Morsa
The Morsa is a strange beast, commonly used in travel to pull wagons and haul all manners of materials Morsa are also commonly ridden by working class people, though not fast animals when domesticated in the wild they are known for their sleeker build and racing tendencies. There are many breeds of Morsa and many religions hold conflicting views on the animals for its different features and tendencies. It is highly adaptable and can be found in almost any environment, some seaside Morsa have even developed aquatic tendencies and traverse the waters almost as well as the beaches.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Morsa resemble horses but their breeds vary much more widely, the average domesticated Morsa will be wider and shorter than the average horse leaning towards a low muscular stance used for pulling like an Ox. Their feet are also different with much more variety with more aquatic breeds sporting webbed and splaying toes while the wild breeds have the padded weight shifting paws of racers and the mountainous variety often having hard gripping pads. Though their distinctive skull shape varies is size the elongates jaw and dull teeth of a grazer never changes.
Genetics and Reproduction
Morsa are beloved and hated for the way they reproduce. A female and male morsa can reproduce. A female if present will always be the child bearing partner but if two males are the only reproduction partners the more dominant one will often be able to carry a calf. Though the males do not develop wombs later in life some of the males are inter-sexed but these traits only reveal themselves when in stress induced situations. This is thought to be one reason morse's are one of the oldest living species.
Males and females carry their calfs for a full year before birth. Females are more fertile and will often give brith to about three to five calves within their lives while males usually can have only one or two, third pregnancies often killing the bearer from the prologue stress factor.
Growth Rate & Stages
Morsa'a gestate for a year and remain adolescent for about three before entering into young adults, females mature faster and males slower, sometimes even a year in either direction. Females often start bearing children at the ages of two and a half to four. While a male will often bear between five and nine years of age. Females remain fertile until the age of eight or eleven depending on the breed and will live until the age of twenty but stop working around the age of seventeen while males will often die at the age of seventeen. Though wild morsa have livd to the age of thirty the determining factor behind that hasn't been discovered.
Ecology and Habitats
Aquatic Morsa are the longest lived of their brethren and so considered the healthiest and best environmentally adapted. They preferred sand beaches and lots of tide lands and caves are also often found near large herds. Though morse don't eat fish they do like to stay near coastal reefs often swimming around them for fun before heading towards kelp forests to eat.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Morsa produce milk for the first year after brith though calves don't require it as males do not lactate the calves will instead move directly to grazing. Morsa can eat all manner of plant life including, kelp, grass, some leaves and shrubbery, flowers, barks, roots, berries, seeds, and a couple fruits though not all of them. Morse tend to prefer salty kept to sweet berries even the non aquatic ones.
Scientific Name
Chordata, Mammalia
Lifespan
17-30 years
Related Ethnicities
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