Hidges

The hidge, a large ungulate woodland browser, is the most important livestock animal of the wolvens. In sedentary cultures like the Valish, hidges are used principally for draught, dairy products and transportation. In shifting agricultural societies, the hidge also plays the vital role of assisting soil regeneration by manuring fallow woodlots. In nomadic cultures the hidge forms the basis of agriculture by being kept in very large open-ranging herds, providing dairy products and meat for their herders.
As a browsing animal, the hidge requires a large area of woodland ('browsure') to sustain itself: a larger amount of land than grazing animals, as used by humans. This makes the farming of hidges for meat and leather rather inefficient, further necessitating the need for hunting to supplement wolven agriculture.
The hidge was domesticated from the Varrian elk 5000 years ago by the Moonwolvens and enabled the spread of agriculture beyond the most favourable sites, by manuring woodlots in shifting agriculture and providing draught for tillage.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Relative of the Varrian elk (Alces varrius). 6-8ft at the withers when mature. Unlike their wild ancestors, they are herding animals.
Male weight: 350kg-600kg Female weight: 300kg-400kg
They do not gallop: their faster gaits are a form of trot. They can trot as fast as a horse can gallop, but have a smoother gait at this speed, well suited for transportation. They are more temperamental than horses: not easily suited to complex training.

Ecology and Habitats

Browser of woodlands. When kept as livestock, a normal adult hidge requires 18 acres of browsure throughout the year: far more land area than human grazing livestock, such as cattle and horses.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Browsing ruminant that can even digest twigs and lignified shoots. The woodlots kept for hidge-browsing are called 'browsures'. Hidges are especially fond of birch and pine.

Scientific Name

Alces varrius domesticus

Origin/Ancestry

Alces varrius