Demmmmy on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/demmmmy/art/Silent-Night-503001036Demmmmy

Deviation Actions

Demmmmy's avatar

Silent Night

By
Published:
2.6K Views

Description

Sheltered behind the mountainous spine of Fentil's Antarctic 'hook' is a calm expanse of tundra studded with dense bone trees. Roaming these eerie plains are slow, solitary herbivores known as Pouchbacks. Unlike most of Fentil's bipedal grazers which lay many eggs/ larvae and leave them to develop alone, pouchbacks give birth to a single, moulted infant that they care for for many years. This paternal care is a necessity to ensure the young survive the harsh conditions. The offspring spend most of their time in the pouch of one of the parents, being fed a sort of jelly-like milk. Parents take turns carrying the baby, allowing the other to wander off and re-build their reserves. They stay in constant contact with choir-like songs that travel well over the flat terrain.
Their diet predominantly consists of tough needle-like leaves of bone trees, with the occasional delicacy of ice ants or buried Lanacaudia if they can find/dig them out. These fatty morsels can make the difference between life and death to the hungry baby.
Pouchbacks show many physiological adaptations similar to polar animals on Earth; Stout limbs, dense fur, reduced outer 'ears' and a thick layer of 'fat'.
There are approximately 14 species of Pouchback, with smaller species living further north towards the temperate coasts.
Image size
1920x1080px 296.59 KB
© 2014 - 2024 Demmmmy
Comments4
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Tarturus's avatar
Fascinating creature. ^^