Mölqaran Gliding Cat

The Mölqaran gliding cat is an oddity, and often seen as alien and bizarre by those common to sciences natural-- Those clad as scientists see the animal as a wonderful little beast, a true survivor and one to admire for its resilience and intelligence. Other than the four-winged bats of Sarlükkara and the gliding lizards to be found in the Valley, they are amongst the few non-avian creatures to be able to take to the sky, and are thus considered sacred by some communities. Being very odd by phenotype, scientists in the 7-600s, genrerally competent and often brilliant, are puzzled by the apparent chasm these creatures exist beyond, compared to most other mammals known of...

Basic Information

Anatomy

Smaller than a Terran house cat, the gliding cat has small, squity eyes, expressive features, and coils between the limbs, as well as small, leathery wings. The cat has soft, short fur, and slender body, is an omnivore with sharp teeth and canines, as well as retractable claws, which are seen as morpholigcal features traditionally associated with types of cat. Later biology sees the animal as an oddity, with no clear ancestry. Where does this animal arrive from, again--?

Biological Traits

Few subgroups, with the foreign (Non-Mölqaran) populations being small, and mainly differing in coloration. The Mölqaran group of roughly tens of thousands of gliding cats are sexually uniform, as well as very similar in markings and size. Males may be somewhat smaller.

Genetics and Reproduction

Mammalian, sexual reproduction. Carrying time roughly one season, c.a. 100 earth days. Cubs are between two and six, and see high rates of attrition due to predators and weather. Gliding cats reproduce in the Early Summer, with the cubs being ejected into the woods before the first snows.

Growth Rate & Stages

Born blind and deaf, and dependant on mother until weaning. Eyes open after one month, about the same time the cat is ready for solid foods. Able to hunt and kill at the age of of three months; fully grown at the age of 1 year, meaning some 17 months Terran calender. Gliding cats have extremely clear markings since birth. Biologists in Mölqara often need not even mark the animals with tags in order to recognize them, as colours of fur and markings are clear enough to distinguish between hundreds of animals, roughly the population to inhabit a single county in the Eastern Marching Nation. These markings are fully ready and permanent until death after about 2 years Qaran. The cat is seen as mature at this point, even if they are fertile several months before.

Ecology and Habitats

Mölqaran gliding cats live in the farther woods in the far East, the rolling hills and mighty woods of the Marching Nation borders, with the Taergaledian farthest historical tithes being found roughly in the same general area. The area is highly contested by the Mihurite, Taergaled, and Mölqara. The area is referred to as the 'Big Fringe' with the 'Little Fringe' being the Harnothi one.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Omnivore, with a tendency toward hunting prey and scavenging from smaller animals. Eats anything from carcasses to insects. Prefers slightly rotten meat. Mushrooms, most berries and citrus fruit are toxic.

Biological Cycle

Grows a heavier winter coat with snow, and sheds fur which turns to a natural white, sometimes with brown or dark markings. Sheds the winter coat soon before coming to heat in the Early Spring.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Loners mainly, only arriving to congregate if to mate. The mother raises the cubs by herself, and ejects the cubs with the first snow. Before this, the mother is able to carry up to three cubs holding on to her belly with glide.

Domestication

Sometimes seen in menageries. Stories say the gliding cats were used as couriers in the Kiri Empire, with poems and legends of beloved animals being killed by the Mihurite by the thousand to dumben and deafen their enemy.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Skins are valuable. Paws considered good luck, and marrow used sometimes in alchemy to treat impotence. Last one especially in Taergaled, who virtually annihilated the small population in Khaerlemmen lands to see the snake stand en-attention--

Facial characteristics

As cat, but eyes larger and large ears. Mouth with small canines, and rows of sharp teeth. Nose and ridge as domestic cat, but slightly more elongated: in appearance close to the aye-aye, but clearly feline-like in phenotype.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Mölqaran East, or the Big Fringe. Pockets of smaller populations exist in Taegaled and Raq'huemea, with some variations in fenotype.

Average Intelligence

Poorly trained, and virtually undomesticated, but quite sharp for a cat-- able to open doors, understand some Mölqaran words and sentences, as well as use tools for example to break open a snail shell with a heavy rock. Having simple growths in the paws to act as 'proto-thumbs' helps to manipulate objects.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Very good sight, exceptional smell, and good hearing. The gliding cat has a very developed sense of touch, which leads the animal to be startled easily, for example if a heavy-set forester sets his foot down nearby a tree branch the animal is sitting on, and scurries.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Quite healthy, and generally resistant to parasite. Not usually seen to co-exist with another animals, rather sticking to their own territories and mating, hunting and harvesting there. Often, crows, ravens, vultures and cats are seen to chow on the same carcass, as the cat prefers different parts of different 'ripeness' than the buzzards. One might say these birds and the gliding cat exist in co-evolution.

Origin/Ancestry

Unclear. Shares no clear lineages to other animals.

Lifespan

Roughly 15 years. In captivity, either less or considerably more if kept right.

Conservation Status

Revered as an oddity, the gliding cat is seen a mischievous being, often 'inspired' by tricksters and cunning spirits which see humankind as well as other animals as subjects to jests and practical jokes. Gliding cats can sometimes be found stealing from a fresh kill, or scavanging from the trash. They are quite harmless, and Mölqaran culture sees them as part of the 'day' fauna, meaning those animals to be preserved. The cat is not a vulnerable species in Mölqara, but virtually extinct almost everywhere else.

Average Height

Small. Roughly the size of a small domestic cat, but more slender and long. Short, thick fur causes the gliding cat to appear more heavy.

Average Weight

C.a. 3 kg.

Average Length

C.a. 20 cm, excluding the tail length being quite varied.

Average Physique

Slender bones, and tight, small muscles, and small internal organs create a ghostly-looking, exotic animal which catches the imagination of all those to see one in the wild. Limbs quite long, and connected with leather foils to assist in flight. Small wings connected to shoulder blades, which act more as methods to correct glide, than true wings - the cat is able to glide roughly 100 meters total, less with cubs holding on. Fur is marked with stripes, or even tabby colorations, with solids black and white seen to belong to the very noblest of chieftains and lords.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Solid colours seen as exceptional, and sources of good luck. Some Mölqarans hunt these, and make wallets of the silver coloured ones to call for exceptional wealth. White and black solids seen as sacred, and belonging to the Mölqaran captains, lords and chieftains. Stripes red-orange typical, as well as white-black. Skin itself is fair: albino gliding cats are seen as the greatest possible gift to a dignitary. The Týoll of Issqar received an albino cat skin upon rescuing a daughter of a Mölqaran captain from drowning after a bridge failed.