Umbagollian Fauna. This is page 2 of the alphabetical listing of Umbagollian animals. Go back to page 1. The Night Heron (From Nori Holygot's "Book of Birds," submitted by Lucius Ambulantis.) The Night Heron is a large bird, about 40 cm from front to tail. Most people will say that it is entirely black. This is not true: the persistent birdwatcher will find that the underside of the wings or beautiful purple. These are used in the mating procedure, see below. The Heron has long, lightbrown legs, and a long, snappy bill which is very well designed to catch fish. This is quite necessary, since fish is all the bird eats. This bill has another feature which enables fishing at night. The tip of the bill is glowing in the darkness. It glows strongly after sunset, and during the night the light gradually fades. It is generally believed that the Night Heron catches some rays of the sun, and releases them later. I don't know why, but fish seems to be attracted by this light. In my humble opninion, fish are quite stupid. Let's go on with the bird. The Night Heron catches its fish at night. They wade into the river, wait until they can hear a fish, and then, snap! During daylight they rest in a tree and sleep. The rivers are way too dangerous to rest in. The herons can be found along every river or stream in umbagollah, as long as the water is not too noisy and the riverbanks not too steep. They must hear the fish, and they don't like to drown. The mating procedure take place at sunset. When the sun goes down and the sky turns red, they all gather around an open place near the rivers. They stroll around with their wings up, and the red light reflects beautifully on the purple underside. During this time, you can hear their long and sad "crooak crooak" When they have found a partner, they build a nest high up in a tree, in large colonies, where they raise two to three youngs. Rundeer. (Extracted from the GUANO junior guide to nature, chapter 1: the fields. This extract was supplied by Lucius Ambulantis.) ...A little further on, the field is no longer entirely green. It seems to be covered with many brown rocks, up to 40 or 50. When you get a little closer, you see that it aren't rocks, it are animals! They look like beasties. But what are so many beasties doing here, with nobody being around? Well, look carefully. Then you will see that it aren't beasties. All right, they have the same figure and the same brown fur. But they are smaller, and some of them have stocks on their heads. These are called antlers. They gradually grow. The first year they grow straight, the next year they make abranch somewhere halfway and grow straight again, into another direction. Only the male have antlers. Can you see it? . In the autumn, you can see them fighting, deciding who is the strongest. Most probable, however, they are grazing or resting. All of them? No, a few of them are watching. You see that one that is closest to you? That one surely keeps an eye on you. Now look at the outer rim of the herd. When you observe carefully (and you always should!), you will see that the grass seems to move now and then. That are the young rundeer. The young are not entirely brown, but they have green and brown stripes. That makes them nearly invisible, for you, but also for all kinds of dangerous creatures, who want to eat them. Now get closer. You will hear a sound, it sounds like a single tone of a bagpipe. Remember the rundeer who watched you? That one is making the sound. It is an alarm sound, and all rundeer run away in different directions, leaving you or a predator confused behind. That's why they are called rundeer... From chapter 3: The woods ...the animal you now see is a rundeer. Do you remember them from the fields? Well, this is Grandfather Rundeer. Look how grey it skin is, and how it's antlers have grown weak and are hanging down. It can't run very fast anymore, so it is hiding in the woods. Now we're going to leave this old man alone and go on... Scrapegoats: Ring-tailed and Plum-tailed. (Extracted from GUANO junior guide to nature, chapter 2: the hills. This extract was supplied by Lucius Ambulantis.) Do you see that hill overthere? It seems to have light brown spots all over it. Let's climb to the top of this hill, then we will see it better [...] [...] Finally we are on the top. It was an interesting climb, don't you think? Now we can look at the spotted hill again. Do you see the animals? They are light brown, with broad diagonal grey stripes. Some people say they are grey with brown stripes, but don't listen to them. They are wrong, just as the people who say that they are the rundeer of the hills. These animals are not even related with the rundeer. These animals have short, curled, sharp and pointy horns. No, don't get any closer, because then you'll painfully experience those horns from nearby. These animals don't flee when a thread approaches, they attack. Or, to put it in other words: they are a bunch of aggressive brawlers, just like the aristocrats who lived here. Ah, I still haven't said what they are, have I? Before I can tell you, you must look at their tail. Does it look like it consists of segments, or does it look like one big plum? No, it looks like segments. It aren't real segments, its just the hair that grows in this way. This means it are Ring-Tailed Scrapegoat, otherwise it would have been the Plum-Tailed Scrapegoat. As you can see, they live in large herds of 50 up to 100 individuals. Witch their hooves they scrape away the thin soil of the hills. Below they find their food, the roots of the mosses and grasses that grow here. That's why they are called scrapegoats In the mating season they will use their horns and their strong skulls to fight. Males fight each other, but they also fight the females, until they are too tired to defend themselves anymore. Each year they can give birth to one young. These mating fights, however, are nothing compared with the fights when their biggest eemy appears: a herd of the other kind of scrapegoats. When Ring-tails and Plum-tails meet each other, a fierce battle follows, sometimes a few goats even die or get horrible wounds. Normally the herd keeps together by loud "beee"s and "baaa"s, but during the battles only the clashing of the horns and an occasional scream of a wounded animal can be heard. It is not known why they fight, but these battles are a spectacular sight, and watching them has been a favourite spending of time among the old aristocrats who used to live here. Silversnake. described by Thomas Mountian. Appearance The rare Giant Silversnake can grow to as long as sixty feet and as wide as two feet. Its scales gleam like silver in the sun. Occurrence They live in the undergrowth when they are not sunning their cold-blooded bodies. In winter they hibernate in deep caves and hollow trees in forests. They live along the banks of the Fly River. Sound Its hiss is like that of a red-hot ingot being dropped into cold water. Feeding While they avoid humans, they will risk almost anything to eat a beastie, their favourite food. Mating They mate in the open on Umbagollah's hottest summer days.If disturbed during mating they tend to attack.What seems from afar to be a flash of light on a summer day is sometimes the sun shining on two mating Silversnakes. Furthermore A Silversnake is not aggressive most of the time and will eat rundeer and any small creatures. Its fangs have deadly poison and fully-grown Silversnakes can also crush their prey in their coils but prefer to use their fangs. Snufflehound. described by Thomas Mountian. Appearance The Umbagolliah Snufflehound is a brown-furred dog the size of a Boxer dog.It has a nose the size of a child's fist which can smell things from miles away.It also has a mouth full of very sharp teeth. Occurrence All over Umbagollah, usually around human beings. Sound It has a loud yappy bark. Feeding Snufflehounds are carnivorous. Mating In the summer a snufflehound will try and find female dogs to mate with. As the pure-bred puppies are valuble the dog will often be introduced to a pure-bred female to mate with and left alone for a night and a day in a room. Three months later fifteen little puppies are born that can be sold after six months have passed. Furthermore A typical snufflehound is suspicious of strangers but will put up with them if they seem friendly. Provided it is treated well it will love its owners deeply. Striding Strepodont Brought to our attention by Beresford Griggs. The descriptive prose is from Herb Calderon-Bubblingham’s vade-mecum of Outlands Flora and Fauna: Under ‘Striding Strepodont (Lexee Lebbenn)’ we read – once known as the Lurching Stilter, this incredibly tall, long-legged biped has been ably characterized by the eccentric and observant student of wildlife, Droppitan Ghoe, as: ‘a fretful, pin-headed, stalky parody of humankind’. The creature seems to have never been common anywhere. However, with those long legs it moves like the wind and is extremely catholic in its choice of food so, barring the unforeseen, its future seems assured. It is entirely benign to humans and has no natural predator – anyway, it is too alert, no other creature would be sufficiently fleet-footed to catch it. It is usually perceived as simply a flitting dark, extruded shadow at the edge of awareness. The Summerfly Described by Lucius Ambulantis Appearance: The summerfly is black and blue and green shining insect, with four transparant wings and about 2 cm tall. The females have an ovipositor of also about 2 cm with which they lay their eggs. The larves are tiny, ugly, crawling things in the colors black, yellow and red. After a while the larves build a featureless green cocoon, wherein they evolve to a fly. Occurance They can be found in hte north-west flatlands. Occasionally they are spotted in the vicinity of Gum Gooloo. Sound: "Bzzzzz" Feeding: The larvae feed them selves with the big leaves of the Broad Wayleaf, in which the eggs are laid. Nothing is known about the feeding of the flies themselves. Mating: The summerflies spent most of their lives finding a partner. When the mating is done, the male summerfly die, and the females frantically look for a useful leaf. The eggs are laid within the leaf. Furthermore: Although the flies are called 'summerflies' they don't only fly when it is summer. No, they fly when they think it is summer, which can be at any time of the year. This is caused by the cocoon. The cocoon is very strong and isolating, and as a result, the evolving flies have absolutely no idea about the wheather conditions outside. The summerflies however should fly in the summer, because that's the only season when appropriate leaves are available. That's why they are called summerflies. Female flies who have to lay their eggs outside the season, tend to die very tragically. Tat. Appearance A slimy legless animal about the size of a cat. Occurrence These creatures are usually seen in the forest of Ex, but individuals have been spotted in every part of the country. Sound Something like the noise you make by filling your cheeks with air and releasing it. Feeding Tats are voracious omnivores. They eat almost anything Mating Performed in burrows in the dark at any time of year. Not a pretty sight. Furthermore As it ages, the tat grows a clump of whiskers on its chin. A tat's age can be determined by the length of its beard. In Gum Gooloo they are regarded as pests, but the Exians look on them as a kind of pet. Terror Toad. Described by Thomas Mountian Appearance Dark green and very large for an amphibian, the size of a little puppy. Occurrence Terror Toads live in caves and burrows near the River Fly. Sound A loud croaking noise Feeding Eats small fish and algae. Mating The Toads mate once a year all along the banks of the Fly river, after which the females lay a dozen eggs in their cave homes and guard them well. Furthermore Terror Toads defend themselves with a venemous bite. The venom is unique - it causes the person or animal who is bitten to see and hear the person or animal that that paticular person or animal most fears. Most potential enemies will either flee or try to tackle the nonexistant threat, giving the Toad time to make its escape. The Weird Forest Lizards That Nearly Killed Us All (tyrannosaurus horatius). Described by Dr. Quirk Yesterday. Appearance A very, very big lizard. Occurrence Inhabiting the deepest regions of the forest of Ex, these lizards apparently take great pleasure in terrifying small bands of vaguely lost travelers. Sound By some reports, a bone-rattling "Yeee! jib-jib-jib-jib GRONNNKKK"; by others, silent. Feeding Some maintain that these lizards eat wayward travelers and/or docile, leiderhosen-eating rabbit-like creatures, but evidence is sketchy. Mating Heaven only knows. Panicky reports of nests containing large purple eggs. Furthermore Travelers are highly advised to keep watch against these lizards: however, large campfires and lots of people fainting and tripping noisily over things seems to be an effective deterrent. Wrapper. Described by Thomas Montian. Appearance Wrappers resemble huge, multi-coloured rugs, but unlike rugs they are equipped with several eyes on stalks and a pair of armoured and prehensile red tentacles. Their mouths are unusually large and toothy. When alarmed, they can change the colour of their bodies to blend in with their surroundings. Occurrence Wrappers were believed to be extinct until rediscovered recently by a natrualist named Lucius. Not a lot is known about their natural habitat (however, see 'Mating') Sound When afraid they let out a 'really loud, human-like scream of fear.' Feeding Wrappers are carnivorous and unfussy. Mating Every five years the Wrappers go courting in the rivers and lakes of Umbagollah. When a male wrapper finds a female he pulls himself into a tight square to show her his size. His two amoured tentacles stroke her body lightly. If she has already mated she blows bubbles of air into his eyes to say "No" and he normally accepts her rejection. If she accepts him she hugs him with both of her tentacles and they sink underwater and make love in deep water, safe from feet which could tread on them. Three months later the flannel-like babies are born and rely on their mother and father to feed them for two years. After that they can feed themselves and at the age of ten they leave their parents. Wrappers look fierce but they are scared of humans. However,they will fight to the death against humans and any other predators to save their babies. The Wrappers love their babies as much as most humans love their babies. Yellowback spider. Described by Thomas Montian. Appearance The Yellowback spider is twice the size of a man's head. Its back, with good reason is striped with the warning colours of yellow and black. Occurrence This spider lives in grasslands near lakes and well away from towns and villages. Sound Unknown. Possibly mute. Feeding Yellowback spiders are carnivorous. A yellowback will attack by turning it's back and spaying a sticky ball of web into the face of its prey and then giving a paralysing bite. Mating It mates once a year in high summer on its web after wish the smaller male flees for his life. It will defend it's egg-sac to the death. Furthermore Yellowbacks are totally hostile to almost every other creature even their own kind.