Jungle Trolls ( compendium ) Jungle Trolls is a short essay included as part of the Troll Compendium ( via a link named " Jungle Trolls " ) on the old official site that describes this particular sub - species of troll . It is reproduced here , in case the archive of the page disappears . Troll Categories . Historians and physicians generally classify trolls into four categories : forest trolls , jungle trolls , ice trolls , and sand trolls . The trolls of the Zandalar tribe are considered unclassifiable because the Zandalari are the earliest known trolls , from whom all other trolls are descended . There is some debate as to how many categories are necessary in order to describe the troll race . Several notable authorities on the topic have chosen to specify a fifth category : namely , the dark trolls . Jungle Trolls . Historical capital : Zul ' Gurub Known tribes : Bloodscalp , Darkspear , Gurubashi , Shatterspear , Skullsplitter Description : The jungle trolls ' bodies are covered in short , soft fur that causes the trolls to appear purple or gray . Jungle trolls are also unusually lithe relative to other trolls . History : Much as the forest trolls came to dominate Lordaeron , the jungle trolls established a firm hold over the southeastern jungles of ancient Kalimdor . The jungle trolls ' empire took its name from their strongest tribe : the Gurubashi . In modern times , the word Gurubashi can refer to the jungle trolls ' ancient empire ( and thus to jungle trolls as a whole ) or to the Gurubashi tribe in particular . The Gurubashi and Amani empires battled the relentless aqir until the insectoids ' kingdom was split in two , but the trolls never achieved a true victory . After the Great Sundering , famine and violence spread until the jungle trolls begged their gods for aid . One god answered : Hakkar the Soulflayer . He gave the jungle trolls great power , but in return he demanded that they sacrifice trolls in his name . As his hunger for blood grew , he ordered his priests , the Hakkari , to bring him physically into the world of Azeroth so that he could feed directly on his victims . Most of the Hakkari were horrified at the idea , but the Atal ' ai , a small extremist faction of the Hakkari , agreed to do as Hakkar wished . Before the Atal ' ai could complete the summoning , the Hakkari and other jungle trolls rose up in open revolt . Even the Zandalar tribe joined the fight against Hakkar , whose avatar on Azeroth was ultimately destroyed . The Atal ' ai were driven from the jungles and hunted nearly to extinction . Still , a small group of them escaped into the Swamp of Sorrows and built a great temple to their god : the Temple of Atal ' Hakkar . The Hakkari , too , were slain or exiled for the evil deeds they had done in Hakkar ' s name . Bitter and desperate , they joined the Atal ' ai in the swamps and resolved to bring the bloodthirsty god into Azeroth . The green Dragon Aspect , Ysera the Dreamer , soon learned what the Atal ' ai and Hakkari were working toward , and she smashed the temple beneath the marshes . To this day , the temple ' s ruins are guarded by mighty green dragons . Nevertheless , trolls spoke of a prophecy that Hakkar would one day be reborn into the world . The remnants of the Gurubashi empire went their separate ways , claiming territories in the vast jungles of Stranglethorn Vale . These scattered tribes began fighting one another , and at length the Darkspear tribe left the continent altogether and settled on a remote desert island , where they remained until they joined the Horde and fought in the Third War . Today the Darkspears live along the southeast coast of Durotar .