Shirshu

The shirshu is a large, quadrupedal creature found in the southern Earth Kingdom where it lives underground. Its highly developed sense of smell and ability to paralyze a target make it well suited for both tracking and hunting respectively.
== History ==
From before the time of Avatar Kyoshi, shirshus were used by Earth Monarchs to execute their political enemies, but the creature stopped being seen in the wild at least a generation before Kyoshi was born and thus faded into legend.
At some point during the Era of Kyoshi, the head of the zoology department at Ba Sing Se University, Professor Shaw, managed to procure a collection of shirshus during an expedition. Shortly thereafter, in 296 BG, he delivered a mated pair to Hei-Ran and Jianzhu after the latter convinced her to write a letter to Shaw claiming she wanted to display the creatures in the Fire Nation as part of a goodwill tour between their two nations. In reality, she and Jianzhu planned to use them to track down Kyoshi and Rangi, Hei-Ran's daughter.
Soon after taking the smell of Rangi, one of Shaw's shirshus found its way to Hujiang in the Taihua Mountains, where it caused great damage and panic before being killed by the local daofei. The remaining specimen subsequently tracked Rangi to Zigan Village, where paralyzing darts made with its saliva were used to kidnap her and disable Kyoshi. The venom also killed their friend Lek in the process when he got caught in the crossfire and suffered a fatal allergic reaction.
Later, in 295 BG, whilst updating Rangi on her efforts to find their missing friend, Yun, Kyoshi lamented at her lack of a shirshu to track his scent.
During the Hundred Year War, a shirshu was given to a bounty hunter as payment by a rare animal collector, who eventually passed the creature onto his daughter, June. The shirshu, dubbed Nyla, became June's inseparable companion.
Early in 100 AG, Nyla tracked a bounty stowed away on Zuko's ship in one of June's missions. Zuko later hired June to track down Aang using the shirshu. During this mission, Nyla fought Appa and paralyzed him with his tongue before being defeated by Katara, who bent perfume to fill the air around him, the overwhelming smell effectively blinding him. Confused, Nyla blindly lashed out and paralyzed Zuko and June before running off.
Months later, Team Avatar tried to use Nyla to track down Aang when he went missing. After failing to pick up on his smell, Zuko decided to track down Iroh instead. Nyla sniffed his sandal and took them to the walls of Ba Sing Se as a result.
After the Hundred Year War, June and Nyla were hired again by Zuko, now Fire Lord, to track down Ursa, his long-lost mother. However, the search turned up no results.
== Anatomy ==
The shirshu is a large, star-nosed mole-like mammal that has no eyes and thus relies on its highly specialized sense of smell. The animal's face has a large, muscular snout that ends in a collection of small, pink, fleshy tendrils surrounding the nostrils, used to detect scents in the environment, and that effectively allows the shirshu to "see" its surroundings. The shirshu can smell a particular scent over hundreds of miles away, making it an ideal tracker. In addition to its strong olfactory abilities, the shirshu's saliva contains paralyzing agents. Along with its large, sharp set of teeth, the shirshu has a whip-like tongue, tipped with large, triangular papillae, which the shirshu uses to disable its prey. Depending on the target's size and how hard it is hit, the shirshu's tongue can either stun or paralyze prey for a period of time, ranging from a minute up to a couple hours.
== Behavior ==
Tamed shirshus are mainly used for their superior tracking ability; they can detect a particular scent anywhere in the world, paralyze their prey from afar without doing permanent damage, are extremely fast and agile, and can travel over great distances without tiring significantly. They are also adept burrowers, able to avoid large earthbending traps by digging into the soil with their claws. Shirshu saliva contains powerful toxins, making it highly valuable; it is used in the production of paralyzing darts. However, because these toxins remain in the shirshu's body well after death, the meat is unsuitable for handling or consumption.
Despite its size and weight, the shirshu has outstanding agility and can hold its own in close combat situations. Using its powerful claws, it can easily protect itself from most threats, though in the majority of cases, close combat is unnecessary: the shirshu's tongue can reach up to several meters and incapacitate opponents before they have a chance to get near. Its critical weaknesses are its highly sensitive nose and sense of smell: A well-aimed strike on its nose can cause the animal to scream and reel back in pain while strong scents can overwhelm its nostrils, effectively "blinding" it and, in some cases, inducing a frenzied panic.
Nyla's semi-domesticated temperament was determined, obedient, and he was socially affectionate, trying to lick his handler, June, after she fed and cuddled him, and he allowed Appa to lick his face before settling down by the sky bison after they initially growled at each other. When commanded, he was also ferocious, responding instantly to June's whip, and he showed embarrassment and shame when he could not pick up Aang's scent from one of his belongings.
== Connection ==
The shirshu is a combination of a giant anteater, a wolf, and a star-nosed mole,Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Art of the Animated Series, page 67. which engenders rumors that it has excellent digging ability. Instead of digging with its nose, the shirshu uses it much like how a bloodhound uses its nose in the real world. Additionally, some species of moles, such as the European mole, are venomous, matching the shirshu's paralyzing tongue.
== Trivia ==
* "For the traitor, let them be hounded by shirshu until they drop where they stand, far from their homes and the bones of their ancestors" is an old saying about shirshus.
* The shirshu is one of only two triple-hybrid animals in the franchise, the other being the saber-tooth moose lion.
* In the two known cases where shirshus have been used to find the Avatar, they tracked a love interest of the Avatar instead: Rangi in The Rise of Kyoshi; and Katara in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
* Jianzhu notes in "Conclusions" that shirshus only track living scents and would not go after someone who is deceased. However, June claims in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters" that her shirshu could find Aang even if he was dead.
* The shirshu's toxins can cause allergic reactions.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Fauna in the World of Avatar
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Category:A to Z
Category:Earth Kingdom
Category:Fauna
Category:Hybridized creatures