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Description
Any who live near the ponds and bogs of a boreal forest should be quite familiar with these creatures. If you ever set up camp near one of these water bodies, you owe it to yourself to wake up early and take a look outside. If your timing and luck are right, you may see these marvelous creatures wading through the misty waters! These large mammals are called Mystawa, and as stated before, they are found in boreal forests, swamps and other places that have plenty of vegetation and water! While they are a terrestrial species, they spend a lot of their time wading through bodies of water with their long legs. Their legs make up most of their height, boosting them up to an average of seven to eight feet tall! With this height, they can walk through rather deep water with little trouble, and that is important, as the water holds their primary food source! Though they are quite large, Mystawa feed primarily on algae, duckweed and other aquatic plants. Their strange heads and goofy looking mouths are actually designed for a filter feeder's diet, as they possess baleen-like structures to sieve plants from mouthfuls of water. As they wade through the ponds, they will keep their heads low and take in big gulps of water. When their mouths are filled, they will raise their heads and use air to force the water through their baleen. This will spray out the water, but keep all the tasty morsels trapped inside! The nutritious remains are swallowed, and the process begins anew! Due to their large size and peculiar diet, Mystawa spend most of their day grazing and feeding, as they require a lot of food to keep that big body going!

Besides their strange mouths and eating habits, Mystawa have some other odd features. Staying in the head region, you will notice two rows of spikes running down their skulls. Theses bony spurs sit upon thick pedestals, giving them a weird knobby appearance. While many would call them horns, they are actually antlers. The small spur-like sections are actually grown and shed annually, while the fur covered pedestals remain year round. Male Mystawa grow these tiny antlers to use for fighting and defense, but that does not mean the females are defenseless. The females still have the thick, knobby pedestals, they just don't grow the sharp antlers like the males. Even without those spikes, getting ramming by those protrusions still hurts quite a bit! That, however, would imply that they would take the time and effort to use their antlers on you. In most cases, Mystawa are perfectly fine with charging and trampling those they perceive as threats. With their long legs and heavy bodies, they can easily crush attackers underfoot. This is something to keep in mind if you are ever watching these creatures. While they are filter feeding herbivores and they do appear slow and calm, do not mistake them for passive giants. Getting too close will anger or scare them, and they will not hesitate to charge. So be a smart observer and keep your distance! Herbivores can be dangerous too!

The other notable feature of the Mystawa are the several humps that run down their spine. While one may think they are the same as their antler pedestals, they are not. These structures are fleshy and fatty, with some believing they are used to store fat reserves for the winter. Others suggest that they play a role in courtship, as one can tell a healthy male Mystawa by the state of their humps. By showing these structures off, they can scare off smaller competing males, who shall see they stand no chance. Though these humps are made for survival and breeding, they do have another unintentional purpose. If you are watching Mystawa graze, point your eyes to their humps. You will notice several birds perching upon these hairy mounds, using the beast as a mobile seat! Interestingly enough, these birds are not taking this ride for free, as they pay the Mystawa back by acting as an alarm system. Since these creatures need to keep their heads down to graze, it can be tough to spot predators who are slowly approaching. The birds on their back, however, will have a clear view and they are quite vigilante in their watch. When a possible attacker approaches, the birds will begin to make quite a racket, alerting the Mystawa to the foe's presence. This early warning is enough for them to pull their heads out of attack range and locate the sneaky predator. It turns out this system they have is rather important to the health and safety of the Mystawa. Those who do not carry birds with them are more likely to be caught off guard and brought down, while the others gain a few crucial seconds to react. It is a fascinating relationship, though I know many hunters don't think the same. With plenty of meat, fat and fur to gather from a single Mystawa, local villages happily hunt these creatures. If a household can succeed in bringing down one of these beasts, then they can be set on food for quite some time! This feat, however, is not so easy! Mystawa are hardy creatures and they will not hesitate to defend themselves. With their avian watchers, it is hard to catch them by surprise, so one needs to act fast if they want to succeed in their hunt. Just be wary of their powerful legs and sharp antlers! Also, be wary about their weight and height as well, as a few successful hunters have failed to enjoy their spoils when one of these dying beasts tips over and squashes them.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

------------------------------------------------------------

One of my efforts to add some more mammals to this world, and a few less face-eating monstrosities as well. So here is a moose whale thing!

Description
Any who live near the ponds and bogs of a boreal forest should be quite familiar with these creatures. If you ever set up camp near one of these water bodies, you owe it to yourself to wake up early and take a look outside. If your timing and luck are right, you may see these marvelous creatures wading through the misty waters! These large mammals are called Mystawa, and as stated before, they are found in boreal forests, swamps and other places that have plenty of vegetation and water! While they are a terrestrial species, they spend a lot of their time wading through bodies of water with their long legs. Their legs make up most of their height, boosting them up to an average of seven to eight feet tall! With this height, they can walk through rather deep water with little trouble, and that is important, as the water holds their primary food source! Though they are quite large, Mystawa feed primarily on algae, duckweed and other aquatic plants. Their strange heads and goofy looking mouths are actually designed for a filter feeder's diet, as they possess baleen-like structures to sieve plants from mouthfuls of water. As they wade through the ponds, they will keep their heads low and take in big gulps of water. When their mouths are filled, they will raise their heads and use air to force the water through their baleen. This will spray out the water, but keep all the tasty morsels trapped inside! The nutritious remains are swallowed, and the process begins anew! Due to their large size and peculiar diet, Mystawa spend most of their day grazing and feeding, as they require a lot of food to keep that big body going!

Besides their strange mouths and eating habits, Mystawa have some other odd features. Staying in the head region, you will notice two rows of spikes running down their skulls. Theses bony spurs sit upon thick pedestals, giving them a weird knobby appearance. While many would call them horns, they are actually antlers. The small spur-like sections are actually grown and shed annually, while the fur covered pedestals remain year round. Male Mystawa grow these tiny antlers to use for fighting and defense, but that does not mean the females are defenseless. The females still have the thick, knobby pedestals, they just don't grow the sharp antlers like the males. Even without those spikes, getting ramming by those protrusions still hurts quite a bit! That, however, would imply that they would take the time and effort to use their antlers on you. In most cases, Mystawa are perfectly fine with charging and trampling those they perceive as threats. With their long legs and heavy bodies, they can easily crush attackers underfoot. This is something to keep in mind if you are ever watching these creatures. While they are filter feeding herbivores and they do appear slow and calm, do not mistake them for passive giants. Getting too close will anger or scare them, and they will not hesitate to charge. So be a smart observer and keep your distance! Herbivores can be dangerous too!

The other notable feature of the Mystawa are the several humps that run down their spine. While one may think they are the same as their antler pedestals, they are not. These structures are fleshy and fatty, with some believing they are used to store fat reserves for the winter. Others suggest that they play a role in courtship, as one can tell a healthy male Mystawa by the state of their humps. By showing these structures off, they can scare off smaller competing males, who shall see they stand no chance. Though these humps are made for survival and breeding, they do have another unintentional purpose. If you are watching Mystawa graze, point your eyes to their humps. You will notice several birds perching upon these hairy mounds, using the beast as a mobile seat! Interestingly enough, these birds are not taking this ride for free, as they pay the Mystawa back by acting as an alarm system. Since these creatures need to keep their heads down to graze, it can be tough to spot predators who are slowly approaching. The birds on their back, however, will have a clear view and they are quite vigilante in their watch. When a possible attacker approaches, the birds will begin to make quite a racket, alerting the Mystawa to the foe's presence. This early warning is enough for them to pull their heads out of attack range and locate the sneaky predator. It turns out this system they have is rather important to the health and safety of the Mystawa. Those who do not carry birds with them are more likely to be caught off guard and brought down, while the others gain a few crucial seconds to react. It is a fascinating relationship, though I know many hunters don't think the same. With plenty of meat, fat and fur to gather from a single Mystawa, local villages happily hunt these creatures. If a household can succeed in bringing down one of these beasts, then they can be set on food for quite some time! This feat, however, is not so easy! Mystawa are hardy creatures and they will not hesitate to defend themselves. With their avian watchers, it is hard to catch them by surprise, so one needs to act fast if they want to succeed in their hunt. Just be wary of their powerful legs and sharp antlers! Also, be wary about their weight and height as well, as a few successful hunters have failed to enjoy their spoils when one of these dying beasts tips over and squashes them.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

------------------------------------------------------------

One of my efforts to add some more mammals to this world, and a few less face-eating monstrosities as well. So here is a moose whale thing!