Marsh prong (SciiFii)

A marsh prong (Antilocapra aquana) is a species of pronghorn that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the swamps, marshlands, floodplains, forest bayous, and flooded forests to help boost biodiversity. The marsh prong is named for its pronged horns and preference for marsh habitat. As a species of small pronghorn, it reaches a body length of 3.5-4 feet, a weight of 70-120 pounds, and a height at the withers of 2.5-3 feet, giving it some of the proportionally-longest legs of any ungulate mammal. The neck of the marsh prong is proportionally long for an animal of their size. The long legs and neck of the marsh prong allow it to keep its head above water when wading in the swamps. Males are larger than females, and have horns that they use for fighting during the mating season. The marsh prong's legs and body is covered in a water-repellant substance that allows them to stay warm when swimming and allows them to move swiftly in the water. Ecologically, marsh prongs fill the similar niche to the lechwe antelope of Africa. Able to ingest brackish water, marsh prongs can survive near coastal river deltas. They are also common along the shores of lakes, in the immediate areas of riverbanks, and in the surrounding areas of ponds. In areas with a large number of scattered ponds, marsh prongs are quite common, following creeks from pond to pond, and from river valleys to tributaries, and from lake to lake. Typically, marsh prongs try to stay within 2 miles distance of a permanent water source. They will follow river courses to elevations as high as 6,000 feet above sea level, allowing them to survive in the Appalachian mountains. As can be expected with a wetland mammal, they avoid arid habitats and most arid regions. Marsh prongs mainly feed on water plants such as lilies, young reeds, cattail sprouts, and the stems of lily pads, as well as grasses, sedges, berries, tree sprouts, and the leaves of bushes. During the winter, sedges and grasses are the main food sources of the marsh prong. Marsh prongs will make sorties into adjacent woods and fields for forage, but they generally never stray farther than 2 miles from a water source, unless they are following the course of a stream or river. Marsh prong are usually diurnal, but occasionally take to crepuscular feeding times. Peaceful herbivores, they will feed along animals such as elephants, North American tapirs, capybaras, whitetail deer, bush-stag, fugitive deer, elk, cattle, peccaries, stag-moose, marsh deer, and giant beavers. During the winter months, marsh prongs form a social, symbiotic relationship with giant capybaras. When the water freezes in the winter, both the capybara and the marsh prong are forced out of water. The capybaras then gather together on land in large groups of up to 200 animals, huddling together for safety and warmth to ride the winter out together, surviving mainly on their stores of body fat. Marsh prongs often join in these capybara-gatherings for warmth and safety too, and occasionally venture away from them to eat. This habit benefits the marsh prong in that it provides it with a source of heat and security in numbers. The capybaras better senses of smell, hearing, and seeing at night also help alert the marsh prong to danger more during this time of the year as well. For the capybaras benefit, the marsh prong's better daytime vision allows predators to be spotted on the horizon quicker, and the marsh prong's occasional involuntary urge to flee before an approaching predator actually sometimes draws the predator away from the rest of the herd. The conservation status of the marsh prong is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the marsh prong's wide range and its tolerance to most of the human activities.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii