Rynodon

Native to the Gar and Reva Riverlands in central Namda, rynodons are large mammals which live along rivers. Nowadays, they are largely domesticated in Garyiala and used as draft animals.

Rynodons were domesticated earlier than forollos, but later than horses. They are slower than both, but many times stronger, and are thus often used to pull carts.

Biology

Morphology

The rynodon are even-toed ungulates, like cattle, sheep, pigs and deer. They have a bulky body and large head, with a short neck and wide chest. The head-to-tail length is 3-4 meter and the shoulder height is 1.5-2 m. They have rather short legs and long muzzles. The hairless slate grey skin falls into folds in the shoulder, back and rump, giving an armoured appearance. They have floppy ears, which are larger in males than in females. Their jaws are strong and their teeth sharp compared with other herbivores, and more important for fighting off predators and rivals, than for eating plants.

A rynodon's lifespan ranges between 30-50 years. Females often grow older than males. A female rynodon reaches maturity at around six to eight years and have a gestation period of ten months. Males reach maturity at around eight to nine years.

Habitat

The rynodon's natural habitat is tall grassland and forest near rivers, specifically the Gar and Reva Riverlands. Territorial males claim a stretch of river and surrounding forest, where they live with a herd of five to ten females and a few young.
Rynodons are herbivores, their diet consisting mainly of grass and leafy material. Domesticated rynodons are often fed more fibrous plant material, which they seem to digest just fine.

Domestication

History

In the wild, rynodons are easy tempered animals as long as they do not feel threatened. They used to be hunted for their meat, which was a dangerous task, since an angry rynodon destroys everything in its path.
When rynodons exactly became domesticated is unclear. Old pictures of rynodons as working animals exist and their wild aggressive behaviour has mostly been bred out. It is clear several attempts have been made. Initially, they were domesticated for their meat. They have been used as draft animals in agriculture, but oxen cause less damage to the soil, and rynodons are now mainly used for transport.

Transport

The rynodon is rarely used as riding animal, for they are extremely slow compared to the forollo and horse. Instead they are used as pack animal, and mainly as draft animal to pull carts. They have a high endurance and can keep walking for almost a full day before they need to rest.
Rynodons are a common sight among horses, mules and camels along the trade routes leading to and from Garyiala. Other countries have not yet picked up on the use of rynodons as working animal.

by me