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Description

When it comes to megafauna, you would imagine they are hard to miss. Anything so large or tall has to be obvious, how could you possibly not see it? Well, surprisingly enough, there are some big ol' beasts out there that stay out of sight. Obviously those that are incredibly rare are not common sights, but some just blend in so well with their environments that folk tend to walk past them without a second thought. In this case, though, it is less "walking past" and more "swimming past." The ocean deep is certainly known for its massive leviathans and terrifying serpents, but what of the coastal shallows? What if there were towering beasts dwelling right below in the shallows you sail upon? There is no need to imagine it, because they exist! And fear not, they mean no harm. The world outside the sea is one they hardly care about, only visiting it briefly due to certain limitations of their body. If it were up to them, the Stipe Necks would never leave the ocean, as they are happy with the forests found below.

Stipe Necks are marine mammals that live in coastal waters, mainly places where the sea is shallow and cool. Unlike other mammals that spend most of their lives in water, the Stipe Neck has no flippers or real tools for swimming. They don't gracefully dance through the water or speed through the ocean, instead they take things nice and slow. They have kept their leg lands, but have chosen to use them to walk underwater. These stilt-like limbs add to their incredible height, and have wide gripping hooves to help them stride across the ocean bottom. Due to their size and weight, they do not float, so they can just sit and graze at the bottom at their leisure. I imagine people are already wondering how these mammals breathe in such a situation, as mammals don't have gills or any such thing. In truth, the Stipe Necks do still have to breathe normal air, but they do so a whole lot less than we do and without having to really leave the water. With their long legs and towering neck, the Stipe Neck has an amazing height! The deep end of the pool is but a puddle to them! It essentially turns their whole neck and head into a snorkel, as they can remain in rather deep water but can still reach the surface for a breath. This need for air takes a lot longer to come around for them, as they have special lungs and muscles that allow them to store up. Right now it is believed that a Stipe Neck can hold its breath for up to two hours before it needs another! Absolutely incredible! With this, they can take in a big gulp of air and then walk into the deeper depths for food, hanging out further below for hours! Since they only need to stick their nose out to get air, the Stipe Neck hardly ever leaves the water. Most folk never see more than a pair of nostrils breaking the surface, before vanishing back into the deep.

When it comes to food, the Stipe Neck is a herbivore, with a huge chunk of its diet being kelp. It pretty much lives where ever kelp forests can be found, walking amongst the great stalks and feeding upon their blades. With this location and their appearance, it should be no surprise why this species got its name. Their flowing manes bring to mind a giant stipe of kelp, and with their coloration, they practically vanish within these forests. With the rest of the kelp moving with the motion of the ocean, it is almost impossible to locate a Stipe Neck once it has entered these groves. This helps it hide from predators while it feeds, and even those who try to attack must struggle through the thick vegetation. If one can even land a bite, they will only gain a mouthful of nasty oily fur. The coating that makes the Stipe Neck so slick and water repellent contains a foul substance that both reeks and tastes revolting. The smell doesn't do anything underwater, but those with taste will think twice after taking a bite. I only mention the odor because you can indeed encounter it. Stipe Necks only come to dry land to give birth, as their young would drown. These incredibly rare times are wondrous to see, as these towering titans emerge from the sea in all their glory. It is a sight that also requires nose plugs, as the musky reek that comes from them would make you gag.

Though they come to the beaches to give birth, they don't hang around for long. The calf that comes out can move and walk mere hours after it has been born, and it will follow its mother back into the sea once it is ready. For months, it will stick with its mother and nurse on insanely fatty milk (the thought of it makes my stomach churn, regular cow milk is nasty enough), while she remains in shallower waters. Here is another scenario where you may see some of a Stipe Neck, as the mothers hang around shallower depths with their calves, so their heads can sometimes stick out. It is believed that this may be the source of some "sea serpent" and "sea monster" scares, not realizing it is just a hoofed mammal standing in the ocean. What doesn't help is that the mother will be protective in this state, and any boat rowing too close may be seen as a threat. Whipping her long neck serves as a decent weapon, but all she really needs to do is hook her ossicones onto the offending vessel and flip it over. If getting dumped into the ocean isn't bad enough (which is plenty dangerous for a dryad), not swimming away as fast as possible may convince the mother to finish you off. Taking a good breath of air, she can seize threats in her jaws and then pull them underwater. A powerful neck means you can't stop this action and you will be dragged down below. Since she can keep her head under for two hours, it means you either break free from her grip or learn how to breathe water. Failure to do so means you drown. So keep a fair distance away from a mother and her calf, and perhaps enjoy the sight from the shore.

Due to their horrible stench out of water and the fact they spend almost their entire lives below, the Stipe Necks aren't really hunted or harvested. Sadly, this does not mean they escape unharmed. Large fishing vessels that use trawling nets can tangle the head and neck of one of these beasts, causing it do drown if it cannot escape. In places where over fishing has gotten out of control, the use of bigger and deeper nets has led to numerous accidental drownings of these beasts. The one thing that has helped combat this is the fact that most kelp forests have resident kelp dryads. Often these nets do a lot of damage to all things caught in their path, so kelp dryads take action once threatened. Cutting these nets and attacking these greedy vessels has been successful in driving this danger away, but sooner or later someone always gives it another try. This defense isn't just for their home, as kelp dryads do enjoy the presence of Stipe Necks. This species is sometimes converted into mobile nurseries for kelp dryads, who have their young hang upon their long necks. The nasty hair serves as extra protection from foes, and this location also keeps them away from the mouth that may accidentally nibble someone during its grazing.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

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

While I was gone I got to see some real kelp and got thinking about this fella I made, so why not post it? Some kind of giraffe has to show up in every world, so I had to think of something! Sure a plesiosaurus body would have probably made more sense, but I feel I have seen that one done before and I do love the image of one of these kelp maned titans striding through the underwater forest!

Description

When it comes to megafauna, you would imagine they are hard to miss. Anything so large or tall has to be obvious, how could you possibly not see it? Well, surprisingly enough, there are some big ol' beasts out there that stay out of sight. Obviously those that are incredibly rare are not common sights, but some just blend in so well with their environments that folk tend to walk past them without a second thought. In this case, though, it is less "walking past" and more "swimming past." The ocean deep is certainly known for its massive leviathans and terrifying serpents, but what of the coastal shallows? What if there were towering beasts dwelling right below in the shallows you sail upon? There is no need to imagine it, because they exist! And fear not, they mean no harm. The world outside the sea is one they hardly care about, only visiting it briefly due to certain limitations of their body. If it were up to them, the Stipe Necks would never leave the ocean, as they are happy with the forests found below.

Stipe Necks are marine mammals that live in coastal waters, mainly places where the sea is shallow and cool. Unlike other mammals that spend most of their lives in water, the Stipe Neck has no flippers or real tools for swimming. They don't gracefully dance through the water or speed through the ocean, instead they take things nice and slow. They have kept their leg lands, but have chosen to use them to walk underwater. These stilt-like limbs add to their incredible height, and have wide gripping hooves to help them stride across the ocean bottom. Due to their size and weight, they do not float, so they can just sit and graze at the bottom at their leisure. I imagine people are already wondering how these mammals breathe in such a situation, as mammals don't have gills or any such thing. In truth, the Stipe Necks do still have to breathe normal air, but they do so a whole lot less than we do and without having to really leave the water. With their long legs and towering neck, the Stipe Neck has an amazing height! The deep end of the pool is but a puddle to them! It essentially turns their whole neck and head into a snorkel, as they can remain in rather deep water but can still reach the surface for a breath. This need for air takes a lot longer to come around for them, as they have special lungs and muscles that allow them to store up. Right now it is believed that a Stipe Neck can hold its breath for up to two hours before it needs another! Absolutely incredible! With this, they can take in a big gulp of air and then walk into the deeper depths for food, hanging out further below for hours! Since they only need to stick their nose out to get air, the Stipe Neck hardly ever leaves the water. Most folk never see more than a pair of nostrils breaking the surface, before vanishing back into the deep.

When it comes to food, the Stipe Neck is a herbivore, with a huge chunk of its diet being kelp. It pretty much lives where ever kelp forests can be found, walking amongst the great stalks and feeding upon their blades. With this location and their appearance, it should be no surprise why this species got its name. Their flowing manes bring to mind a giant stipe of kelp, and with their coloration, they practically vanish within these forests. With the rest of the kelp moving with the motion of the ocean, it is almost impossible to locate a Stipe Neck once it has entered these groves. This helps it hide from predators while it feeds, and even those who try to attack must struggle through the thick vegetation. If one can even land a bite, they will only gain a mouthful of nasty oily fur. The coating that makes the Stipe Neck so slick and water repellent contains a foul substance that both reeks and tastes revolting. The smell doesn't do anything underwater, but those with taste will think twice after taking a bite. I only mention the odor because you can indeed encounter it. Stipe Necks only come to dry land to give birth, as their young would drown. These incredibly rare times are wondrous to see, as these towering titans emerge from the sea in all their glory. It is a sight that also requires nose plugs, as the musky reek that comes from them would make you gag.

Though they come to the beaches to give birth, they don't hang around for long. The calf that comes out can move and walk mere hours after it has been born, and it will follow its mother back into the sea once it is ready. For months, it will stick with its mother and nurse on insanely fatty milk (the thought of it makes my stomach churn, regular cow milk is nasty enough), while she remains in shallower waters. Here is another scenario where you may see some of a Stipe Neck, as the mothers hang around shallower depths with their calves, so their heads can sometimes stick out. It is believed that this may be the source of some "sea serpent" and "sea monster" scares, not realizing it is just a hoofed mammal standing in the ocean. What doesn't help is that the mother will be protective in this state, and any boat rowing too close may be seen as a threat. Whipping her long neck serves as a decent weapon, but all she really needs to do is hook her ossicones onto the offending vessel and flip it over. If getting dumped into the ocean isn't bad enough (which is plenty dangerous for a dryad), not swimming away as fast as possible may convince the mother to finish you off. Taking a good breath of air, she can seize threats in her jaws and then pull them underwater. A powerful neck means you can't stop this action and you will be dragged down below. Since she can keep her head under for two hours, it means you either break free from her grip or learn how to breathe water. Failure to do so means you drown. So keep a fair distance away from a mother and her calf, and perhaps enjoy the sight from the shore.

Due to their horrible stench out of water and the fact they spend almost their entire lives below, the Stipe Necks aren't really hunted or harvested. Sadly, this does not mean they escape unharmed. Large fishing vessels that use trawling nets can tangle the head and neck of one of these beasts, causing it do drown if it cannot escape. In places where over fishing has gotten out of control, the use of bigger and deeper nets has led to numerous accidental drownings of these beasts. The one thing that has helped combat this is the fact that most kelp forests have resident kelp dryads. Often these nets do a lot of damage to all things caught in their path, so kelp dryads take action once threatened. Cutting these nets and attacking these greedy vessels has been successful in driving this danger away, but sooner or later someone always gives it another try. This defense isn't just for their home, as kelp dryads do enjoy the presence of Stipe Necks. This species is sometimes converted into mobile nurseries for kelp dryads, who have their young hang upon their long necks. The nasty hair serves as extra protection from foes, and this location also keeps them away from the mouth that may accidentally nibble someone during its grazing.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

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

While I was gone I got to see some real kelp and got thinking about this fella I made, so why not post it? Some kind of giraffe has to show up in every world, so I had to think of something! Sure a plesiosaurus body would have probably made more sense, but I feel I have seen that one done before and I do love the image of one of these kelp maned titans striding through the underwater forest!