nutritional plenitude. Hence, in warm environments, they hibernate during the winters. In colder environments, they wake up in seasons of great active life. Given they eat anything that is rich in resources, it is thought of this is not strictly for predation--rather, they wake up to have a scrap with the locals.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The tralikad itself has a rather valuable pelt, bones, scales, and other hardy ingredients. Their meat tends to be rather poor in taste, and so is often left behind for scavengers to pick up instead.
Due to their omnivorous nature, tralikads can acquire rather unusual compositions. Crysium, mana-infused ores, metallic slag, and other exotic substances exist within their guts and their bodies. While ostensibly serving the tralikad by reinforcing its body, it seems more to keep them alive as sustenance than strength. Hence, killing a tralikad and cutting it open can offer rather different results depending on the individual specimen.
Scientific Name
(Tra-lee-kad)
Average Height
Giant
Average Weight
Massive
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