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| Broadback Gorilla | |
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| Fauna | |
| Official Name | Broadback Gorilla |
| Common Nicknames | Ichtli, Guldar Gorilla |
| Classification | Mammal |
| Habitat | Westafar |
| Domesticated | No |
| Current Status | Rare |
The Broadback Gorilla, also known as the Ichtli, is a large, powerful gorilla-like animal native to the forests of Guldar. Formerly creatures encountered by the Eronidas in their time, and later by the Maquixtl, this species is dangerous when roused to anger by trespassers to their territory. The Broadback Gorilla is also notable for being sampled for its Genos and is used by the Maquixtl to create one of the many forms they can manifest in themselves.
History
The Broadback Gorilla has been a feature of Guldar for many centuries, dating back to the time of the Eronidas in the region. Their myths speak of many encounters between these creatures and Eronidas heroes, who braved the temperate forests found in the distant continent, and fought these beasts to acquire precious resources in the name of the city-state the Eronidas hero was associated with. Many of these fights were to the death, but some were merely captured and turned into creatures of display. Their great intellect was enough to convince many Eronidas they were merely hairier forms of life equal to them, and they were often respected, their deaths not often something to be celebrated. However, the reality suggests Eronidas leaders conducted frequent hunts to gain Gorilla pelts as symbols of rank and power. However, when the Eronidas were forced to leave Guldar in their Exodus, any suffering that the Broadback Gorilla population was under immediately diminished.
The Maquixtl, who arrived soon after, took a great deal of time to organize and secure themselves before they ventured too far afield from their new jungle environment. The temperate forests, where the Broadback Gorilla was dominant, were one of the last regional biomes fully explored by the Eronidas seeking Genos from the land’s many creatures. Maquixtl society took a very different view than the Eronidas to the humanoid creatures they encountered, preferring to entirely avoid them, or at least engage with them in peaceful terms. While the Gorillas were not always of a similar mind, rather harshly attacking some Maquixtl parties who trespassed in their territory, they have gradually come to largely respect the Maquixtl as well. Little hunting of the great creatures takes place as a result, and while some Maquixtl settlements exist in the temperate forests, they are well away from any territory claimed by the Broadback Gorillas. The animals are best known in the outside world, however, for giving their form to one of the many Gene Spliced forms that the Maquixtl are known for. Depicted as savage, fierce creatures, they are likely to survive the coming centuries intact, unless the policy and views of the Maquixtl change.
Physical Appearance
Broadback Gorillas stand tall when fully upright, as much as nine feet. However, they always lean forward, resting on their large forward arms. The Gorilla’s face is primate-like, featuring a broad mouth, two eyes with black sclera, and two ears, but their nose is structured differently, and their ears are unusually long. Their brows are often heavy, and give them a perpetual frowning look, making it very easy to tell when they are excited or amused, as this look departs quickly. Their head is connected to their body by a thick neck and immediately meets with their most notable feature, their broad torso. Built with a broad reverse trapezoid build, matched by a pair of thick, long arms with five clawed digits on each curled hand, the Gorilla’s lower body is less well built, with a narrower profile and smaller feet. Broadback Gorillas are sometimes known to walk on their arms alone, at least for short periods, able to entirely carry their lower body due to the power of their backs and upper body. This body then ends in a short-haired tail, like that of a canine. The animal is entirely covered in a layer of dark blue, black, or dark brown hair, with bare skin around parts of their face, the palms of their lands, and the base of their feet.
Diversity
Broadback Gorillas have a great deal of physical diversity, as their heights range between seven and nine feet, their weights and facial structures differ from member to member, and their eye colors are a trait carried on from parent to child. While they always have a dark sclera, the eye color itself can be either a bright cyan blue, a deeper blue, a bright orange hue, a darker amber hue, or the rarest color, a pale purple. The Gorilla has some sexual dimorphism, with larger males, and their gender ratio is equal.
Life Span and Development
Broadback Gorilla kids are liveborn and can emerge with two other siblings as a pair of triplets, though this and twins are rare among the species. When they emerge, they are initially quite small, appearing similar to other humanoid babies, and have a thin layer of pale gray hair covering their body. As they mature over three years, from kids to adolescents, to young adults, their adult hair coloration gradually appears in routine seasonal sheddings of an older coat. Their body also develops rapidly, standing at half the size of a full adult by the time they reach adolescence, before reaching their full height near the end of their development. At this stage, they fully disconnect from their mother and father, going to live on their own in the band. Broadback Gorillas can live for up to sixty years.
Mental Overview
The Broadback Gorilla is incredibly intelligent, with a range of clear emotions and states of being identified by the Maquixtl, and somewhat noted earlier by the Eronidas. Among their kind, the Broadback has an advanced social hierarchy, based on physical size, age, and who one has mated with. It is not a strictly patriarchal society, though they often favor strong males to lead the bands and command the most respect. Females and males also engaged with each other for often months before mating, in a dance of emotion as complex as the world’s many peoples. Care of their hair is a noted social activity that serves as part of this, like many primates but is extended through aid in washing, and thanks to their claws, the ability to remove difficult tufts of hair, clumps of debris, or particularly troublesome insects. The Gorilla though, is also territorial and can be quite savage and aggressive when they need to be. This aggression is commonly projected outside of the band, onto other bands who are trespassing or travelers, but does sometimes turn inward. With their immense size and huge arms, they can easily swat a fully grown person to the ground, or at least severely rattle them. Scratches from their claws are also a danger, and many older Broadbacks are noted for their scars due to past battles with other bands and predators who sometimes try to attack the species.
Territory and Groupings
Broadback Gorillas live in bands of up to a hundred individuals, with sub-units of families and bonded pairs within that social structure. Their social interactions often result in a large, powerful, older male who has multiple offspring taking a leading role, but female leaders are not unheard of, nor are younger ones. Broadback Gorillas claim a few dozen square feet as their territory, often covering a site or sites of freshwater, and constant food, be it from vegetation or sources of meat, as the species is fully omnivorous. Bands avoid each other’s territory, and the odd loner often finds themselves shunned, outside of all known social interactions and often becomes an extreme danger.
Trivia
- Broadback Gorillas are not fully primates, though they appear as such externally. Maquixtl Genos experts rarely elaborate further, but most believe the species is perhaps in possession of some vague reptilian traits.
- Some Broadback Gorilla furs from the era before the Eronidas Exodus are known to exist among the Eronidas Pols, though they are often ragged, aged things. As a result, what Maquixtl criminals exist in Guldar tend to make a killing by hunting the Broadback Gorilla and sending the pelt abroad.
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