Belgra

The largest known species of rodent in Melior, known for their multipurpose poop.

This article is a stub and may be expanded at a later date!

I love belgras, they're so calm - it's like they're above all of the troubles in the world, but without being snooty about things. It's no wonder that belgra are the symbol of the herders!
— Local saddler

Belgra are believed to be the largest known species of rodents in Melior. Unlike capybaras (their wetland relatives), belgra are large, cow-sized creatures native to the sprawling grasslands of Caldura and the centremost regions of the continent of Rengia. These chunky beasts were domesticated thousands of years ago by the Herders of Caldura and are used as steeds and work animals in place of horses (which were not available until sailing merchants introduced them to the region). While they could never match the gallop of a horse, belgra are still able to outpace cattle and other livestock, which makes them excellent companions for herding and husbandry.

Physical Characteristics

Belgras have a distinctive rectangular head shape and their eyes, nostrils, and ears are all aligned to the top edge of their skull. This helps them to make use of more of their senses when resting or grazing in tall grasses or behind bushes and boulders so they can peek over the top to sense for any dangerous predators like large cats or monstrous creatures that came through the rifts.

Fun fact: their semi-aquatic cousins (capybaras) use this to be able to breathe, see, and hear whilst keeping the rest of their body submerged in water when swimming!

Hey, pa? Did you- PA! .... paaaaaa! Did you know tha- pa you're not listening! OK. Did you know that belgras eat their poop??? When they poop the first time it's green and then the second time it's yellow and then the last time it's brown and then they don't want to eat it again. Ma says there- PA I'M STILL TELLING YOU SOMETHING! Ma says there's 17 uses for belgra poop and that some people use it to stain their clothes but won't that make them really smelly all day?
— Curious child