Mjölnir

The Mjölnir, is a wild hoofed mammal endemic to many parts of the alpine regions surrounding the world of Elysium. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen in the wild on cliffs and ice.

Appearance

The Mjölnir are wild breed of stocky, heavy-bodied sheep, similar in size to that of a large donkey. Weight of mature rams ranges anywhere from 400 pounds to quite possibly as high as 500+, while ewes are somewhat smaller. Due to their unique concave elastic hooves, They are able to climb the steep, rocky terrain of mountains with speed and agility.

Both male and female Mjölnir sport a reddish to dark brown, shaggy-haired coat during the summer, with dark back stripes and black ventral areas and light-colored saddle patches, which turn a creamy white, or grayish white during the winter. Domesticated Mjölnir coats are often kept short via shearing to keep from overheating when domesticated outside their normal habitat ranges.
Like all mountain sheep, a Mjölnir’s feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes with pitches exceeding 60°, due to inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart. The tips of their feet have sharp dewclaws that keep them from slipping and they have powerful shoulder and neck muscles that help propel them up steep slopes.
Outside of this they are actually unremarkable animals, resembling a much larger version of the Mouflon, a breed of wild sheep endemic to the Earthen territories of the Lesser Caucasus in southeastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in Iran's western Alborz region and the Zagros Mountains spanning across eastern Iraq and western Iran.
However what sets them apart from other wild sheep and what gives them their signature name, is the impressive horns that males can grow.

Horns

Both genders develop horns soon after birth, with horn growth continuing more or less throughout life. Older Mjölnir rams have impressive sets of curling horns measuring over three feet long with more than one foot of circumference at the base. The ewes' horns are much smaller and lighter and do not tend to curl up so tightly compared to males. After eight years of growth, the horns of an adult ram may weigh more than 30 pounds.
Annual growth rings indicate the animal's age. With every new ring, the smooth texture of the horns Mjölnir are born with, becomes rough and bumpy. This uneven surface gives the male Mjölnir traction and gripping power when males butt heads and shove each other. It also gives their already solid headgear a more damaging trait. With the right angle, these horns are capable of shredding the thin skin of predators, especially large cats such as lynx, cougars, and Alpine Forest Sabers.
However this impressive crownage comes with its disadvantages. With their horns being so large and exaggerated, it is not uncommon for males to begin to develop blind spots in the front of their face as they grow older, causing the loss of their prominent binocular sight. This loss of frontal view is believed to be the reason why males will constantly shake their heads especially during the rutting season, an intimidation tactic thought to give rivals and potential predators the warning of I see You.

Social life

Mjölnir are social creatures by nature, forming herds of eight to 10 individuals; though sometimes herds of 100 are observed. A Mjölnir social rank in a herd is never static. All animals can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights or losing them as well. This is usually done between males to see which will become dominant. Their fights are visually dramatic, with spitting, ramming each other with their horns, wrestling and kicking, mainly to knock the other off balance which, when on the mountains of their homeland, can cause injury or death. The females are usually only seen fighting as a means of controlling other herd members should members become disruptive or agressive.
While the social structure might always be changing, Mjölnir live as a family and they do take care of each other. If one notices a strange noise or feels threatened, a warning bray is sent out and all others become alert. They will often hum to each other as a form of communication and bonding interactions between animals is common and usually consists of grooming and mock-head butting, often in the form of play behavior. When a member is sick, or wounded or becomes too old to fend for themselves, they are often placed in the middle part of the herd with the young as a means of protection, and are often allowed to eat in the best grazing zones next to the leader. This can last until the member gets better or it can't not go on and inevitably succumbs for whatever reason.
During the breeding season, Rams will often battle to determine the dominant animal, who then gains possession of the ewes for the rest of the season until it ends.
Facing each other, rams charge head-on from distances of 20 ft (6.1 m) or more, crashing their massive horns together with tremendous impact, until one or the other ceases to fight. Mjölnir horns can frequently exhibit damage from repeated clashes, and it's not uncommon for males to exhibit Crack Scars in their horns, distinguishable from their age line by the jagged appearance and mismatch patterning. However it is uncommon for their horns to actually break off.
Females during the rut season also exhibit chances in ranks. But is over viewed as a stable, nonlinear hierarchy that often correlates with age. Out of the rut, Females may fight for high social status when they are integrated into the hierarchy at one to two years of age, but the fights are not as severe as male-male fights and are often in turns rare.

Reproduction

Survival of Lambs is highly dependent on the time they are born. Mjölnir ewes typically have a six-month gestation period. In temperate climates, the peak of the rut often occurs in November, with one, or rarely two, lambs being born in May. Most births occur in the first two weeks of the lambing period. Pregnant ewes of the Rocky Mountains will migrate to alpine areas in spring, presumably to give birth in areas safer from predation.
Lambs born late may not have access to sufficient milk, as their mothers are lactating at a time when food quality is lower. Because of this Lambs born earlier in the season are more likely to survive.
Predation primarily occurs with lambs, which are hunted by canines, felines, small raptors, and a plethora of other creatures. Sheep of all ages are threatened by black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and especially mountain lions and forest sabers, which are perhaps best equipped with the agility to prey on them in uneven, rocky habitats. However despite their likelihood to become a snack, most predators refuse to deal with adult males, with some even baring the scars of their attempts.

Feeding

The Mjölnir is an animal that needs very little. Adult sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks in order to balance out their vitamin needs. Females tend to forage and walk, possibly to avoid predators and protect lambs, while males tend to eat and then rest and ruminate, which lends to more effective digestion and greater increase in body size.
A Larger ram is a well-fed ram.

Name Origin

The name commonly associated with these sheeps, Mjölnir did not come from Elysiums themselves, but from Realmwalkers. Originally the animals were referred to as Woollybacks, because of the intensive process of shedding that occurs during spring, leaving them matted looking and generally disheveled. The term, Mjölnir, actually did not start gaining traction until Out-worlding researchers with members of a local research guild doing field-work, discovered the animals for the first time. Up until then, the animals were considered mostly a rarity. Research into their behavior was often cut short until the animals traversed down the mountains of their home to graze in the alpine regions. Until that time, the rugged terrain, unpredictable weather, and constant risk for landslides and rockfall often made traversing the mountains a fools game.
However, when researchers on a wildlife exanimation mission discovered a herd that had seemingly come down from the mountains early in the year, they spent weeks researching the herd. During this time, one researcher, a Realmwalker, native originally to the region Troms og Finnmark county, Norway, noted that the sound of clashing males ramming each other was louder then what typically could be heard from Earthen Sheep, noting that:

. . On earth, once pre-rut hits, Ram's such as bighorn rams will square up against their rivals and plow forward at speeds of up to 40 miles an hour, clashing their horns together. The resulting sound can be heard up to a mile a way . . . .but somehow the sound here seems to travel farther.

This, coupled with the fact that the noise and vibration generated from the concussive force of two rams butting heads, is said to be so loud it will "rattle a mountain", and in fact Mjölnir are often times blamed for rockslides because of how loud the sound can be and how strong the vibrations can be, had given rise to the joke name Mjölnir, after the Earthen, Norse legend pretaining to the hammer of the thunder god, Thor, and the symbol of his power. Researchers apparently liked the name so much, they opted to change with,with the term Woolybacks being bumped down to merely a nickname for the animals.

Trivia

• Mjölnir can be drug addicts!

Sheep from both planes of exsistence are famous for consuming almost any plants that are available on their pastures. And Mjölnir from Elysium are no exceptions.
Their Drug of choice? A rare species of Lichen.
Similiar to the Bighorn sheep of Earths Rocky Mountain region, Wild Mjölnir in the Elysium Rockies will go to great lengths to find a rare narcotic lichen that grows in green and yellow patches on uncovered rock surfaces. The lichen are extremely rare with some taking decades to grow over a single rock. In addition they seem too only grow in very inhospitable regions of the Rockies. Despite the fact that it is dangerous to get at and contains little to no nutritional value, these sheep will risk life and limb to get some, willing to negotiate with narrow ledges, knife-edged outcrops, and dangerous talus slides just to get a hit. These sheep, once they find it, will then scrape the rare narcotic lichen off rocks with their teeth. In some cases signs of "addiction" can be found in animals that desire more of a hit then normal, and these individuals will rub their teeth down to the gum line to scrape off every last bit of lichen they can find.

Behavior: Wary, Cautious, Curious
Habitat: Mountains, cliffs, forests and grasslands
Senses: Excellent senses of vision and hearing, decent sense of smell
Social: Common herds in winter, but segregated male and female populations in spring
Active: Dawn to dusk
Measurements: Male- 5 feet (withers), Female- 4 feet (withers)
Weight: Male-400 lbs, Female- 300 lbs