Cathar

Cathars are common mounts and beasts of burden throughout Nalea.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Cathars are a large equine ungulate with a sloped back, large front leg and shorted back legs. Something their forelimbs are referred to as arms and hands. They have large hooked claws on their forelimbs and walk on their knuckles.

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Dietary Needs and Habits

Cathars are ungulates adapted to browsing. With their long arms and heavy, hook-shaped claws, they pull down the branches from trees to reach the fruit and leaves. They prefer soft fruit and and leaves since they loose their incisors and canines upon reaching adulthood, but a few war breeds exist that keep their teeth.

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Additional Information

Domestication

Cathars were domesticated before the age of written history, while several accounts are preserved in the oral histories around the world. Most credit a god or great spirit for the gift of the cathars with the exception of the Ashkenkar who credit the cathars themselves with the salvation of their tribe as they carried them from the desert to the grasslands.
They are employed from everything from farm word, transportation, cargo transit, and even war mounts.

Facial characteristics

Their expressive ears and eyes communicate a lot about their emotional and mental state. With the exceptions of a few breeds, cathars have what are called painted faces with include markings around their eyes and on the muzzle that differ from their nose and lower jaw.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Cathars are found all over the world.

Average Intelligence

Cathars are very intelligent for a beast and are known to communicate with each over through a low rumbling produced in their throat. Some Sadath and Ok'un are able to communicate with them without psionic introduction.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Over the centuries, some breeds of cathars have been imbued with many extrasensory abilities like the aether sense, and even the ability to psionically bond with their companion.

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Header image modified from ChalicotheriumDB1.jpg: DiBgdderivative work: Artuller, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Lifespan

25- 30 years

Conservation Status

Wild cathars exist in differnet populations through the world. Their domesticated counterparts are one of the most common if not the most common domesticaled animals in the world.

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Average Height

1.4 - 1.8 meters

Average Weight

380 - 1,000 kg

Average Physique

Cathars are muscular creatures, but they are capable of building a pad of fat distributed across their back to store energy for later.